Your Business In Brief - November 2008
First Biobased PP Developed in BrazilAlready the first to develop bio-sourced LLDPE and HDPE, Brazil’s Braskem (U.S. office in Wilmington, Del.), has produced the first samples of polypropylene from 100% renewable raw material.
First Biobased PP Developed in Brazil
Already the first to develop bio-sourced LLDPE and HDPE, Brazil’s Braskem (U.S. office in Wilmington, Del.), has produced the first samples of polypropylene from 100% renewable raw material. Braskem makes bio-PE from sugarcane fermented to ethanol. Although the company has not revealed the renewable source of its bio-PP, Braskem has been working on making PP from biomass, such as the leftover sugarcane stalks and leaves.
Braskem has made bio-PP homopolymers and copolymers in a pilot plant. This “green” resin is said to have the same properties and characteristics as standard PP. While there is yet no date for commercializing bio-PP, Braskem has formed development partnerships with companies in food packaging, personal care, and automotive. Brakem’s bio-sourced LLDPE and HDPE are scheduled for commercial production (400 million lb/yr) in 2011. For more information visit Braskem's MMT Online Showroom.
PolyOne & ADM to Develop Bio-Based Plasticizers
PolyOne Corp., Cleveland, and Archer Daniels Midland Co., Decatur, Ill., are collaborating in development of bio-based plasticizers for plastics. The products will be derived from corn and oilseeds.
For more information visit PolyOne Corp.'s MMT Online Showroom.
For more information visit Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s MMT Online Showroom.
Wellman to Sell Its Engineering Resins
Wellman, Inc., Fort Mill, S.C., has signed a letter of intent to sell its Engineering Resins Div. and its entire Johnsonville, S.C., manufacturing facility to an investor group of three private-equity firms. The deal was to close last month. The division to be sold makes nylon and PET molding compounds. Much of the nylon feedstock comes from carpet recycling. The Johnsonville site includes a 235-million-lb PET staple fiber plant and a 190-million-lb PET bottle recycling operation, which was shut down in 2006. The investor group owns another PET bottle recycler, New Horizons Plastics Recycling (formerly NTM Plastics), Greenville, S.C. Wellman retains production of PET bottle resins and is moving to Waveland, Miss.
Universal Dynamics Sold
Last month, Mann+Hummel in Germany sold its subsidiary, Universal Dynamics Inc., Woodbridge, Va., to Piovan S.p.A. of Santa Maria di Sala (Venice), Italy. Piovan, which has an office in Mississauga, Ont., supplies hopper loaders, dryers, blenders, feeders, granulators, chillers, mold-temperature controllers, and mold dehumidifiers. Universal Dynamics and its affiliates offer a similar range of equipment.
Equipment Makers Move
Two recent moves by plastics equipment firms to larger quarters include the relocation of injection machine supplier Negri Bossi USA from Newark, Del., to New Castle, Del. In addition, process-cooling equipment supplier Frigel North America moved from Lake Zurich, Ill., to East Dundee, Ill. For contact information, visit www.ptonline.com/suppliers.
