Covestro Advances Bio-Based Aniline Technology with Launch of EU-Funded Initiative

Covestro has launched Bio4PURConti (Bio-Based Continuous Production for Sustainable Polyurethane Industry), acting as the project coordinator for this 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.

Bio4PURConti represents a major breakthrough in the production of bio-based aniline by moving away from the conventional fed-batch process—where inputs are introduced and outputs collected in stages—to a continuous fermentation system. This marks the first time such technology will be implemented on this scale. The process makes use of plant-derived sugars, including those obtained from hardwood biomass, offringe a more sustainable and renewable alternative feedstock.

Dr Markus Dugal, Head of Process Technology at Covestro, described Bio4PURConti as a landmark initiative whose impact extends beyond both Covestro and the aniline market to the wider industrial biotechnology sector. He highlighted that proving continuous fermentation at a semi-industrial scale for a high-volume raw material such as aniline would set a new standard for biotechnological processes within the chemical industry. According to Dr Dugal, integrating biology with engineering at scale has the potential to fundamentally transform the way essential materials are produced worldwide.

Source: Covestro