BASF and Avantium’s joint venture to make furandicarboxylic acid at a commercial scale has passed its pilot phase, with the chemicals groups planning to build a plant in Antwerp, Belgium.
The project, Synvina, makes FDCA, a source for a new polymer PEF (polyethylenefuroate).
The assessment confirmed that product performance and customer demand for ‘PEF’ are strong. In the technical process evaluation, Synvina identified some steps that require improvement. It recommends undertaking additional development work on these steps, to ensure the most efficient process and best product for current and future customers.
Tom van Aken, Avantium CEO, said: “The confidence of Avantium, BASF and Synvina in the product performance and its market potential has only increased since Synvina was founded. Encountering technical challenges is not uncommon in innovative, ground-breaking technologies of this kind. Synvina is working closely with BASF and Avantium to resolve these challenges. We are all confident that this will result in a production process that runs smoothly and reliably, and a product that is as pure as the market demands. We believe the Reference Plant will be operational in the 2023-2024 timeframe.”
Synvina was established in October 2016 with the intent to build and operate the Reference Plant. This will be the first commercial-scale plant to produce FDCA, the breakthrough building block for the polyester PEF with superior performance, which is suitable for food and beverage packaging, automotive applications and carpet and textile fibres.
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