CJ Bio, a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang, has begun manufacturing PHA biopolyester at a newly commissioned facility located in Pasuruan, Indonesia, the company has announced.
With a rated capacity of 5,000 tonnes, the new facility will exclusively produce ‘amorphous’ PHAs (a-PHAs). Amorphous PHA , which has a low glass transition temperature (Tg), is a soft, rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally different performance opportunities than crystalline or semi-crystalline forms of PHA.
This material will be used as a modifier for other polymers and biopolymers to improve functional characteristics and biodegradability.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced in nature through bacterial fermentation of sugars or lipids. They occur naturally in living cells from a 5-10% rate, which gives PHAs their excellent biodegradability. CJ BIO can increase PHA content up to 85% through bacterial strain and proprietary fermentation technology. The company employs advanced downstream technology for the extraction of PHA components and for the manufacture of specific products.
The technology also has the potential to develop building blocks for other performance materials made from non-fossil fuel sources. With the company’s first commercial production facility up and running a, CJ Bio shipped its first material in April of this year.
This new PHA manufacturing facility in Pasuruan is the culmination of decades of work that started at the company Metabolix in the early 2000s and which CJ Bio has been improving since it acquired Metabolix biopolymer assets in 2016. The company will continue to work of further expansion plans.
We remind, CJ CheilJedang is seeking to continue its success story in the United States, after the successful launch of its dumpling, by introducing ready-to-eat rice "hetbahn" to American consumers in August. Hetbahn, developed by CJ CheilJedang, is the best-selling pre-cooked rice product in the Korean market now in its 27th year. The company has been working on introducing a range of flavors that suit the American consumer palate for the last five years.
mrchub.com