Biobased Terephthalic Acid Technologies: A Literature Review
2014
Collias, Dimitris I. | Harris, Angela M. | Nagpal, Vidhu | Cottrell, Ian W. | Schultheis, Mikell W.
Terephthalic acid (TPA) is a large-volume commodity chemical typically produced via aerobic catalytic oxidation of para-xylene (pX), which is produced from fossil resources. TPA is used primarily as a co-monomer in a condensation with mono ethylene glycol (MEG) to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET) for plastic containers, fibers, films, and other applications. Condensations of TPA with other glycols produce other polyesters. There is strong interest in improving the environmental profile of TPA, either by improving the environmental aspects of the pX oxidation process and/or producing TPA from renewable resources (biobased TPA) such as carbohydrates, lignin, etc. Currently, biobased PET contains up to 30% biobased materials; the Coca-Cola Company's PlantBottle™ PET, introduced in 2009, is produced using biobased MEG only. Biobased TPA will allow for increasing the biobased content of PET to 100%. Industry and academia are working to develop technology pathways to biobased TPA. For example, in mid-2012, The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, H.J. Heinz Company, Nike, Inc., and The Procter & Gamble Company announced the formation of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative to accelerate the development and use of 100% renewable PET.This article is a literature review of various proposed methods and processes to produce biobased TPA. Advantages and/or disadvantages of reviewed technology pathways will not be discussed here. The authors take full responsibility for the selection of the technology pathways presented in this review article, and omission of any additional pathways should not be considered as implicit disapproval of these pathways.
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