Chemical engineers discover process to make valuable chemical from biomass

Chemical engineering researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst report that they have discovered a new chemical process to make p-xylene, an important ingredient of common plastics, at 90% yield from lignocellulosic biomass, the highest yield achieved to date.
As the engineer explains, the chemical industry currently produces p-xylene from more expensive petroleum, while the new process will make the same chemical from lower-cost, renewable biomass. The engineers call the process “ultraselective” because of its ability to achieve 90% selectivity for the desired product. “The biomass-derived p-xylene can be mixed with petroleum-based plastics, and consumers will not be able to tell the difference. But manufacturers and chemical companies will be able to operate more sustainably and at lower cost in the future because of this discovery.
Xylene chemicals are used to produce a plastic called PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is currently used in many products including soda bottles and food packaging (News Release UMass Amherst, 28 May 2013).