Speciality Chemicals Magazine JUL / AUG 2021 | Page 24

Dr Jason E . Camp , CTO at Circa Group , shows how a renewable solvent has been used in multiple industrial applications

Sustainable materials from a biobased solvent

Dr Jason E . Camp , CTO at Circa Group , shows how a renewable solvent has been used in multiple industrial applications

Millions of tonnes of renewable cellulosic biomass are underutilised every year . Considerably more value can be extracted from the most abundant polymer in the world , while reducing society ’ s dependence on petrochemicals and responding to consumers ’ call for better , safer everyday products . Despite the clear gap in the market – and increasing regulatory pressure worldwide on hazardous chemicals – bringing sustainable chemicals to market takes time and significant investment . Circa ’ s Furacell technology , for example , was developed and patented in 2009 .

The technology has been finetuned ever since , across five pilot plants in Australia . The fifth pilot plant , FC5 , a joint venture with Norwegian pulp and paper company Norske Skog in Tasmania , went online in 2019 .
Sustainable , at scale
In the Furacell process , when heat is applied to waste biomass , levoglucosenone ( LGO ), water and biochar are produced , reducing downstream separation and consequent waste disposal . LGO is a versatile platform chemical and building block , with many industrial applications , including pharmaceuticals , agrochemicals , food and cleantech in general . FC5 is the first – and only – plant producing LGO at tonne scale . The next step in production will come through the EU Horizon 2020 flagship project ReSolute . This was launched in 2020 , led by Circa , with the aim of replacing toxic solvents with renewable alternatives . ReSolute is building a 1,000 tonnes / year plant in France which will produce Cyrene * – a green solvent and Circa ’ s first commercial-scale biobased chemical . After many years of R & D focus , Circa and its partners identified a wide range of renewable derivatives and licensable IP which can be
Polymer abbreviation Polymer Conditions Application
PVDF Polyvinylidene difluoride 100 ° C , 2 wt % Remove from cathode scraps
100 ° C , 2 wt % Membrane fabrication
PVP Polyvinylpyrrolidone 70 ° C , 7.7 wt % Membrane fabrication
PES Polyethersulfone 70 ° C , 20 wt % PES Membrane fabrication
70 ° C , 13 wt % Membrane fabrication
PVC Polyvinyl chloride 60 ° C , 60 wt % Membrane fabrication
CTA Cellulose triacetate 60 ° C , 60 wt % Membrane fabrication
PGLA Poly ( lactic-co-glycolic acid ) Room temperature Nanoparticles for drug delivery
24 SPECIALITY CHEMICALS MAGAZINE ESTABLISHED 1981