Oct 2 2008
Braskem took another important step towards consolidating its leadership in the development of green plastics by producing the first samples of polypropylene from 100% renewable raw material with international certification. The samples were first obtained on laboratory scale and then in a pilot plant, where homopolymers and copolymers were produced. This innovation creates very promising perspectives for developing applications with this green resin, which has the same properties and characteristics that made the traditional polypropylene, among all other thermoplastics, the one with the fastest growth in consumption.
Braskem’s green polypropylene was analyzed by the American laboratory. Beta Analytic Inc., world leader in carbon isotope analysis and which attested to its 100% renewable origin using a methodology to detect fossil carbon in the sample (see image reproduced at the end of the text). Identical certificates were previously issued for the green high density and linear low density polyethylene, which are being produced at a pilot plant in the Braskem Technology and Innovation Center in Triunfo-RS.
"This new technological achievement confirms Braskem’s capacity for innovation and creates the opportunity to identify yet another market for this new renewable source resin. Dimensioning the market will define the next steps and deadlines for detailing and installing the new technology until reaching commercial scale," explains Antonio Morschbacker, responsible for green polymer technology at Braskem. Although there is still no projected date for the green polymer to reach the market, Braskem has partners to accelerate the project’s development in sectors like food packaging, personal and domestic hygiene articles and the automobile industry, among others.
"Braskem’s pioneerism in developing green plastics is the result of the priority given the innovation and technology area, which permits greater competitiveness for the entire petrochemical and plastic production chain," says Bernardo Gradin, president of Braskem. With more than 200 registries of deposited patents, 4 in green polymers, the company offers its clients a team with more than 170 specialists and R$ 330 million in assets dedicated to research and development.
In Triunfo, Braskem is implementing a project to produce green polyethylene on an industrial scale with a capacity for 200 thousand tons/year, with operations projected to begin in 2011. An important part of this volume is already destined for the Asian market and will be distributed by Toyota Tsusho Corporation, a Toyota Group trade company with which Braskem announced a distribution agreement for the region this week.