Green Chemicals Blog
PLA
Australian company sells compostable cling wrap online
I first saw this article from an Australian website, Broadstreet.com, about a small company called Great Wrap which is selling online a compostable cling wrap that is reportedly certified by DIN Certco in Germany. The cling wraps sell for AUS$8 for a 30-metre roll (I wonder if they ship to the US market…). The company … Continue reading
NatureWorks, Nonwovens Institute Support N95 Masks Production for Healthcare Workers
A long-standing partnership between NatureWorks and the Nonwovens Institute (NWI) at North Carolina State University (NC State) has resulted in a new spunbond nonwoven technology enabling the production of at least 10 million additional N95 surgical masks. NWI has converted the use of its research and training pilot production line to produce the face mask materials, and NatureWorks … Continue reading
Total Corbion celebrates PLA plant start-up
I have just been updating my share of polylactic acid (PLA) information in Nova Institute’s upcoming biopolymers study and it reminded me how the PLA industry has come a long way from being a novel, niche polymer. Of course, it also helps that there’s another major global player in the block aside from NatureWorks that … Continue reading
NatureWorks plans 100% sustainable feedstock by 2020
A new initiative at NatureWorks will ensure that by 2020, 100% of the agricultural feedstock for Ingeo™ biopolymers and Vercet™ performance chemicals will be certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification System (ISCC) to the ISCC PLUS standard of best practices in agricultural production. NatureWorks currently has more than 40% of its agricultural feedstock certified. At full capacity, … Continue reading
Corbion, Total in PLA JV
A good news for Corbion as France-based energy company, Total, decided to join forces and formed a 50/50 JV with Corbion to produce and market PLA polymers. The JV will now handle the construction of a 75 ktpa PLA polymerization plant at Corbion’s site in Thailand, which already has a lactide (PLA monomer) production unit, … Continue reading
Sustainable Sourcing of Feedstocks for Bioplastics
Bio-based chemicals and materials producer, Corbion, has released a white paper outlining the company’s position on feedstock selection, as well as covering issues such as land use, feedstock efficiency and food security. The paper was presented in September at the company’s PLA feedstock workshop reportedly attended by some 70 companies throughout the value chain. Corbion … Continue reading
Metabolix rejects Cellulac merger proposal
I can’t really write any long posts this week due to tight newsletter deadline but I just saw a confirmation from UK-based Cellulac that it has proposed a merger to Metabolix, which was then rejected. Last week, Metabolix announced that it is closing its biopolymers (PHA-based) business with a layoff of around 45 positions (50% … Continue reading
Protected: Cellulac looking to acquire Metabolix?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Study: Biodegradable/compostable plastics in Europe
nova-institute GmbH recently published a study on the consumption of biodegradable and compostable plastic products in Europe, which reportedly grew to 100,000 tons in 2015. Consumption is expected to grow beyond 300,000 tons in 2020 if the legal framework were to be set more favorably. This is based on an assumed annual growth rate of … Continue reading
NatureWorks’ $1 Million R&D Lab for methane-based lactic acid
NatureWorks has opened its new $1 million 8,300 square-foot laboratory at its Minnesota headquarter to commercialize a fermentation process for transforming methane into lactic acid, the building block of Ingeo™ biopolymer. NatureWorks is hiring six scientists to staff the new facility.The methane to lactic acid research project began in 2013 as a joint effort between NatureWorks and Calysta … Continue reading