Covestro is working on scaling-up biobased aniline production process

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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.

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