(Lanxess) -- LANXESS is strengthening its commitment to renewable raw materials. The German specialty chemicals company aims to produce phthalate-free plasticizers from bio-based succinic acid from 2012 onwards. Its strategic partner is the U.S. company BioAmber, Inc., based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. BioAmber is a global leader in succinic acid generated on the basis of renewable resources. Together, the two companies are developing plasticizers, whose cost-effectiveness and safety profile make them sustainable alternatives to phthalate-containing formulations.
BioAmber produces succinic acid through the fermentation of renewable raw materials. The process developed by BioAmber consumes considerably less energy than the production of succinic acid using fossil fuels, is significantly more cost-effective and has a better carbon footprint. In the future, the company plans to use waste from the agriculture industry and sugarcane processing as starting materials.
⌠Our cooperation with BioAmber is a unique opportunity to launch a new generation of plasticizers on the market that meet all legal regulations and can also score in terms of environmental aspects and sustainability, said Jorge Nogueira, head of LANXESS' Functional Chemicals business unit that manufactures phthalate-free plasticizers.