Sulzer PLA bioplastics production technology selected for NatureWorks’ new plant with annual capacity of 75’000 tons
Developed to support the increasing global demand for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics, NatureWorks’ fully integrated plant will utilize Sulzer Chemtech’s advanced lactide purification and polymer production technology to produce 75’000 tons per year of Ingeo polylactic acid (PLA) annually, which is used in applications like compostable food packaging. Selected to design and supply lactide purification, polymerization and devolatilization units at NatureWorks’ newest facility, Sulzer Chemtech will provide technology, engineering services and key equipment to design and supply fully customized production solutions meeting NatureWorks’ specific requirements.
Neste successfully concludes first series of processing trial runs at industrial scale with liquefied waste plastic
Neste has successfully concluded its first series of trial runs processing liquefied waste plastic at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. After kicking the series off with its first-ever industrial scale trial run with liquefied waste plastic in 2020, Neste has conducted additional runs in 2021. During the trial runs, Neste has been able to upgrade liquefied waste plastic to drop-in solutions for plastic production and develop industrial scale capabilities to upgrade recycled feedstocks. Neste has set itself the goal of processing more than one million tons of plastic waste per year from 2030 onwards. To achieve that goal, the company is advancing chemical recycling to turn plastic waste into a valuable raw material, strengthening circularity.