Building on what was already a close relationship, PHA producer CJ Biomaterials, Inc., a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang and PLA manufacturer NatureWorks, a joint venture between American agribusiness Cargill and GC International Corporation Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of PTT Global Chemical Public Co. Ltd., have now signed a Master Collaboration Agreement under which the two organisations will formally collaborate on the development of sustainable materials solutions. The new solutions, based on CJ Biomaterials' Phact biodegradable PHA and NatureWorks' Ingeo biopolymers, are intended to replace fossil-fuel based plastics in applications ranging from compostable food packaging and food serviceware to personal care, films, and other end products.
Plastic pollution is a major global concern, and to successfully address this problem, it is critical to introduce new solutions that will have a real impact by improving the biodegradability and compostability of plastic, Seung-Jin Lee, Head of Biomaterials business from CJ CheilJedang noted.
Initially, the focus will be on creating new performance attributes for compostable rigid and flexible food packaging and food serviceware. Another goal is to engineer solutions that will enhance the biodegradability of these products. Truly compostable food packaging and serviceware will create more solutions for keeping methane-generating food scraps - the third largest source of methane emissions globally, according to World Bank - out of landfills. Compostable food packaging and serviceware will divert food-contaminated packaging to composting, to become part of a nutrient-rich, soil amendment.
The companies also plan to expand their relationship beyond cooperative product development for packaging to create new applications in the films and nonwoven markets. To that end, strategic supply agreements to support development efforts will be entered into.
The companies will be working on new combinations of CJ’s Phact amorphous PHA and NatureWorks’ Ingeo PLA biopolymers to deliver ‘advanced solutions that improve the biodegradability and compostability of plastic in almost limitless applications’, according to Seung-Jin Lee.
Amorphous PHA is a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally different performance characteristics than crystalline or semi-crystalline forms of PHA. It is certified biodegradable under industrial compost, soil (ambient), and marine environments. Modifying PLA with amorphous PHA leads to improvements in mechanical properties, such as toughness, and ductility, while maintaining clarity. It also allows adjustment in the biodegradability of PLA and could potentially lead to a home compostable product.
”We feel strongly that the next generation of sustainable materials needs to begin with renewable, biobased feedstocks, have a wide range of tailorable performance attributes, and be designed for after-use scenarios from compostability to chemical recycling. These principles are inherent in both CJ's Phact PHA and our Ingeo PLA, and we have witnessed very positive early results when incorporating these two industry-leading biomaterials,” said NatureWorks CEO, Rich Altice.