BioBTX and Teijin Aramid to jointly develop biobased aramid fibers
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.