thyssenkrupp commissions a PLA plant for COFCO in China

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Type of post: NEWS.

Uhde Inventa-Fischer (UIF), subsidiary of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions, has developed the PLAneo® process to produce polylactide (PLA) from lactic acid. The world’s first commercial plant based on this technology has recently started production in Changchun (China). It is operated by the Jilin COFCO Biomaterial Corporation (subsidiary of COFCO, China’s largest food and beverage group). thyssenkrupp has provided services of engineering, supervision of construction and commissioning, and it has supplied key plant components. The new plant produces all standard PLA types, among other products for the manufacturing of eco-friendly packaging, fibers, textiles and engineering plastics.
Press release: “thyssenkrupp commissions first commercial bioplastics plant for COFCO in China”, 18/8/2018.

Figure 1. New COFCO bioplastics plant (extracted from the press release)

PLAneo technology converts lactic acid into PLA in a particularly efficient and resource-friendly way. The conversion of lactic acid to PLA is close to its theoretical minimum, thanks to the a purification and polymerisation technology of meso-lactide, which usually has to be separated and hydrolysed back to lactic acid, reducing overall efficiency and increasing raw material conversion costs. In UIF’s PLAneo process, meso-lactide is polymerised and blended with standard crystalline PLA without this adversely affecting the properties of the final product. All PLA grades available in the market can be produced, from fast-crystallising types to nearly amorphous ones.

Figure 2. PLAneo process flow diagram (extracted from PLAneo brochure)

In addition, UIF is in the position to offer technology for the production of lactic acid from sugar. The biotechnology division of thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions has developed the fermentation process at its own industrial-scale pilot plant. Both technologies, the fermentation and purification of lactic acids and the PLAneo process, have been merged into one integrated process in order to further reduce production costs and ensure that it is as cost-efficient as possible.

Figure 3. Integrated LA-PLA process (extracted from PLAneo brochure)

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