07 de Março 2005

Production of Biodegradable Plastics Booming in Japan

With reference to the Biodegradable Plastics Society, a Tokyo-based body made up of more than 200 private companies, it costs JPY300 to 350 to produce 1 kg of plastic from plants, three to four times as much as it costs to produce the same amount of petroleum-based plastic.

In 2000, production of the environmentally friendly plastics stood at slightly more than 2,000 tons. It is believed that the number will be increased to 50,000 tons in 2005 and to 200,000 tons in 2010.

For instance, the Ajinomoto Co. has been producing plant-based polybutylene succinate (PBS), using its fermentation process. The company ferments sugar and starch, and extracts succinic acid from them. The acid is then combined with 1.4-butanediol to produce PBS, a highly flexible plastic that comes from Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.

Fonte: Omnexus
March 07, 2005