MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 12/24 www.petpla.net 15 PEF: A bio-based alternative to PET with lower environmental impact by Gabriele Kosmehl PETplanet: At the nova-Institute you are part of the EU-funded PEFerence project. Could you briefly describe the project’s goals and your specific role within it? Dr Puente: The PEFerence project aims to establish a sustainable value chain for producing polyethene furanoate (PEF), a 100% bio-based and fully recyclable plastic developed by Avantium (NL). PEF offers a renewable carbon-based alternative to fossil-based plastics like PET in applications such as bottles, films and fibres. My role in the project is to assess the environmental advantages of PEF using the established ISO LCA methodology. PETplanet: You have assessed various products made from PEF, such as monolayer bottles and PET/ PEF multilayer bottles. Are bottle applications the primary focus for PEF? Dr Puente: PEF is indeed an excellent material for bottle applications. Its superior barrier properties — especially against oxygen and carbon dioxide — make it an ideal choice for monolayer and multilayer bottles, ensuring extended shelf life for beverages and reducing food waste. Additionally, its fully bio-based and recyclable nature aligns perfectly with the growing demand for sustainable packaging solutions. However, bottles are just one of the many applications where PEF can excel. Thanks to its remarkable mechanical strength and thermal stability, PEF can also replace traditional materials like ABS in certain application and is well-suited for films used in flexible packaging, which can replace conventional plastics in snack wrappers, pouches, and more. In textiles, PEF fibres can offer a biobased alternative to polyester, catering to industries aiming to reduce their dependence on fossil-based materials. PETplanet: How do the barrier properties of PEF compare to PET, and what other characteristics make it particularly suitable for bottle applications? Dr Puente: One of the standout features of PEF is its exceptional barrier performance. PEF offers up to 10 times better oxygen barrier and approximately 16-20 times better carbon dioxide barrier compared to PET. These properties significantly extend the shelf life of beverages, making it an ideal material for packaging sensitive products like carbonated drinks, juices, and even beer. This advantage also helps reduce food and beverage waste, aligning with global sustainability goals. Another advantage is that PEF can be processed in existing PET processing lines, therefore no additional investment is needed. PETplanet: When you compared the environmental impact of PEF to PET, what did the profiles reveal? What environmental impacts were most relevant, and how did they differ? Dr Puente: As an example, in monolayer bottles application, the LCA showed that the use of PEF would result in significant reductions (up to -73%) in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) over the bottles’ life cycle compare to those of PET (Fig. 1). PEF bottles would also contribute to remarkably less finite resource consumption of fossil fuels (-45%), largely due to the use of 100% renewable feedstocks and the good barrier and mechanical properties of PEF enabling light-weighting designs. These MATERIALS / RECYCLING At the PEF World Congress in Düsseldorf this October, Dr Ángel Puente, Senior Expert at the nova-Institut GmbH, presented on the topic “PEF – A circular bio-based plastic with improved properties and environmental performance.” As part of the EU-funded PEFerence project, Dr Puente is evaluating the environmental impact of polyethylene furanoate (PEF). PETplanet caught up with him to discuss how PEF compares to PET and examine its potential advantages.
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