Renewable chemicals producer AVA Biochem (Muttenz / Switzerland; www.ava-biochem.com/) has begun commercial-scale production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) from biomass. The platform chemical is used in a range of plastics applications, including adhesives used as plasticisers or infusible and insoluble fibres or thermoplastics, the company said.

According to the American Society for Microbiology (www.asm.org) journal, “Applied and environmental microbiology”, the chemical can be oxidised to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), which is used as a substitute for petroleum-based terephthalate in plastics production.

A subsidiary of AVA-CO2 (Schaffhausen / Switzerland; www.ava-co2.com), AVA Biochem’s process is based on a modified version of the hydrothermal carbonisation process which yields the product at up to 99.9% purity. The company said that in 2010, 5-HMF was identified as one of the top 10 most valuable platform chemicals by the US Department of Energy. It is being extensively used in the research and development of new materials and products including polymers, resins and adhesives.