Comparative Analyses of Poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) − PEF − and Poly(ethylene terephthalate) − PET − Resins and Production Processes

Abstract

The increasing interest in environment friendly products and processes has encouraged studies on the production of polymers from renewable sources. In this context, poly(ethylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) − PEF − is regarded as a potential alternative for poly(ethylene terephthalate) − PET − resins. However, despite the increasing number of studies on PEF synthesis and characterization, there is still room for comparisons between processes used to produce PEF and PET and between some characteristics of the produced resins. For this reason, in the present work PEF was produced through direct esterification and through transesterification, whilst PET was synthesized through transesterification, to allow comparative analyses of the respective process performances. Results indicate that PEF can be produced at milder and simpler operation conditions, although PEF processing is much more difficult, since PEF is less stable to heat, melts at lower temperatures, is more crystalline and is much more rigid than PET, indicating that appropriate modification of PEF resins is needed for the effective replacement of PET in real industrial applications.

Sustainable Plastics from Biomass: Blends of Polyesters Based on 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid

“…High molecular weight poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF), poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF), poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) and poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethlene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) were synthesized by applying melt polycondensation following the general procedure shown in Scheme 1 and described in detail in our previous studies [16,19,32,60]. Solid-state polycondensation (SSP) was subsequently applied to produce polymers of high molecular weight at 220 • C and 170 • C for PEF and PPF, respectively, Polymers 2020, 12, 225 3 of 21 for 8 h. PET, PPT, PBT and PBN were also prepared, as described in our previous studies, by melt polycondensation procedure [39,40]. PLA with average molecular weight Mn = 20,000 Da and polydispersity index about 1.…”

“…For PBF, the T g is 38 • C, which is not very high [38]. Furthermore, the relatively reduced thermal stability at elevated temperatures and possible coloration during processing are also problems to face [39,40].PEF is considered the biobased alternative to fossil-based PET. However, recent progress has enabled the production of ethylene glycol and bio-terephthalic acid, so that biobased PET is also available now [41].…”

“…For PBF, the T g is 38 • C, which is not very high [38]. Furthermore, the relatively reduced thermal stability at elevated temperatures and possible coloration during processing are also problems to face [39,40].…”

Modeling and Parameter Estimation of Step‐Growth Polymerization of Ethylene Glycol and 2,5‐Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA) Using the Method of Moments

“…The proposed model adopted the following assumptions: (i) only direct reactions occur (byproducts can be removed efficiently) and are characterized by a single kinetic constant, k e ; (ii) cyclic structures are not formed; (iii) rate constants are proportional to the number of functional groups of the reacting species. Based on the proposed mechanism, balance equations during esterification reaction for the non-distributed species (A, B and W) can be written in the form of Equations (10) to (12) and poly-mer species (C i , D i and E i ) in the form of Equations (13) to (16).…”

“…The synthesis and characterization of poly(ethylene 2,5furandicarboxylate) (PEF) have constituted the main focus of many published studies. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] The main reasons for the interest in this polyester are related to the structural similarity to poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), to the excellent gas barrier properties of PEF films and the possible use of renewable raw materials for its manufacture. [14][15][16] Such characteristics make…”