BioBTX and Teijin Aramid to jointly develop biobased aramid fibers

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Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.

Aramid fibers are a type of super strong synthetic fibers with a very high melting point. The name is a portmanteau of "aromatic polyamide" and they are used in multiple applications: protective clothing, freight containers, armored vehicles, tires… Teijin Aramid produces aramid fibers under the brand name Twaron® using fossil resources for which there are currently no sustainable alternatives. This company wants to examine the possibility of producing a biobased version of its product and it is starting to work together with BioBTX on a fiber made entirely of renewable materials (see “BioBTX and Teijin Aramid are looking at sustainable feedstock for super fiber” on BioBTX website). The initiative is financially supported by the provinces of Drenthe and Groningen and by Chemport Europe.

Figure 1. BioBTX and Teijin Aramid to jointly develop biobased aramids (extracted from the website of BioBTX)

BioBTX has developed a sustainable technology that can transform renewable resources (such as biomass and wastes) into chemicals, mainly benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX). It has recently opened a pilot plant to produce BTX on the Zernike Campus in Groningen (see “BioBTX to start the scaling-up of its technology with a new pilot plant”, 5/7/2018). The chemical company Syncom will produce specific building blocks from those aromatic compounds. Finally, the polymer and fibers will be made in the Research Center at Teijin Aramid in Arnhem, based on the processes used in its factories of Delfzijl and Emmen.

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