New reaction will make it easier to synthesize green plastics

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have found an economical way to synthesize furandicarboxylic acid, which is needed to make recyclable plastic. An article describing the study was published in Science Advances.

Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) is used to synthesize recyclable plastics as well as some polyesters and polyurethanes. In this regard, the US Department of Energy mentioned it among 12 compounds necessary for the development of the “green” chemical industry.

The authors of the work proposed a chain of chemical reactions that starts with fructose and gives a fairly high yield of FDCA for the industry. When cooled, the acid turns into small white crystals that can be easily separated from the solvent. The advantages also include the fact that the reaction does not require expensive inorganic acids and does not yield unnecessary salts.

“Until now, FDCA has been almost insoluble in virtually all solvents. You needed a lot of solvent to get a small amount of FDCA and this led to high costs and unwanted waste, “commented Ali Hussan Motagamwala, one of the authors of the work, a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Source: indicator.ru