Scale-up and commercial evaluation of the manufacture of bio-based FDCA from HMF

The environmental and social concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and food crops make lignocellulose a challenging but compelling target source of high value chemicals. Previous and ongoing IB Catalyst studies undertaken by Biome, the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) and the Universities of Leeds, Liverpool and Warwick have demonstrated the feasibility of bioprocesses from lignocellulose to polyester pre-cursors. This project will seek to develop a continuous, pilot-scale enzymic process to produce a high purity polyester pre-cursor and convert it into a suite of highly functional polyesters. The work will be undertaken by a consortium of Biome Technologies Ltd and the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds. We believe that the project has the potential to advance the UK’s knowledge and commercial position in the field of advanced bio-based materials.