nothing much is changing at all. The chemical industry is proving very capable of adapting by focusing much of its attention on developing these routes or forming strategic alliances with companies that have developed bio-based monomer technologies, he says. Examples of this trend include Dow and Mitsui,
which are moving ahead with joint venture plans to create a production platform in Brazil for bio-based plastics for the packaging, hygiene and medical markets. First phase in the programme is the establish- ment of a sugar cane to ethanol plant at Dow’s sugar cane growing operation at Santa Vitoria, which is scheduled to start up in 2013. In Italy, bioplastics company Novamont has joined a
Above: Toyota selected DuPont’s bio-based Sorona polyester for the air vent louvres on its latest Prius
These materials cannot currently be matched for performance by the new bioplastics, so it makes sense for the polymer industry to look for renewable replace- ments,” she says. “But one of the issues with ‘growing your own plastics’
Right: DuPont’s biobased Zytel RS PA12
engineering
resin is used in this injection moulded race car brace
is that the important chemicals may be one or two reactions away, for example cellulose takes several steps to break down to extract ethanol,” says Humphreys. Fortunately for the plastics producers following the bio-based agenda, around two thirds of all of today’s polymers are comprised totally or in part from olefins and these can be fairly easily produced from biologi- cal feedstocks, says Utrecht’s Patel. He points out that the new bio-based feedstocks fit easily into existing production chains, while expanding consumption means green investments will augment rather than replace existing capacity. “There is decades of experi-
ence on the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene, and the production of bio-based propylene and butadiene is nowadays also technically feasible,” Patel says. “Olefin demand also continues to grow, making it possible for bio-based versions to capture part of the addi- tional capacity,” he says. PolyOne’s Dartée also sees the relatively
straightforward integration of bio-based feedstocks into existing plastics production chains as a real benefit in the development of new bioplastics. “Economic routes to bio-based monomers increasingly are available and these streams feed directly into traditional polymerisation processes. So while up- stream the world is changing completely, downstream
48 COMPOUNDING WORLD | June 2012
joint venture operation with Eni Group’s Polimeri Europa that aims to set up a fully integrated vegetable oil to biochemicals operation at Porto Torres in Sardinia. The €500 million six-year investment project includes the closure of almost all the fossil fuel-based operations on the site and construction of seven new units capable of producing 350,000 tonnes of bio-based chemical products a year. French chemicals group Arkema, already a player in the bioplastics arena with its castor oil-based perform- ance Rilsan PA11, has underpinned its position in the bio-based polyamides sector with the acquisition of two Chinese companies – bio-based PA 10.10 producer Hipro Polymers and sebacic acid manufacturer Casda Biomaterials. Other significant moves include
Coca-Cola’s announcement earlier this year it is partnering with three plant- based chemical development groups – Virent, Gevo and Avantium – in efforts to convert its packaging to plant-based alternatives
(Injection World, Jan/Feb 2012, page 10). It is already using
bio-derived MEG in production of its PlantBottle PET – which has been used in
more than 10 billion bottles to date – but it now wants a bio-derived version of the PTA compo- nent (PTA comprises 70% of PET). Coca-Cola is without doubt one of the leaders in bio-based PET but even it is uncertain of how far
or fast conversion to 100% plant-based polymers may be. At a Petcore symposium last year, Coca-Cola Europe’s then director of sustainable packaging Cees van Dongen told delegates that the company hoped to see a limited amount of bio-based PTA on the market within 10 years. However, he added: “We don’t think the future is to take every inch of arable land and convert it to sugar cane.”