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Article: Whipping up demand for lactic acid polymers.(Dow Chemical, Cargill, joint venture)
- Article from:
- Chemical Week
- Article date:
- January 28, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Access Intelligence, LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Making polymers from lactic acid is not new, but making them low cost and nonbiodegradable is. Dow Chemical and Cargill say they have worked out how to do that successfully, and they recently formed a jv to develop a range of polylactic acid (PLA) materials (CW, Dec. 3, 1997, p. 7). The companies say PLA can substitute for a number of existing polymers and could grow into a 1-billion lbs/year market in 10 years.
Until now, PLA has been used in biodegradable packaging, but because of its high cost that market has remained relatively small. "We had talked with Cargill in the past about developing PLA, but its high cost was an obstacle," says Jim Stoppert, president of ...