China’s bioplastics manufactur- ing industry continues to grow. While most production today is targeted for export, domestic de- mand is rising rapidly. Overall bioplastics capacity in China today is around 7,000 tonnes/year with more capacity expected this year if several an- nounced plant start-ups actually come online, said Jim Lunt, man- aging director of US consulting firm Jim Lunt & Associates. “Current bioplastics demand in China is still quite small due to higher price but is beginning to grow in some niche applications such as cosmetics in Hong Kong,” said Lunt. “ Also, the concern by the Chi- nese government on the use of oil for plastics, driven by overall in- creasing oil demand, is creating domestic interest in bioplastics – particularly the starch blends which tend to be cheaper than products such as polyhydroxyal- kanoates (PHAs) and polylactic acid (PLA).” Most of the current bioplastics produced in China are mainly for export instead of domestic sale because of its high price, accord- ing to China-based consultancy CCM International. “Still, bio- plastics production in China is expected to grow steadily with the increasing demand from abroad. We consider the growth rate of bioplastics demand in China to be over 20% in the next five years,” it said. The consultancy, in its China Polylactic Acid report, published in May, estimated China PLA production capacity at 19,300 tonnes/year with manufacturers that include Zhejiang Hisun Bio- materials (5,000 tonnes/year), Shenzhen BrightChina Industrial (10,000 tonnes/year), Shanghai Tong-jie-liang Biomaterials (1,000 tonnes/year), Nantong Jiuding Biological Engineering (3,000 tonnes/year) and Wuhan Gude (300 tonnes/year). PLA is a bioplastics made from renewable resources such as corn and cassava, and can compete with most conventional thermo- plastics in terms of properties such as strength, elastic recovery, heat, and sealability, in certain applications. Plastics end-users had been slow to adopt PLA because of the price premium over conventional polymers such as polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) but a shrinking price gap between PLA and conventional polymers gives plastics end-users more incen- tives to use PLA as an alternative, according to Steve Davies, mar- keting director for US-based Na- tureWorks, the world’s largest PLA producer owned by US agri- business firm Cargill, who spoke on the sidelines of the four-day ChinaPlas exhibition in Guangzhou, China, held in May. In China, most PLA manufac- turers have adopted the produc- tion technology of ring-opening polymerization of lactide, which is similar to PLA production in Europe and the US, reported CCM. “Only one manufacturer, Shanghai Tong-jie-liang, uses the PLA production technology of di- rect polycondensation of lactic acid, which is less adopted abroad. Right now, China’s PLA production cost is higher com- pared to those in the US such as NatureWorks,” CCM said. Like PHA, most PLA and its end products are also exported because of their higher price. “Im- ported PLA into China is also ex- pensive because of the very high import duty at 45% compared to other Asian nations that are typi- cally 6.5%,” CCM said. Still, demand for PLA in China is expected to grow to over 2m tonnes in 2015, according to CCM. Major domestic PLA manu- facturers are already expanding their capacities in order to grab more market share in the future. Two producers are expected to launch new production lines by year-end, CCM said. “China’s PLA industry is still at an early stage of development, but it has great potential in the fu- ture, aided by government sup- port and increasing public envi- ronmental awareness. The pollution generated by plastics production is becoming more se- rious. If PLA’s price can be re- duced, its growth rate will be- come much higher,” CCM added. DELIVERED IN BULK NatureWorks’ PLA marketed under the Ingeo brand is priced at $0.90–1.00/lb (€0.62–0.68/lb) de- livered in bulk in the US, close to the US prices of conventional polymers such as PP and PS, said Davies. The company produces PLA at its 140,000 tonnes/year plant in Blair, Nebraska, US, and plans to build its second plant ei- ther in Thailand, Malaysia or Sin- gapore because of growing de- mand for PLA in Asia. NatureWorks plans to specify the location later this year, the company said. The new plant could come on line in 2015. NatureWorks announced in GREEN CHEMICALS www.icis.com 22 | ICIS Chemical Business | June 13-19, 2011 Check out our website for the latest news, information and prices on chemicals and commodities at icis.com/pricing Australia 0.2% North America 32.9% Europe 18.3% Asia 28.1% South America 20.5% SOURCE: European Bioplastics PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF BIOPOLYMERS IN 2015 in total: 1.71m tonnes Rex Features BIOPLASTICS DORIS DE GUZMAN NEW YORK Bioplastics industry grows in China China’s bioplastics production increases to meet growing export demand as well as future domestic consumption “China’s PLA production cost is higher compared to those in the US, such as NatureWorks” CCM INTERNATIONAL China has a fast-developing market for bioplastics, particularly the starch blends