Furandicarboxylic Acid: A Sustainable Alternative

Furandicarboxylic acid or FCDA is an eco-friendly alternative to terephthalate when creating polyesters such as PET, a common ingredient in producing certain bottles. The acid can help with the synthesis of bio-based polyesters and metal-organic frameworks.

FCDA is mostly known for being a renewable material that can improve barrier properties and enhance mechanical strength. For example, it can be used for making plastics, textiles, electronics, and automotive parts. It is an excellent substitute to PET because of its sustainability, with the end product labeled as PEF.

PEF has a water barrier with double the performance of PET. Its oxygen barrier is 10x better and its carbon dioxide barrier is 6-10x greater. Its thermal properties are also more attractive. It has a glass transition temperature of 86 degrees Celsius compared to PET’s 74 degrees. Meanwhile, its melt temperature is 235 degrees compared to PET’s 265 degrees.