30 July 2013
Details
Evonik Industries
began operating a pilot plant for
w-amino lauric acid (ALS)
in Slovenska, Slovakia.
The pilot plant is the result of intensive research and
advances the process development effort
to and industrial scale
The biobased w-amino lauric acid
is an alternative to
petroleum-based laurin lactam (LL).
ALS replaces the monomer LL
in the manufacturer of
sustainable high-performance plastics and
yields an identical compound polyamide 12 (PA12).
Development of the process was funded by
the Federal Ministry of Education and Research .
The biotechnological process relies on renewable resources
and is unique the world over.
Palm oil,
which Evonik has already been using as
a base for various other chemical products,
is the starting material.
Over the long run, the entirely new process has the potential
to complement the butadiene-based production of PA 12.
With a second conventional, petroleum-based polyamide 12 plant
in Singapore in the planning stage, Evonik is in a strong position
to be a global market and technology leader in
PA12 production technology.
EVONIK,
Gregor Hetzke,
head of Evonik's Performance Polymers Business Unit
- In the long term, this new, alternative raw material makes us
less dependent on limited fossil resources and
provides our back-integrated production
a second pillar to stand on.
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
