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Article: The Beat.
- Article from:
- Environmental Health Perspectives
- Article date:
- May 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 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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Growing Better Plastics
Cargill and Dow Chemical have jointly developed a new plastic from the carbon stored in plant sugars that is environmentally sustainable and competitive with conventional hydrocarbon-based polymers in terms of cost and performance. A new facility is scheduled to begin production of the material, called polylactide (PLA), by late 2001.
Corn is the current source of the polymer feedstock, and researchers are working to convert the process so that plant materials such as rice, wheat, sugar beets, and even agricultural waste can be used. According to Cargill Dow Polymers, production of PLA requires 30-40% less fossil fuel than ...