Heat-resistant bioplastic to launch in 2009

New Materials Asia, Feb, 2009

Japan's Teijin Ltd has developed Biofront, a heat-resistant bioplastic, which it expects to commercialize this year.

To lower carbon dioxide ([CO.sub.2]) emissions and conserve fossil resources, the Japanese government has set an ambitious goal under which 20% of all plastics used in Japan should come from renewable feedstock, rather than traditional petrochemicals, by 2020. Reflecting this trend towards increased environmental protection, Teijin began researching bioplastics jointly with third-party institutions in 2004. The result is Biofront.

Teijin aims to cut [CO.sub.2] emissions by at least 20% from 1990 levels by 2020. The group intends to achieve the mark through an oil-independent strategy, under which it will use plant- and other bio-derived resources to replace all oil-derived substances in its chemical products, including plastics, films and fibres. One of the key resources is bioplastics such as polylactide (PLA), an environmentally friendly plastic material manufactured from agricultural feedstock such as corn. So far, however, PLA has not been actively adopted by industries because it has not offered the same level of performance as oil-based plastics in its resistance to both heat and impact.

But the Biofront bioplastic rivals oil-based plastics. It is a stereocomplex PLA made with high-purity L-lactate and D-lactate. One of its noteworthy characteristics is its melting point of 210[degrees]C, a significant improvement over the 170[degrees]C melting point of conventional PLAs. At 210[degrees]C, Biofront rivals that of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), a commonly used heat-resistant plastic made from oil, and can be deployed in a range of heatproof applications that are beyond the reach of earlier PLAs, such as clothing textiles and buttons, as well as high-temperature, high-pressure dyeing. Teijin also has developed a 100% Biofront fabric for car seats in cooperation with Mazda Motor Corp.

For further information, contact: Rie Mashiba, Teijin Ltd, 2-1-1 Uchisaiwai-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-8585, Japan; tel: 81-3-4506-4890; E-mail: r.mashiba@teijin.co.jp http://www.teijin.co.jp/english