Nov 8 2007
Cereplast, Inc., manufacturer of proprietary bio-based sustainable plastics, announced the launch of a new high temperature resistant thermoforming resin, CP-TH-6000, in its Compostables family. Cereplast now offers 15 different grades of resins in the Compostables for different converting applications. CP-TH-6000 is being marketed at price lower to conventional styrenic thermoformed resin and is commercially available as of November 1st. At a time of increasing demand for bioplastics Cereplast believes that this new resin illustrates its technological advance in the sector.
“The new resin is a breakthrough for the Cereplast Compostables and is the result of a successful research and development project which demonstrates Cereplast's ability to answer specific requests from its customers’ converters and from the plastic industry,” said Frederic Scheer, chairman and CEO of Cereplast. Although biodegradable and compostable resins have generated a lot of interest in the past few years it is clear that one of the limitations was the temperature resistance that at best reached 140F. CP-TH-6000 has a high temperature limit of up to 155F which clearly set it apart from its competitors.
Based on Poly Lactic Acid (“PLA”) from NatureWorks, CP-TH-6000 is a resin that was engineered over several months by Cereplast's R&D team. Standalone PLA has a heat resistance of about 105F, while the new engineered resin from Cereplast incorporates nano-technology and proprietary patented process that allows it to reach up to 155F. “This is an outstanding achievement for our R&D team,” said William Kelly, senior vice president of technology. “Not only is CP-TH-6000 heat resistant up to 155F, it is also fully compostable, meeting ASTM 6400.”
At a time of an increasing demand for bioplastics, fueled in part by rising oil prices, a key ingredient in the manufacturing of traditional plastic resins, Cereplast believes that this new resin will assist in accelerating adoption.
Earlier last month Cereplast also launched Biopropylene, as part of a new family of resins, the Cereplast Hybrids. Biopropylene has heat resistant properties up to 250F.