Novamont (Novara / Italy; www.novamont.com) has officially opened its Mater-Biopolymer plant in Patrica / Italy to produce “Origo-Bi” biodegradable polyesters – see Plasteurope.com of 06.12.2017.

The plant, which was acquired from M&G (Tortona / Italy; www.gruppomg.com) in 2014, has been converted to produce 100,000 t/y of the sustainable polyesters They are based on renewable feedstocks such as bio-butanediol, azelaic acid and bio-based monomers.

The company has also developed a process that purifies the plant’s wastewater to obtain tetrahydrofuran (THF), a chemical intermediate that can be used as a solvent and in the pharmaceutical industry. Novamont said its process of producing THF from renewable sources is the first ever in the world.

In addition, the reconfiguration of the plant and THF recovery has generated environmental advantages, including cutting CO₂ emissions and reducing transport. According to Novamont’s figures, 246,000 t of CO₂ equivalent emissions per year have been avoided, as have nearly 1.3m km of transport compared with hauling THF-containing wastes, which were disposed off-site.