Covestro has launched Bio4PURConti (Bio-Based Continuous Production for Sustainable Polyurethane Industry), acting as project coordinator of the pioneering EU-funded initiative. The project aims to develop the world's first continuous production process for bio-based aniline. Aniline is a key raw material for the plastics and chemical industry, notably for MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), a core building block for polyurethanes.

Fossil-based aniline production generates approximately 20 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually worldwide. To specifically reduce the carbon footprint of aniline production, Covestro uses a tailored microorganism in its bio-based process that converts industrial sugars from plant-based biomass into an intermediate product through fermentation. In a second step, chemical catalysis converts this intermediate into aniline with 100% plant-based carbon.

Continuous Fermentation Process: A Technological Breakthrough
Bio4PURConti aims to take this a step further: instead of the fed-batch method used so far, in which raw materials are added and product harvested in stages, the project targets a continuous fermentation technology for the first time. By using plant-based sugars, e.g. from hardwood biomass, it offers a renewable feedstock pathway. The resulting bio-based aniline is fully drop-in compatible with existing polyurethane value chains, meeting MDI specifications without requiring changes to downstream processes, making it a powerful lever for defossilization well beyond the chemical industry itself. The project scales from lab to 1.5 m³ semi-industrial demonstration at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (Ghent) and Covestro (Leverkusen), integrating cell recycling, real-time analytics and downstream processing. Key objectives include higher space-time yields and significant improvement in product carbon footprint.

"Bio4PURConti is a landmark project – not just for Covestro or the aniline market, but for the entire field of industrial biotechnology," says Dr. Markus Dugal, Head of Process Technology at Covestro. "Demonstrating continuous fermentation at semi-industrial scale for a high-volume raw material like aniline will set a new benchmark for what biotech processes can achieve in the chemical industry. Biology and engineering, when combined at scale, can fundamentally reshape how we produce the materials the world depends on."

A Consortium Driving European Biotech Leadership
The 10-partner consortium, spanning 7 countries, brings together leading industrial and academic organisations: Covestro Deutschland AG (Germany), Fibenol Imavere OÜ (Estonia), University of Stuttgart (Germany), Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant VZW (Belgium), Center for Advisory Systems in Technology, Dortmund e.V. – ZEDO (Germany), Norwegian University of Science and Technology – NTNU (Norway), Axel'One (France), VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (Finland), Cluster Industrial Biotechnology – CLIB (Germany), and Asociación Española de la Innovación en el Marketing y la Inversión Sostenible – AEIMIS (Spain).

The project has a total budget of €8.4 million, with €7 million in EU funding, and runs for 42 months. Together, the consortium aims to significantly reduce the Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) of aniline in the future. As one of the world's leading aniline producers with a production capacity of over one million tonnes per year, Covestro is uniquely positioned to drive this transformation towards a more sustainable aniline production.

 

Source: covestro.com

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