Feature

Contributing to the Development of Prototype PET Bottles
Made from 100% Plant-Derived Raw Materials

Toyobo group is actively promoting the switch to biomass
raw materials and the utilization of recycled raw materials,
with its goal to increase the ratio of green film products1 to60% by 2030. We have used our core technologies todevelop a variety of eco-conscious products.
In December 2021, Suntory Group and Anellotech,
Inc. jointly developed a prototype PET bottle made from
100% plant-derived raw materials (100% bio-based PETbottles) using one of our core technologies,polymerization.2 Generally, PET resin is produced by thepolymerization of terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol,
which are both derived from fossil fuel resources.
Anellotech’s technology enabled to produce terephthalicacid efficiently from plant-derived raw materials. The
group’s success in polymerizing 100% bio-based PET resin
from bio-based terephthalic acid and bio-based ethylene
glycol contributed significantly to the development of 100%
bio-based PET bottles.
1 Promotion of the use of biomass and recycled raw materials, and volume reduction
2 Chemical reactions to produce desired polymersalways watching for any abnormalities in each and every process. As a result, we were able
to obtain the same quality. It was a true relief when all of the polymerization was completed.
I believe that the skills I cultivated since joining the company and the abundant
PET-related data and expertise that was accumulated over many experiences were key tothis success. In working on polymerization, I learned many things from my managers andthose in my department. I believe that it was this warm support that enabled us to succeed
even while being pressured not to fail.
I would like to continue engaging in various projects to further increase confidence in
Toyobo’s technological capabilities, and contribute to the development of products that
positively contribute to society.

Team members of 100% bio-based
PET resin project

Manufacturing Flow of 100% Bio-Based PET Bottles

Creating an organization that can pass on skills

Utilizing our coreadvanced polymerization
technology

Bio-based terephthalic acid100% Bio-based
PET (polyethyleneterephthalate)

Bio-based ethylene glycol

100% Bio-based
PET bottles

Fostering a culture of nurturing young engineers throughoutFunctional Materials Production and Technology Operating Department

Both traditionallyderived from fossil
fuels resources

Polymerization

Pellets

Polymerization of 100% bio-based PET resin

Key to success is a thorough preliminary examination leveraging cultivatedknowledge and technical capabilities

Yuichiro Matsuura
Polymers Development Center,
Tsuruga Research andProduction Center

Creating bio-based terephthalic acid has been considered difficult. While it was successfully
generated using Anellotech’s technology, it resulted in only a few dozen kilograms as apolymerization sample, which was much smaller quantity than anticipated. When
implementing polymerization, we normally expect some failures, but with such a small amount,
not even a single failure is acceptable. For this reason, after thoroughly analyzing andpreparing the raw materials and equipment, respectively, the team determined thepolymerization conditions after numerous discussions. The actual polymerization was repeatedmore than a dozen times in small quantities in order to disperse the risk and produce as much
100% bio-based PET resin as possible. However, the increased frequency requires anawareness of variations in quality. Each operation to adjust the temperature or pressure wasperformed carefully step by step to avoid such variations, and then fine-tuned according todifferences among lots of raw materials and in the daily temperature and humidity. I remember

Gaku Maruyama
General Manager of Tsuruga
Polymers Plant
and Manager of Polymers
Development Center,Tsuruga Research andProduction Center

I am very happy to have contributed to the development of a 100% bio-based PET bottles
prototype with Toyobo’s technology, and I am proud of the members who accomplished this.
Toyobo’s facilities enable consistent technological development, from basic studies likethose in university laboratories to condition studies for commercial production in plants. Ourstrength lies in our extensive facilities and wealth of data and know-how based on many yearsof experience. We have earned the confidence of customers in our polymerization technology,
and they often entrust us with various polymerizations.
In such a privileged environment, our department actively assigns large projects to young
engineers in the second and third year of their careers in order to encourage them to grow as
professionals. We know that there is a lot of pressure and anxiety associated with “can’t-fail”
projects such as these, and we do our best to support them.
Throughout the projects, engineers deal with advanced technology in addition to thepolymerization work itself. As a result, I feel that the young engineers have learned andadapted the technologies that were inherited from predecessors at Toyobo.
I feel rewarded when I hear feedback such as, “I am glad I had this experience eventhough I made some mistakes,” or when I see young participants in this project using theirknowledge to help engineers who are less experienced.
The Functional Materials Production and Technology Operating Department as a whole
has this kind of “culture of nurturing young engineers.” I would like to continue to develop
human resources and contribute to the company’s growth by giving younger engineers work
they are responsible for, and providing them with the support to do so.