Germany-based Lanxess and US company Genomatica have successfully run a production campaign of biobased PBT in Lanxess’s world-scale production plant using 20 tonnes of biobased BDO made with Genomatica’s commercially-proven process. This BDO fully complied with Lanxess’s specifications for petro-based BDO allowing a direct feed of 100% biobased BDO into the continuous production process.

The properties and the quality of the resulting biobased PBT are fully equivalent to conventional petro-based PBT with regard to all tested parameters. The world-scale PBT plant, with a capacity of 80,000 tonnes/year, is located in Hamm-Uentrop, Germany, and operated as a joint venture in which Lanxess has a share of 50%.

Genomatica’s BDO process technology converts sugars – a renewable feedstock – into the major chemical BDO in a patented, ’direct’ fermentation process.

Lanxess says it is a step forward in its future plans to offer its high-tech plastic Pocan PBT in a biobased version, too. Due to its unchanged properties Pocan compounds based on biobased PBT can directly be used in established application fields such as automotive or electro & electronics area.