Page 20 - Plastics News December2018

COMPANY NEWS

Total Corbion PLA starts up bioplastics plant in Thailand

otal Corbion PLA, a 50/50 joint venture between to Europe and the Americas” says Stephane Dion, CEO
TTotal and Corbion, has announced the start-up of its of the company. “The subsequent increase in global PLA
75,000 tonnes per year PLA (Poly Lactic Acid) bioplastics capacity will enable manufacturers and brand owners to
plant in Rayong, Thailand. The plant has successfully move into the circular economy and produce biobased
produced Luminy® PLA resins. This bioplastic provides products with lower carbon footprints and multiple end
a valuable contribution towards the circular economy of life options." "I’m very pleased that the joint venture
being 100% renewable and biodegradable and offering has started-up the second-largest PLA bioplastics plant
multiple environmentally-friendly waste solutions.The in the world. This achievement is fully in line with our
new facility will produce a broad range of Luminy®PLA strategy, to expand in petrochemicals and, at the same
resins from renewable, non-GMO sugarcane sourced locally time, innovate in low-carbon solutions.
in Thailand: from standard PLA to innovative, high heat
PLA and PDLA1 with unique properties. The products Versalis, RadiciGroup and
will meet customers’ needs in a wide range of markets
notably packaging, consumer goods, 3D printing, fibers and Safitex team up to recycle
automotive and are specifically optimized for extrusion, synthetic grass for sports fields
thermoforming, injection molding and fiber spinning
processes. At the end of their useful life, PLA products
can be mechanically or chemically recycled, or in some ersalis (Eni), RadiciGroup and Safitex have joined
cases composted and returned to the soil as fertilizer. Vforces to make synthetic grass for sports fields
recyclable in line with the principles of the circular
economy. The project was presented today at Ecomondo
and is the result of collaboration between Versalis, which
supplies the raw material (polyethylene), RadiciGroup,
a manufacturer of fibres for sport applications, and
Safitex, a manufacturer of synthetic grass turfThe
project involves an all-Italian supply chain and is
aimed at reinforcing the circularity of this application
in order to reduce its end-of-life impact. Currently,
synthetic grass turf is disposed of through landfill
or incineration, which
Total Corbion PLA will leverage on the integration with its produces greenhouse
lactide plant, the monomer required for the production of gas emissions. Synthetic
PLA, that has simultaneously been expanded to 100,000 grass turf can now be
tonnes per year production capacity. Furthermore, the recycled like other
1,000 tonnes per year PLA pilot plant, which has been plastics:it is collected,
operational since the end of 2017, is located on the same shredded and processed
site and will be used for product development. for other applications in
the sports sector (shin
The start-up marks a major milestone for both the joint guards, elbow pads and
venture and the bioplastics market. With this additional bibs) or for furnishings
75,000 tonnes per year facility, the global production of (vases, accessories and garden equipment). In order to
PLA bioplastics will increase by almost 50% to 240,000 assess the project’s environmental performance, the
tonnes per year. PLA is a fast-growing polymer market three companies carried out a Life Cycle Assessment
with an estimated annual growth rate of 10% to 15%. "The (LCA), each for its own product, quantifying the
start-up of this state-of-the-art plant establishes Total environmental impact with scientific data and
Corbion PLA as a world-scale PLA bioplastic producer, calculation rules valid in all European countries in a
ideally located to serve growing markets from Asia Pacific reliable and transparent manner.

Plastics News December 2018 20