A New Generation of Polymers
Placn.com.cn
Imagine a polymer used to make everything from packaging and consumer goods to fibers for apparel and furnishings, derived from renewable resources instead of oil. Polymer that offers more disposal options and is more environmentally friendly to manufacture than traditional petroleum based plastics. Derived from 100% annually renewable resources such as corn, our product, NatureWorks® polymer, is the world’s first polymer showing a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Click here to learn more about our product and its applications.
From Corn to Plastic
We start with an abundant, natural resource like field corn, which can easily and efficiently be reproduced each year. When plants grow, they use CO2 and sunlight to create carbon – a process called photosynthesis. At a wet milling facility, the starch is separated from the other components of the corn kernel and into dextrose. The dextrose, or sugar, is fermented, in a process similar to making yogurt, to create lactic acid. Lactic acid is a naturally occurring material that gives the “tang” to yogurt and makes your muscles ache after a work-out. From lactic acid we create a molecule called lactide. We remove water, crystallize it and create the high-performance polymer – polylactide (PLA).
