Total and Corbion invest in PLA

The Chronicle of an avalanche of polyethylene, to be triggered by the U.S. surplus on the world market from 2018, seems to have resonated even in thermoplastic resins '' perch from renewable sources. This finding shows through the announcement of the joint venture by the French oil company Total SA and the Dutch Corbion NV, settled in specialty chemicals, to produce and sell resins of polylactic acid (PLA), the most notorious of the biodegradable plastic planet and, until today, a high-priced material in niche applications, by virtue of an economy of scale many leagues behind petrochemical capacities. Without opening the amount at stake, the project includes the company trumpeted in equal parts around a 75,000 t/a unit in the complex where the Thai Corbion already bnominal capacity formula of 25,000 t/a of the PLA monomer, active in the process of being added to the joint venture. The news of partnership Total coma referred days after the start of construction, in the town of Gorinchem, a polierização plant of PLA, four hands of Corbion investment with the Government of Thailand and process technology licensed by Switzerland Sulzer Chemtch Ltd. under the agreement formalized, Corbion will provide lactic acid for the two joint ventures in focus from the first quarter of 2017.