MOSCOW (MRC) -- Sulzer is delivering customized production technology to NatureWorks’ latest biopolymer manufacturing facility, which will be located in Nakhon Sawan Biocomplex, Thailand, according to Hydrocarbonprocessing.
Developed to support the increasing global demand for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics, the fully integrated plant will utilize Sulzer Chemtech’s advanced lactide purification and polymer production technology to produce 75,000 tpy of Ingeo PLA annually, which is used in applications like compostable food packaging.
Selected to design and supply lactide purification, polymerization and devolatilization units at NatureWorks’ newest facility, Sulzer Chemtech will provide technology, engineering services and key equipment to design and supply fully customized production solutions meeting NatureWorks’ specific requirements.
As part of the Company’s global manufacturing expansion plan, the new facility will increase NatureWorks’ overall production capacity of lactic acid, lactides and advanced Ingeo PLA biopolymers. Made from renewable resources, these biomaterials have a lower carbon footprint than average petroleum-based plastics and support a wide range of applications, including compostable food packaging and serviceware, fibers, filaments for 3D printing, hygiene masks and household appliances.
As MRC reported earlier, Sulzer Chemtech has recently finalized an agreement with Encina Development Group, LLC to provide technology to recover high purity circular aromatics from cracked oil products derived from Encina’s mixed-plastics-to-aromatics catalytic conversion platform. Encina’s 1000 tpd waste plastics recycling facility will be located in Northeast US, and is expected to be operational in 2024.
We remind that India’s national objective of achieving self-sufficiency in energy and reducing its fossil fuel footprint is being supported by Sulzer’s expertise in pump manufacturing and refinery processes. The country’s first bio-refinery, Assam Bio Refinery Pvt Ltd., built by Chempolis' technology, is a ground-breaking JV that will be the only refinery in the world to create bioethanol from bamboo - available in abundance in north-eastern India. To help realize this pioneering endeavor, Sulzer is delivering a range of engineered application pumps as well as core technology such as column internals for the refining process.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,265,290 tonnes in the first eleven months of 2021, up by 14% year on year. Shipments of all grades of ethylene polymers increased. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 1,363,850 tonnes in January-November, 2021, up by 25% year on year. Supply of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas supply of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
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