In today's era of pursuing sustainable development, bio-based materials, with their eco-friendly and renewable properties, are gradually transforming the face of industries.Currently, the bio-based materials market is continuously expanding, with their applications extending beyond traditional fields such as packaging, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals. Bio-based materials are now being increasingly used in sectors like automotive, electronics, and construction.
The production of bio-based materials involves the synthesis of polymers from monomers. The purity of these monomers is critical to ensuring excellent physicochemical properties and good processing performance of the final products, which is essential for their application across various industries.
As a pioneer of "green technology and circular regeneration," DODGEN is committed to the purification of bio-based material monomers, bringing revolutionary advancements to the industry. This article will focus on several key bio-based materials—PLA, HMF, Isosorbide, and Adipic Acid—and provide a detailed introduction to DODGEN Chemical's innovations and applications in purification technology.
I. PLA: The Pioneer of Biodegradable Materials
Bio-based PLA (Polylactic Acid) is a polymer material made from the polymerization of lactic acid monomers. It boasts excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, with raw materials derived from corn starch, sugarcane, and other sources. However, the purification process of the PLA monomer—lactide—poses significant challenges. The main components of crude lactide include L-lactide, D-lactide, lactic acid, lactic acid dimers, lactic acid trimers, and water. Among these, water can hydrolyze lactide into acid, and the acidic impurities—lactic acid, lactic acid dimers, and trimers—can cause the PLA polymer chains to break due to acid hydrolysis, negatively affecting the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of PLA. Additionally, D-lactide can reduce the mechanical properties of PLA. Therefore, it is essential to refine and purify lactide to meet the chemical and optical purity requirements for polymerization monomers. The molten crystallization technology has successfully overcome this bottleneck. This process not only enhances the purity of the product but also significantly reduces energy consumption and costs, laying a solid foundation for the widespread application of biodegradable plastics.
Lactide
II. HMF: A Bio-Based Platform Compound
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is an important bio-based platform compound that can be used to prepare FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid) through oxidative ring-opening and reacidification. FDCA is the monomer for the high-performance bio-based plastic Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF). HMF can also undergo various chemical reactions to produce a range of derivatives, such as furan resins and furan-based drugs. These derivatives have broad application prospects in fields such as pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyes, and fragrances. The purity of HMF significantly impacts the selectivity of subsequent chemical reactions, reaction kinetics, and product quality. By using molten crystallization technology, high purity and stability of the product can be ensured. DODGEN is actively promoting this technology in the application of HMF, achieving product purity greater than 99.9%, providing strong support for the diversification of bio-based plastic monomers.
5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)
III. Isosorbide: The Cornerstone of High-Performance Polymers
Isosorbide can be extracted from various biomass feedstocks and synthesized through chemical methods. Bio-based isosorbide can be used to produce polycarbonate (PC) via transesterification polycondensation. Polycarbonate is one of the fastest-growing and most widely used engineering plastics among the top five, with extensive applications across various industries in the national economy.Through a carefully designed molten crystallization process, DODGEN can purify isosorbide to 99.9%, injecting strength into the development of the bio-based polyester industry.
Isosorbide
IV. Adipic Acid: The Key Raw Material for Nylon 66
Bio-based adipic acid is derived from non-food biomass-derived sugars, which are rapidly converted into muconic acid through fermentation. Hydrogenation of muconic acid produces high-yield, high-purity bio-based adipic acid. This bio-based adipic acid can be used as a raw material for Nylon 66, which is employed to produce resins and fibers similar to petroleum-based Nylon 66.The environmentally friendly Nylon 66 produced through biological methods helps create a circular economy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. DODGEN has achieved efficient purification of bio-based adipic acid using advanced molten crystallization technology, improving the product purity from 99.3% to 99.8%.
Adipic Acid
The product test results after molten crystallization are shown in the table below:
Conclusion:
Currently, bio-based materials face widespread application challenges due to their relatively high production costs and the complexity of production technologies. Addressing the technical issues in the separation and purification processes is one of the key ways to overcome these bottlenecks. DODGEN has achieved significant results in monomer purification and continues to drive the widespread application of bio-based materials.
