Avantium PEF
Avantium PEF is a 100% plant-based, recyclable and degradable polymer with a wide range of applications such as packaging, textiles, film, and many more. PEF has a powerful combination of environmental features and superior functionality. It shows improved barrier properties for carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen, leading to a longer shelf life of packaged products. It also offers higher mechanical strength, which means that thinner PEF packaging can be produced and fewer resources are required. In combination with the plant-based feedstock, these added functionalities give PEF all the attributes required to become the next-generation polyester.
Product families
Applications
- Displays
- Textile Manufacturing
- Non-Food Consumer Packaging
- Other Packaging Materials
Product Families
- Biodegradable Polymers
- Polyesters & Copolyesters
Other characteristics
- Polymer Name
- Polyethylene Furanoate (PEF)
- Labeling Claims
Bio-based, Biodegradable, Plant-Based, Recyclable; Bio-based; Biodegradable; Plant-Based; Recyclable
- Markets
- Electrical & Electronics
- Industrial
- Printing & Packaging
- Features
Renewable: PEF is plant-based instead of fossil-based and has a 50-70% lower carbon footprint (source: Copernicus Institute at the University of Utrecht (Eerhart et al. 2012); Reduce: PEF is superior allowing light weighting by more than 20% in line with European legislation; Reuse: PEF in combination with PET allows PET bottles to be reused by up to 5x more; Recycle: PEF has a proven fit with existing sorting and recycling facilities and can substitute small and multi-layer packaging that cannot be recycled; Degradable:; When PEF unintentionally ends up in nature, tests show that:; Degradation tests show that PEF degrades much faster than PET under industrial composting conditions (250-400 days with air / oxygen @ 58°C in soil) (source: Accelerated study by OWS, Gent, Belgium (2019); Initial results from ongoing 10-year degradability field trial demonstrate that PEF degrades under ambient conditions (trial by Avantium and University of Amsterdam)
- Technology
- Plastics
- Material Features
- Biodegradable
- Carbon-Dioxide Barrier
- Excellent Mechanical Strength
- Gas Barrier
- Heat Resistance
- Oxygen Barrier
- Recyclable
- High-Value Applications
Multilayer bottles :- PEF as barrier layer providing performance and enabling recycling.; Single layer bottles :- Single layer PEF in small bottles for soft drinks, beer and juice, replacing glass bottles, aluminum cans and multilayer bottles, enabling closed-loop recycling.; Film :- PEF film in recyclable flexible packaging or as film used in electronics applications (e.g. displays).
- Barrier Properties
PEF's oxygen barrier is 10 times better than PET; PEF's CO2 barrier is 6 to 10 times better than PET; PEF's water barrier is twice as good as PET's
- Plastics and Elastomers End Uses
- Bottles
- Film
- Flexible Packaging
- More Attractive Thermal Properties
The Tg (glass transition temperature) of PEF is 86°C compared to the Tg of PET of 74°C. The Tm (melting point) of PEF is 235°C compared to the Tm of PET of 265°C
