Covestro is working on scaling-up biobased aniline production process
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Covestro
and its partners have developed an award-winning process to derive aniline from biomass. Following this breakthrough
in the lab, Covestro is now working on scaling-up the production process.
Press release (Covestro): “Circular Economy - Aniline from
plants”, 26/5/2020.
Figure 1. Covestro is working on scaling-up
biobased aniline production process
The industry currently derives aniline from
benzene, a petroleum-based raw material. In May 2017, Covestro announced having
achieved a major breakthrough for the use of plant-based raw materials in aniline
production. The materials manufacturer collaborated with partners (University of Stuttgart, the CAT Catalytic Center
at RWTH Aachen University and Bayer AG) on
the creation of a completely new process, which is now being further developed
and upscaled.
The process uses a microorganism as a catalyst
to convert industrial sugars into an aniline precursor. The aniline is then
derived by means of chemical catalysis in a second step. This means 100% of the
carbon in the aniline comes from renewable raw materials.
Covestro needs aniline as a precursor for rigid
polyurethane foam, a highly efficient insulating material used in buildings and
refrigeration systems. Being able to obtain aniline from biomass in a key step
towards making the chemical and plastics industries less dependent on fossil
raw materials and market fluctuations. The new technology produces aniline with
a much better CO2 footprint than that manufactured with standard
technology. And the reactions take place under milder conditions.
