Fire Propagation Behavior of Some Biobased Furanic Compounds with a Focus on the Polymer PEF

Avantium is in the process of building a flagship plant for the production of furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and the derived polyester polyethylene furanoate (PEF) using their YXY process. Because of the status of this development of monomer production, next to storage and shipping, polymer production, application development, and polymer recycling, the understanding of the safety aspects of the YXY process is key for a successful deployment of the technology. In this paper, the focus is on fire propagation-related issues for both monomeric furanic compounds and for the polymer PEF and results are compared with relevant reference materials. The current assessment addresses the fire initiation and propagation behavior of FDCA and PEF for the very first time. From the fire safety viewpoint, it can be concluded that of the furanics tested, FDCA has a better safety margin both in terms of a lower thermal and chemical threat, as fires resulting from FDCA are not easily shifting toward underventilated fire scenarios. The obtained results with the PEF polymer are useful in understanding the nature and behavior of PEF under real fire conditions. PEF seems slightly better in terms of the total energy released from the combustion process than the bulk polyester PET. In addition, PEF fires result in lesser CO and soot yields compared to PET, which is proof for a better completeness of combustion.