Pioneering bio-based materials from
PLT Innovations AG

Opportunities and challenges 

Lignin accounts for 30 percent of all non-fossil organic carbon on earth. Lignin can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to many petroleum-derived substances such as fuels, resins, rubber additives, thermoplastic compounds, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceuticals. It is also known to be the only renewable source for industrial aroma production. Today, two major trends are driving the move away from fossil materials. One is the need to reduce carbon emissions, the other is consumer demand to reduce plastics and use more biodegradable material.

Out of the twelve most important industrial petrochemicals, seven are aliphatic and five are aromatic. While there are many sustainable routes to aliphatic chemicals, only lignins offer a pathway to substitution of the aromatic petrochemicals. Tanovis’s focus on biopolymers (complex polyphenolic polymers) position us uniquely to play a central role as industry continues to evolve towards sustainable feedstocks.

---