BASF has made biobased Polytetrahydrofuran 1000 (PolyTHF 1000) available for the first time. The company is now providing this intermediate to selected partners for testing various applications in a large scale. “The bio-based PolyTHF 1000 is identical in quality to the petrochemical-based product,” said Andrej Brejc, director renewable diols from BASF’s Intermediates division, adding, “The opportunity to expand the range of products and applications made from renewable raw materials allows us and our partners to further explore the long-term market acceptance of this innovative technology.” PolyTHF is derived from 1,4 butanediol (BDO), which BASF has produced under license from Genomatica.

BASF is the world’s leading provider of PolyTHF. It is primarily used to make elastic spandex fibers for a large variety of textiles, including underwear, outerwear, sportswear and swimsuits. PolyTHF 1000 is mainly applied as a chemical building block for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), which is used to make for example parts of ski boots and skates, shoe soles and instrument panel skin for automotive applications as well as hoses, films and cable sheathing. It is also used as a component of thermoplastic polyetheresters and polyetheramides. Other applications include cast elastomers, which are used, for example, for the production of wheels for skateboards and inline skates.