Avantium starts bio-polyester pilot plant

Last week, Avantium announced the start-up of its furanics-based polyester pilot plant at the Chemelot site in Geleen, the Netherlands. The green blog has been following Avantium's development of its platform chemical 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) which will be marketed under the brand name YXY (pronounced ~ ixy).

Avantium CEO Tom van Aken said the 5 ton/year polyester pilot plant is part of a bigger pilot plant that the company is building at the site to demonstrate its YXY technology. The second pilot plant will produce 40 ton/year FDCA monomer, which is expected to come onstream in the second half of 2011.

[Aerial view of Avantium's pilot facility in the Netherlands]

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