As I already mentioned in Bioplastics, there are two main types of renewable plastics:
- Identical chemistry to oil based plastics
- New chemistry
Today I’m going to tell you a bit what’s being done to renew old plastics thanks to natural resources.
Companies involved in the production of these plastics know very well the biggest advantage of their materials with respect to other bioplastics: direct substitution. Since their composition is the same as very common plastics, like PE or PU, they save users the need to adapt their processes. On the other hand, it only needs to be marketed as an improved product, of added value, in already existing markets. Great part of the job of bioplastics producers has being until recently to explain their products and find applications, more than selling sizeable amounts of it.
For this reason, big polyolefin producers have already moved to add renewable products to their portfolio. Dow, I have already explained its growth and diversification strategy with the buying of Rohm and Haas, is very active in this field, developing natural PE and polyols. A year ago Dow announced the creation of a joint venture with Crystalsev, a brasilian ethanol producer. Ethanol will be used to produce ethylene, which would otherwise be sourced from oil. Dow claimed that total capacity of the planned production plant will be 350 ktpa per year and it will be ready in 2011.
Also in Brazil, we find the Latin-American leader in thermoplastics sales, Braskem. Like Dow, Braskem announced in 2007 the construction of a plant to produce PE from ethanol coming from sugarcane. With a capacity of 200 ktpa per year, the plant should be ready in 2009.
Braskem begins this adventure on its own, without known partners to help in the agricultural market. On its favour, Braskem is working at home in Brazil and it not only produces plastics, but also their raw materials like ethylene. Dow‘s strategy of finding a Brazilian partner especialised in sugarcane is clever, as it gains not only local knowledge, but also know-how in a new area: agriculture.
I also wanted to discuss polyols, which are used to produce polyurethane, and the news in TPEs, but I ran out of time for today. This post has made me thought that if I really want to give you a feeling of how many traditional chemical companies are involved in renewable resources; I would have to do a long, long special.
photo credit: stevendamron
