Biological polyesters gradually replace the synthetic polyester system

2011-9-29

　　

　　Biological polyesters

　　— to gradually replace the synthetic polyester system

 

China is a country short of petroleum. According to the current industry program, if in the future the basic chemical raw materials which the growth of the domestic chemical industry depends on still rely on imported crude oil processing, the development of the industry would be difficult to get rid of the predicament of over a barrel as well as ups and downs. Without innovation, it would be difficult to improve self-sufficiency rate of chemical fiber raw materials in the short term. Abundant biomass resources is the future for green chemical raw materials; more and more chemical products are available through biomass resources, especially bio-technology based on agriculture and forestry by-products and waste, which will achieve many things at one stroke: addressing the problem of resources, avoiding the problem of food competition, and increasing the farmers' income.

 

As early as 2005, in “Guideline for the Chemical Fiber Industry’ Eleventh Five-Year Program", the "biological polyol technology research and development" was included in the focus of chemical fiber biomass engineering development, striving to take biological propanediol (PDO), ethylene glycol (EG), butanediol (BG), etc. as key points to achieve industrial breakthrough and built China's chemical fiber industry chain around bio-based polyol. During "Twelfth Five-Year Program" period, the industry put forward that biomass fibers and biochemical raw materials are necessary to focus on the development of the total volume but also focus on the targets of technology and product as well as the industrial structure.

　　

Of course, bio-based polyol is only a starting point for bio-chemical technology. In the future, based on the understanding of the molecular structure of carbohydrates, we can develop relevant multi-acid and polyol, and achieve industrial upgrading of such several links as raw materials development and processing, equipment design and manufacturing, product design and processing, and product packaging and applications, which will eventually form a similar closed biochemical fiber chain based on petrochemical raw materials.

　　

After over two years of exploration and research, a research institution combined by Donghua University and Dacheng Group has completed the test experiments of bio-based ethylene glycol’s entire industrial process from polymerization, spinning, texturing, weaving, dyeing to garment. Since the biological-raw-material based synthesis polyester and spinning have achieved results of the current stage, the polyester directly synthesized by bio-based ethylene glycol owns better spinning and dyeing properties than the existing one. Especially the bio-based ethylene glycol containing multi-component diatomic alcohol of about 2% mass fraction such as propanediol, butanediol, pentanediol, and sorbitol, plays a copolymerization modification effect, thus such fiber is soft, bright staining with visible moisture regain and anti-static performance, enjoying a substantial application prospects.

 

In 2000, DuPont introduced biomass PTT resin made from corn-made biomass 1,3 - propanediol (PDO) instead of malthenes PDO as raw material. Through cooperation in terms of manufacturing, studying, scientific research, and applications, Donghua University, Fujian Haitian Textile Group, Shing Hong Group and other units developed new copolyester preparation techniques that PTT-PET, CDPTT can be dyed under high-speed spinning-level temperature and pressure, establishing proprietary technologies of independent intellectual property such as polymerization, spinning, and weaving, integrating and developing PTT chips, fibers, fabrics, and products, and taking the lead in forming an industrial chain of PTT polymerization, spinning, weaving, dyeing & finishing, and fabric products.

 

In addition, more and more attention has been paid to the production of 1, 3–propanediol from the ferment of hogwash oil, in which manufacturing 1, 3–propanediol through the fermentation of glycerol which is as the substrate has initially achieved kiloton pilot production. 2, 5–furan dioctyl phthalate has the similar nature with PTA, therefore, polydiethylene–2, 5–furfuralat (PEF) can be produced from the raw material of 2, 5–furan dioctyl phthalate and ethylene glycol, which may form whole bio-based polyester to completely change the dependence on petroleum resources. Extracting 2, 5–furan dioctyl phthalate from plant stalks like corn has been achieved in the world.

Source:china textile