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ePaper created 2014-05-07, 13:23:14 | version 1.30.01
102 BIOCONSEPT – FROM PLANTS TO PLASTIC Dr. rer. nat. Nicole Helber, Fabian Haitz M.Sc., Priv.-Doz. Dr. Steffen Rupp, Dr.-Ing. Susanne Zibek Biobased polymers from second generation raw materials The raw materials for industrial biotechnology come mainly from agricultural products – glucose from sugar-containing plants such as sugar beets, starch-containing plants such as cereals or plant oils from seeds. These “first generation” bio- based raw materials are, however, in competition with food production and their use for the production of biofuels or biobased chemicals is controversial. A concept already being implemented in a biorefinery is the complete utilization of “second generation” raw materials. This includes lignocellu- lose from woodchips or agricultural waste streams and plant oils that are not used in the food industry. The EU-funded project BioConSepT, in which 30 European partners from research and industry are participating with the Fraunhofer IGB, will demonstrate the exploitation of second-generation raw materials for the production of bio- based polymers. The aim of the project is to provide processes which convert second-generation raw materials into valuable chemicals; it is intended that these processes will be up to 30 percent cheaper and more sustainable than corresponding chemical or biotechnological processes working with first- generation raw materials. The partners have developed meth- ods for the production of chemicals from second-generation raw materials in which enzymatic, microbial and chemical reactions are used and combined with one another. The fol- lowing have been identified as target molecules in an initial selection process: 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, itaconic acid, succinic acid, long-chain dicarboxylic acids, diamines, diamides and epoxides. In addition, the production of biosurfactants and glycerol carbonate is being considered. The intention is to achieve breakthroughs in cost reduction and sustainability of the selected processes by introducing continuous processes, new reactors and selective separation technologies. An ad- ditional aim of the project is the provision of sample quantities for market testing of biobased polymers, resins, plasticizers, biosurfactants and solvents. Dicarboxylic acids from plant oils Long-chain dicarboxylic acids are chemically complex and expensive to produce, but are of interest as an intermediate for the synthesis of plastics such as polyesters. Yeasts of the species Candida or Pichia are capable of oxidizing fatty acids to form the corresponding dicarboxylic acids. The Fraunhofer IGB has already been able to establish a method for the production of dicarboxylic acids with the yeast Candida cena- kerosene. It was possible to produce up to 100 g / l 1,18-octa- decenedioic acid through fermentation in an optimized pro- cess from oleic acid [1]. As a part of the BioConSepT project, the formation of dicarboxylic acids from additional fatty acids from plant oils is being investigated at the Fraunhofer IGB. Alongside process development, new yeast strains for dicar- boxylic acid production are currently being studied and robust production strains are created which permit high dicarboxylic acid yields. Epoxides from plant oils The epoxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and triglycerides generates products with increased polarity and reactivity. These epoxides can be used as PVC stabilizers, plasticizers or in biobased polymers. In terms of the stabilizers or plasticizers used in different plastics such as polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polylactic acid (PLA), epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) is mostly used [2, 3]. In addition, the use of plant oil epoxides for photo-initiated cationic polymerization in thin-layer applica- tions has been described in the plastics industry [4]. Within BioConSepT, a process is being developed at the Fraunhofer CHEMISTRY 1 raw materials C5 / C6 sugars lignocellulose oils and fats fatty acids / glycerol conversion and separation 2,5-furan- dicarboxylic acid itaconic acid succinic acid long chain dicarboxylic acids amines epoxides demo / pilot demo 1 demo 2 applications polymers additives resins glycerol carbonate bio- surfactants