Worley is awarded a FEED (front-end engineering design) to develop Avantium’s flagship plant, which it says will support the transition to a bio-based economy for plastics. The plant will produce 100% plant-based FDCA (furandicarboxylic acid) – a key building block for many chemicals and plastics.
Avantium, a renewable chemistry company, announces that its subsidiary, Avantium Renewable Polymers, will locate their new plant in Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The facility will use a novel technology that converts plant sugars into a wide range of sustainable chemicals and plastics, such as the plastic material PEF (polyethylene furanoate). PEF is a novel, fully recyclable, bio-based polymer with improved barrier performance and thermal properties, according to the company. It has the potential to make a significant impact on the packaging, textiles, and film industries.
Avantium Renewable Polymers has completed lab research to demonstrate its new YXY plant-to-plastics technology in a pilot plant. Worley is carrying out the FEED for the new plant that will make FDCA and PEF commercially available. They also completed the concept development phase in March and concluded that Avantium is ready to progress to commercial scale.
The PEFerence project is a five-year EU flagship project to establish a supply chain for FDCA and PEF. It has received funding from the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under a grant agreement. Worley reportedly aims to complete the FEED phase at the end of this year, enabling Avantium to take a final investment decision for construction of the flagship plant at the end of 2020. The plant is scheduled to start up in 2023.
For more information, visit: www.worley.com
