ABSTRACT
Invited for this issue's cover is the group of Dr. Adina Anghelescu-Hakala at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. The image shows that high-molecular-weight poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF) polymer can be produced from furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) or its esters as bio-based alternative to replace fossil-based poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). The Research Article itself is available at 10.1002/cssc.202301551.
ABSTRACT
Orange peel and sugar beet pulp contain large quantities of pectin, which can be turned via galactaric acid into furan dicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and its esters. In this work, we show the polymerisation of these FDCA esters into high-molecular-weight, 70-100â kg/mol, poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF). PEF is an emerging bio-based alternative for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), widely used in for example packaging applications. Closing the loop, we also demonstrated and confirmed that PEF can be hydrolysed by enzymes, which are known to hydrolyse PET, back into FDCA for convenient recycling and recovery of monomers.
