Full circle: Q and A to find out more about 100% recyclable polymer

Tom van Aken, CEO of Avantium, spoke to MPN editor Laura Hughes about PEF - a polymer which is 100% plant-based and recyclable.

Please start by telling me about the discovery and development of PEF.

There are two distinct primary problems caused by plastics. One is the growing amounts of single use plastic waste building up in the environment. The other is climate change, which has been driven by two centuries of heavy dependence on fossil fuels and feedstocks.

PEF is able to address both these problems by offering a 100% plant-based and recyclable polymer with a wide range of applications. The production of PEF from plant-based feedstocks utilises a renewable source, and a process with a significantly smaller carbon footprint than fossil-feedstock alternatives. It also offers higher mechanical strength, which means that thinner PEF packaging can be produced, and fewer resources are required. PEF is designed for recycling and reusing, and therefore it fits perfectly in a circular economy, allowing you to feed the recycled plastic materials back into the same product cycle. This leads to direct reduction of new (“virgin”) PEF polymer required and reduces demands on plastic feedstocks.

What exactly is PEF made of?

PEF is the end product of our YXY technology. The technology catalytically converts plant-based sugars (fructose) into FuranDiCarboxylic Acid (FDCA), this monomer then undergoes a polymerisation process to form the PEF resin. This resin can then be formed into the final product in the desired colour and shape. We’ve spent several years perfecting this technology, so it can support mass-market production volumes.

What makes PEF different to the other plastic alternatives on the market?

Though derived from plants, PEF has some unique properties that prevail over those of PolyEthylene Terephthalate (PET) - its nearest oil-based equivalent, in many ways. First of all, it is stronger and far less gas-permeable, with a carbon dioxide barrier that is six to ten times that of PET. This is vital for prolonging the shelf-life of any packaged product. PEF also boasts improved thermal properties, appropriate for hot filling and cleaning at high temperatures. Finally, it is fully recyclable, so new products can be made entirely from old ones. 

PEF claims to be able to go through existing recycling systems. Please explain exactly what that means and how consumers and manufacturers would recycle this material?

We’ve done a great deal of work to ensure PEF fits into existing recycling streams. Because it is chemically very similar to PET, the two substances can be recycled together. PEF products can also be recycled entirely by themselves, using processes designed for PET. 

The material claims to be suitable for many sectors, however, the medical sector brings its own regulatory challenges. What stage is PEF at with regards to being used within the medical sector?

In addition to its renewable and circular proposition, PEF has a number of performance values to bring to applications in the medical sector, including its unique high barrier providing ultimate product protection, thermal behaviour, and solid mechanical properties. With respect to regulatory aspects the implementation of PEF in the medical sector is in an early stage. We are aware of the additional requirements for medical applications and are currently building on collaborations with partners to further advance in this application field.

Do you anticipate any challenges or hurdles with the implementation of PEF within the medical field?

Currently, the regulations in the medical sector impose challenges in implementing truly circular solutions in this application field. We envision implementing PEF in a circular way, which will require collaborations throughout the value chain to develop solutions to this challenge.