NatureWorks has made an important capital investment at its manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska to produce new grades of Ingeo biopolymers and lactide intermediates.
Ingeo biopolymer is made from plants and used in next-generation low-carbon-footprint plastics and fibers. The material is USDA certified for 100% biobased carbon content. The biopolymers are utilized in a wide range of sectors, including foodservice ware, semi-durable products, personal and health care, house wares, clothing, electronics and flexible and rigid packaging applications.
The investment will enhance NatureWorks’s processing capabilities and will enable the company to produce Ingeo products that are suitable for global fiber/nonwovens and injection molding markets. The Ingeo biopolymer-based fiber and nonwoven products will feature enhanced dimensional stability and decreased shrinkage rate.
Injection molding products made from the new Ingeo biopolymer will help in reducing molded part expenditure via higher production rates and quicker cycle times. The company will evaluate new application and market opportunities for the Ingeo grades in formed extrusion, injection stretch blow molding, film extrusion and thermoforming areas.
The commercial sales of biopolymers and lactide intermediates will start by 2013, but samples will be distributed in 2012. NatureWorks is the first company in the world to sell bioplastics on a production scale. The company will also add a range of specialty lactide products to its lactide intermediate portfolio. The specialty lactide products will be used in solvents, surfactants, elastomers, coatings, adhesives, resin additives or modifiers and polymers.