Biobased Polymers Keep Textiles Green
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SPECIAL REPORT GREEN AND BIOBASED MATERIALS Biobased polymers keep textiles green a 4% share by 2020, according the nova-insti- Growing demands from brand owners and consumers tute, an organisation dedicated to advancing for fibres and textiles that are more environmentally the use of renewable raw materials. The textile industry share of worldwide friendly are now creating a huge market for biobased biobased polymer production in 2013 is esti- polymers produced using renewable feedstocks mated by the group to be 18%, but expected to decline to 8% in 2020 due to more rapid growth in consumption of biobased polymers/ plastics in the packaging sector (which is attributed to the fast growth of biobased PET). In fact, nova-institute projects production capacity for PET to reach 7m tonnes/year by 2020, while production capacities for PLA and PHA will expand nearly four and tenfold, respectively, between 2013 and 2020. Examples of leading companies producing biobased polymers and fibres intended for use in the textile industry include DuPont, NatureWorks, Invista, Corbion, Kaneka and Cathay Industrial Biotech. DUPONT OFFERINGS GROW DuPont makes Sorona (polytrimethylene tere- phthalate, PTT) biobased fibres (37% renewably sourced by weight) for carpet and apparel applications via continuous polymerisation of bio-PDO (1,3-propanediol), which is made from fermented sugars, and terephthalic acid (TPA). Sorona production uses 30% less energy and releases 63% fewer greenhouse gas emis- sions compared to the production of nylon 6, according to Michael Saltzberg, global busi- ness director for biomaterials at DuPont. He notes that growth in the adoption of Sorona is largely due to its unique perfor- Covestro mance properties, including softness, inherent Covestro has produced biobased PU dispersions for textile applications stain resistance, stretch and recovery and dura- bility; and secondly because of its renewably CYNTHIA CHALLENER VERMONT One response to this need has been the devel- resourced content, which supports the perfor- opment of biobased fibres from renewable raw mance. The company will be introducing new he textile market covers a broad materials. Many biobased polymers have been products in late 2016 or early 2017 that will range of materials – both woven and developed, including polyethylene terephtha- expand Sorona’s colour palette capabilities nonwoven – used in applications late (PET), polyethylene (PE), polylactic acid and facilitate Sorona/natural textile blends. ranging from clothing and apparel (PLA), starch blends, biodegradable poly- DuPont Industrial Biosciences also T to interior and decoration textiles, technical esters such as polybutylene succinate (PBS) announced in January 2016 that, in collabora- textiles, medical textiles and safety and secu- and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) tion with Archer Daniels Midland Company rity products. (PBAT), thermosets (epoxies, polyurethanes (ADM), it has developed an efficient, high-yield- Consequently, the textile industry has a sig- [PUR] and ethylene propylene diene mono- ing, low-cost method for the production of furan nificant impact on the environment and has mer rubber [EPDM]) and cellulose acetate. dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) from fruc- faced mounting pressure across the entire value These accounted for 2% of global polymer tose. FDME is an attractive biobased raw mate- chain from end users, consumers and non-gov- production in 2013. Capacity for such renew- rial for the production of various polymers, such ernmental organisations to improve its perfor- able polymers is expected to increase faster as polytrimethylene furandicarboxylate (PTF), a mance with respect to sustainability. than that of conventional polymers, leading to 100% biobased novel polyester produced via 26 | ICIS Chemical Business | 27 June-3 July 2016 www.icis.com ICB_270616_026-027.indd 26 6/22/16 3:00 PM SPECIAL REPORT GREEN AND BIOBASED MATERIALS the copolymerisation of FDME and bio-PDO. ond half of 2018, and Corbion is currently Several other companies offer biobased The two companies are planning to build testing, validating and selling pre-marketing fibres. INVISTA introduced a biobased version an integrated 60 tonnes/year demonstration volumes of PLA. of spandex in May 2014. Approximately 70% plant in Decatur, Illinois, to provide potential The product range includes PLLA (poly L- by weight of the new Lycra bio-derived spandex customers with sufficient product quantities lactic acid) and PDLA (poly D-lactic acid) fibre comes from dextrose derived from corn. for testing and research. homopolymer resins for high heat, high per- Japanese firm Toray manufactures biobased ChengHong Holding Group in