NatureWorks LLC, manufacturer of Ingeo™ PLA biopolymers from plants, have successfully installed and commissioned additional equipment allowing the facility to increase production from 70 metric tons to 140 metric tons (~ 300 million pounds) at its Blair, Nebraska, Ingeo manufacturing site. In late 2008, the plant inaugurated a new manufacturing supply process that further lowered CO2 emissions and reduced the energy required to produce Ingeo bioresin.
As a result, the production of Ingeo bioplastic emits less CO2 and consumes less energy from sourcing through manufacturing than the most commonly used petroleum-based plastics, including PET, PVC, polystyrene, polypropylene, low density polypropylene and polycarbonate, says the Company. The expansion of Company's greater capacity at the Blair processing facility is based on steadily increasing Ingeo demand, stemming from the rise in global oil prices, the trend to greater use of renewably resourced materials for consumer products, and from the support of customer projects. NatureWorks is also assessing locations for a second processing plant, which may be located in Asia near reliable sources of plant material, it said in a release.
09-Jul-09 
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