NEWS


Lummus makes PHA


investment Lummus has taken the position of lead investor in RWDC Industries’ convert- ible bond round, strength- ening the partnership between the two compa- nies in a project to produce polyhydroxyal- kanoate (PHA). The engineering phase


of RWDC’s commercial- scale PHA facility is nearly complete, with detailed engineering and precon- struction activities set to be finalised in the coming months. The new investment should enable completion of these final stages, with ground-breaking of the facility expected in early 2025. “Lummus’ investment in RWDC is a testament to our commitment to commercialising PHA and advancing the circular economy of the polymer industry,” said Leon de Bruyn, CEO of Lummus. � www.lummustechnology.com � www.rwdc-industries.com


ADS and LG will not build PLA plants in US


ADM and LG Chem have cancelled plans to produce biodegradable plastics at two plants in the US. In August 2022, the


companies formed two joint venture companies that would produce lactic acid (150,000 tonnes/year) and PLA (75,000 tonnes/year). Two plants – scheduled to be built in Decatur, Illinois – will no longer be built. “Since we originally announced our joint ventures, construction costs have skyrocketed,” said Chris Cuddy, president of


ADM’s carbohydrate solutions business. “We looked at a variety of options but was clear that these projects no longer represented a prudent use of our investors’ capital.” The two joint ventures are


GreenWise Lactic, of which ADM is a majority owner, and LG Chem Illinois Biochem, majority-owned by LG Chem. The cancellation comes


at a time when other PLA projects are moving closer to fruition: NatureWorks recently won US$350 million


in funding from Krungthai Bank of Thailand to build a 75,000 tonnes/year PLA plant there; and Chini of India is investing around US$225m to build a similar-sized plant, due to open in 2027. However, last year


TotalEnergies Corbion also cancelled plans to build a PLA plant in France – which would have been the first PLA plant in Europe. n For more on bioplastics, see our feature on p13. � www.adm.com � www.lgchem.com


Bringing green plastics to Japan


Neste and Mitsubishi Corporation have agreed a partnership to develop supply chains for renewable chemicals and plastics in Japan. They are targeting brands in industries such as food and beverage, apparel and consumer electronics. Neste will contribute its renewable Neste RE


bio-based raw material for plastics production, while MC will provide its experi- ence in petrochemical products and derivatives in the region. Together, they plan to help Japanese brands reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reliance on fossil resources. The companies have


Pilot line prevents landfilling


Ineos has commissioned a pilot line that it says will help to prevent more than 1 million tonnes/year of plastic film going to landfill. The multi-layer blown film line, with machine direction orientation (MDO) has been installed at the company’s R&D centre in Brussels, Belgium. It allows customers to carry out full-scale tests without losing production capacity on their own lines. The first collabora- tion projects are already taking place.


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“Flexible packaging films play a valuable role in society, but we recognise people’s concerns about plastic waste,” said Rob Ingram, CEO of Ineos Olefins & Polymers Europe. “Fully recyclable films are a big development and I’m excited about the possibilities created by our investment in this new MDO line.” The line has been supplied by


Hosokawa Alpine. � www.ineos.com


FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | July/August 2024 www.filmandsheet.com


already cooperated on several individual projects in the past, including one to enable production of renewable PET bottles for Suntory Holdings and another to produce apparel from bio-based materials for Goldwin. � www.neste.com � www.mitsubishicorp.com


IMAGE: INEOS


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