FUTURE PATHWAYS FOR THE UTILIZATION OF 2,5-FURANDICARBOXYLIC ACID IN PACKAGING APPLICATIONS

Abstract: Plastics make up an integral part of everyday life, with the packaging market representing by far the largest end-use sector. Yet, these materials have been under environmental scrutiny for some time, with the fossil origin of plastics, biodegradability, single-use applications and plastic pollution being major areas of criticism. For these reasons, more sustainable solutions are being investigated. To address the issue of fossil resources, biomass-derived 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is seen as having potential for the packaging market as it is the precursor of poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF), which in turn is considered a suitable substitute for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET). FDCA as the precursor of a potentially more sustainable alternative to PET is emphasized, especially by industry experts, who even refer to it as a “sleeping giant”. Nevertheless, FDCA-based products have not yet made it to the market on a commercial scale, and efforts in this area currently don’t go much beyond R&D activities. Thus, this study attempts to determine how this potential attributed to FDCA might be unfolded in the future, and what challenges and opportunities might be expected along the way. For this purpose, 42 experts from different areas along the potential value chain of FDCA/PEF participated in a backcasting workshop and were surveyed about their future visions regarding the utilization of this molecule. The results show that academics and practitioners see great potential for FDCA-based products in the future, particularly as a replacement for PET. Economic aspects, such as costs, but also challenges in production and technology development are mentioned as the main barriers to FDCA market introduction. Interestingly, experts from FDCA synthesis and material development mainly refer to market applications for FDCA in their vision of the future. In turn, the future vision of FDCA application experts mainly covers developments in the areas of production, technology, and research, as well as increased environmental sustainability. To overcome these barriers, political regulations and the roles of society and consumers are considered to be the most important factors. These results demonstrate the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration among stakeholders and coordinated innovation and research activities along the entire value chain to develop a shared vision for the future of FDCA and, accordingly, to successfully bring FDCA-based products to the market. Subsequent research activities could contribute to more sustainable packaging solutions in the future by performing, for example, technology roadmapping techniques and sustainability assessments of FDCA product candidates