Paired Electrochemical Oxidation process for feasible industrial production of the crucial FDCA building block for the bioplastic industry

Project Information

PairElOx

Grant agreement ID: 807221

DOI

10.3030/807221

Project closed

EC signature date 13 March 2018

Start date 1 April 2018

End date 31 July 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

AVA BIOCHEM BSL AG
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PairElOx (Paired Electrochemical Oxidation process for feasible industrial production of the crucial FDCA building block for the bioplastic industry)

Reporting period: 2018-04-01 to 2018-07-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Having already run the electrosynthesis of FDCA from 5-HMF, the PairElOx project aim is to reach TRL9, building a medium scale plant to produce FDCA (3-5T/year) working in full continuous mode and including the downstream processing. The challenge of the project is the crucial scale-up from piloting to medium plant, paving the way for the final scaling to industrial exploitation of FDCA as the versatile platform chemical that will finally enable the competitive introduction of 100% bio-based plastics into the market.
The objective of AVA Biochem is to take advantage of its leading position in 5-HMF to become the 1st worldwide supplier of FDCA while contributing to the electrification of the EU chemical industry.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The Feasibility Study has been developed in order to define the technical roadmap for the construction of the FDCA plant. We have carefully define the different stages of the production process, including the optimization of the oxidation process, the electrolyser definition, downstream processing and integration with 5-HMF production.
A detailed analysis of the main stakeholders along the entire new value chain to be generated and major players and potential clients/partnerships have been identified.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The PairElOx project is aimed at contributing to the transition of the European chemical industry towards a more competitive and sustainable sector through innovation, unlocking 2,5-Furanedicarboxylic acid (FDCA) as a new chemical building block for the industry while contributing to the industrial electrification of the sector (through paired electrochemical oxidation).
Diverse approaches for the oxidation of HFM to FDCA have been developed. However, the conversion is usually incomplete resulting in the formation of undesired (“chain stopper”) mono-carboxylated furan derivatives. Furthermore, the chemical approaches have, to date, not resulted in large-scale production processes for FDCA providing a major restriction for its application. The paired electrosynthesis offers main advantages vs. oxidation methods including the water-based solvent, low energy consumption, excellent process control and stability at any time as a completely green process accordingly to the bio-based profile of the end chemical product.

2,5-Furanedicarboxylic acid (FDCA)