cooperation formance, as well as standard PLA grades. PET. Italian firm Fulgar launched in November with the Tsinghua University reported in 2014 2015 ‘Evo by Fulgar”, a 100% biobased high- that it was constructing a 50,000 tonne/year bio- CHINESE POLYAMIDE DEVELOPMENT performance fibre made of a biopolymer PDO unit and 30,000 tonne/year bio-PTT plant. Cathay Industrial Biotech, based in Shanghai, derived entirely from castor oil seed, which is The company noted that it uses crude China, received $135m in additional financ- grown in arid regions not suited for other forms starch and glycerine (a by-product of biodies- ing in late 2015 that will be used to increase of agriculture, according to the company. el) for the fermentation production of PDO the production capacity at its existing Jinxi- Other firms have targeted the develop- and BDO (1,4- butanediol), respectively, and ang facility and build a new production site. ment of biobased additives for textile appli- has gained independent intellectual property The company manufacturers long-chain cations. Covestro introduced its Impranil eco rights for its PDO and PTT processes. It also dibasic acids (LCDAs), including renewable range of waterborne, biobased polyurethane indicated that it was installing PTT spinning dodecanedioic acid and 1,5-pentamethylene- dispersions (PUDs) for use as textile coat- and fabric dyeing technologies. diamine (DN-5), a renewable diamine, that is ings. The products contain 43% to 65% re- Ingeo PLA from NatureWorks is used to man- polymerised with adipic acid to produce Ter- newable content, offer performance that ufacture a wide variety of textile products in- ryl, a biobased polyamide 56, which serves as matches conventional products and can be cluding apparel, furniture components, house- an alternative to nylon 6 and nylon 66. used as drop-in replacements for existing hold materials, baby care products (diapers), The new polyamide has similar strength PUDs according to the company. personal hygiene goods and gardening supplies. and wear resistance to traditional nylons, Ingeo fibres are produced using 40% less non- along with improved flowability, moisture ab- BIOBASED COLLABORATION renewable energy and generate 52% less green- sorbance, comfort, dyeability and antistatic Covestro collaborated with BioAmber, a suppli- house gases than conventional PET fibres, ac- and flame retardant properties due to disrup- er of biobased succinic acid, in the development cording to Robert Green, global segment lead, tion of some of the hydrogen bonds, which of the Impranil eco line. The products recently nonwovens and fibres with NatureWorks. provides more sites for interaction with dyes (May 2016) won the Innovation Award Bio- When compared to nylon 6, Ingeo fibres and water, according to the company. based Material of the Year 2016, an award spon- reduce non-renewable energy consumption by sored by InfraServ GmbH & Co. Knapsack KG, a 67% and greenhouse gases by 81%, Green adds. “Most applications using service provider for the planning, construction “Most applications using Ingeo are driven by Ingeo are driven by product and operation of plants and sites. product performance. The major performance OrganoClick AB developed OC-biobinder, a themes are moisture management, breathability performance... attributes biobased fibre-binding system used to make and skin comfort for apparel and hygiene prod- [that] are highly desired” nonwovens and textiles stronger and stiffer. ucts, while for horticultural/agricultural appli- The company applies click chemistry to modi- ROBERT GREEN cations, the renewable, sustainable and com- Global segment lead, nonwovens and fibres, fy and change the properties of both naturally postable attributes are highly desired,” he notes. NatureWorks occurring cellulosic (wood, cotton, and linen) and manmade (viscose, polyester, polyamide) NATUREWORKS BROADENS RANGE fibres. “We have developed technologies to NatureWorks continues to broaden the perfor- In addition, direct polymerisation melt- add properties such as fire resistance, water re- mance range with new resin grades for fibre spinning provides significant cost savings. pellency, fungal resistance and increased applications and works closely with develop- The company is currently investing an addi- strength,” notes CEO Marten Hellberg. ment partners to optimise processes and per- tional $500m to build a new production site While continued growth of the market for formance to demonstrate how Ingeo as a mate- for DN5, long chain diacids and biobased biobased polymers used in fibres and textiles rial can offer benefits. polyamides using its own raw monomer is expected in the short and long terms as ex- For instance, customers are developing blocks in Xinjiang, western China. pectations for both greater performance and combinations of Ingeo