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Biomass plastic - cheap and cheerful

18.05.2012

A team of chemical engineers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed a new, low-cost way to produce plastic from biomass. The new chemical process in the laboratory demonstrates a high 75% efficiency in processing biological raw materials into p-xylene - a key component for the production of, for example, plastic bottles.

The key to success was the use of a zeolite catalyst that prevents side reactions and converts the feedstock into valuable p-xylene.

The industry currently produces p-xylene from petroleum. The obtained xylene is used to make polyethylene terephthalate, which is used for a wide range of plastic products: food packaging, synthetic fibers, automotive parts, etc. However, the volatile oil price and the high cost of processing negatively affect the price of many products that use p-xylene.

The new process converts glucose into p-xylene in a three-step reaction using a zeolite catalyst. The process takes place in a high-temperature reactor containing biomass. This is a major breakthrough, since all other methods for obtaining p-xylene from renewable sources are either very expensive (for example, fermentation) or inefficient due to the low yield of a useful product.

The new technology will make it possible to produce a large number of useful products, including biofuels and p-xylene, from cellulose, the main component of plants. Thus, in the plastics industry, the chemical industry can partially get rid of dependence on oil.

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