Newest Articles
ChExpress-December 15, 2008
Electrical Process Tomography
ChExpress-November 12, 2008
ChExpress-October 28, 2008
ChExpress-October 14, 2008
ChExpress-September 30, 2008
ChExpress-September 16, 2008
ChExpress-September 2, 2008
Biodiesel: The Road Ahead
Methanol Plant Capacity Enhancement
Plate and Frame Heat Exchangers: Preliminary Design
Compressor Surging Under Control
Using RPM to Manage Maintenance
Plant and Equipment Wellness, Part 1: Observing Variability



banner2.gif (6526 bytes)

Biodegradable Polymers     

     Biodegradable polymers, or biopolymers, are plastic materials produced from natural substances rather than petroleum-based feedstocks.  While many biopolymers are in development, one in particular has shown a very bright future.  Polylactic acid (PLA) resin can be used for many of the applications currently utilizing polyethylene resins.

     PLA is based on lactic acid which uses dextrose from corn or sugar beets as a feedstock. The flexibility of PLA has attracted big companies such as Chronopol which currently operates a 2 million lb/year PLA facility in Colorado and has plans for 100 million lb/year in the future. Other companies have also entered into the PLA hunt, but Chronopol has developed a new technology that should reduce the costs of PLA from $4.00-$6.00/lb to $1.50-$2.00/lb.  But, even with this serious reduction, how can PLA hope to compete with polyethylene which sells for $0.40-$0.50/lb?  It's difficult to predict the future, but PLA has shown promise and now we'll see why.

     Polyethylene is produced from petroleum-based material which are of course finite in supply.  As petroleum reserves decrease in abundance, polyethylene costs will increase accordingly.  Continued funding and research will surely force PLA costs even lower. Government regulations may also force disposal and recycling costs for polyethylene up from the current $0.30/lb.  Also, a larger PLA market derived from its "green" label may help reduce its costs.  So, it would appear that as long as PLA can adjust well to the current polyethylene applications, the future should be bright.  The costs of polyethylene will rise and the costs of PLA will decrease, it's just a matter of time right?  Don't assume that people aren't doing research somewhere trying to figure out how to produce polyethylene without the petroleum dependency.  That would really make things interesting!

ChE Plus Subscriber - Click Here for a Printable Version

Send this Page to a Friend

Fill out your email address to
receive notification of site updates
and instantly receive five technical
questions and answers
!
Email Address:
First Name:
Last Name:

State:

Country:

Industry:

Position:

Signup Remove