Technological watch

NatureWorks has announced a slate of manufacturing technology projects, including lactide monomer purification efficiency, that will increase the availability of the full Ingeo™? (PLA) biomaterials portfolio by 10 percent. Installation is currently underway at NatureWorks’ facility in Blair, Nebraska, one of the world’s first and largest commercial-scale manufacturing plants. The projects will be completed by the end of 2021.
Supporting Growth in Low-carbon Materials
The expanded availability will support growth in markets that demand sustainable, low-carbon materials and require the high-performance attributes that Ingeo™? is uniquely suited to deliver. These markets include 3D printing and nonwoven hygiene masks as well as compostable coffee capsules, teabags, and coated-paper food serviceware.
“The market continues to rapidly evolve due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the undiminished demand for to petrochemical-based plastics. For NatureWorks to satisfy this unprecedented demand, this purification technology is one of many additional capital improvements we are actively working on at our facility in Blair. At the same time, we continue to pursue a potential future second manufacturing site outside the U.S. to serve our growing international markets,” said Rich Altice, president & CEO of NatureWorks.
Ingeo™? polylactic acid is made in a multi-step process that begins with using annually renewable plants to turn greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide into long-chain sugar molecules. Dextrose, derived from the plant sugar molecules, is fermented into lactic acid that then undergoes a proprietary two-step process to transform it into lactide, the monomer for Ingeo™? polylactic acid polymer.
Renewable Feedstock to Get Certified
The additional annually renewable feedstock sourced to supply the new manufacturing projects will become certified by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification System (ISCC) to the ISCC PLUS standard of best practices in agricultural production by 2025.
As part of NatureWorks’ participation in the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and commitment to sustainable agriculture, they announced a new initiative in 2019 to ensure that by 2020, 100 percent of the agricultural feedstock used for Ingeo™? made at their Blair, Nebraska production site will be certified as environmentally and socially sustainable by the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification System (ISCC).
By 2025, NatureWorks also committed that 100 percent of new feedstocks for additional manufacturing capacity will be certified as sustainably and responsibly managed via an independent third-party administered program.