The bioeconomy at work: Braskem develops polyethylene from sugarcane ethanol

Braskem, the leading company in Latin America's thermoplastic resins segment and Brazil's second largest privately owned industrial company, announces it has produced the first internationally certified polyethylene made from sugarcane ethanol. Given the fact that petroleum-derived polyethylene is so widely used in our daily lives, this may be called an important breakthrough for the bioeconomy. 60 million tonnes per year of the polymer end up in hundreds of plastic products. We now have a bio-based, renewable alternative with a low carbon footprint.

Brazil has been ahead of most other countries in the development of a genuine bioeconomy in which oil-based products are replaced by renewable carbohydrate and vegetable oil based substitutes. Government initiative (with a fund of almost US$5 billion for the bioeconomy) as well as an innovative private sector that is being supported by a growing number of green scientists and agronomists, is leading to a real revolution that goes beyond mere ethanol.

Sugarcane remains key and is only gradually beginning to reveal its potential to yield products other than liquid biofuels. The humble crop is a goldmine of potential green chemistry products, ranging from bioplastics, detergents, tinctures, drugs, glues, gels, biopolymers and a whole range of molecules and platform chemicals. Major science organisations and companies are now investing in the production of bioplastics from sugarcane (amongst them the University of Queensland, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Metabolix.)

The good thing is that the crop thrives in developing countries, who know they now have a resource in hand that allows them to leapfrog beyond the petroleum era. In the future, they will rely on highly integrated biorefineries that convert biomass into a wealth of fuels, green chemicals and energy. A glimpse of this future in developing countries already comes from the tiny island state of Réunion, where scarce research resources are being invested in sugarcane based green chemistry and biorefineries (earlier post).

Certifiably green
The green polymer developed by Braskem - a high-density polyethylene (HDPE), one of the resins most widely used in flexible packagings - is the result of a research and development project that has already received some US$ 5 million in investment. Part of this amount was allocated to implementing a pilot unit for the production of ethane, which is the basis for the production of polyethylene, from renewable feedstock at the Braskem Technology and Innovation Center, which is already producing sufficient quantities for commercial development of the product.

The certification of the ethanol based biopolymer was conducted by a leading international laboratory, Beta Analytic, which certified that the product contained 100% renewable raw materials. This development by Braskem is aligned with its technological and innovation strategy and its commitment to fostering sustainable development, fulfilling the expectations of both Brazilian and international society for initiatives that contribute to reducing the greenhouse effect.

The leadership of Braskem in the green polyethylene project confirms our commitment to innovation and sustainable development, and creates a very favorable outlook for the development of plastic products made from renewable raw materials, a field in which Brazil has natural competitive advantages. - José Carlos Grubisich, Braskem CEO

The production of plastics from ethanol seeks to supply the main international markets that require products with superior performance and quality, in particular the automotive, food-packaging, cosmetics and personal-hygiene industries. Evaluations conducted in the initial phase of the project ascertained enormous potential for growth and appreciation in the green polymer market. Since both resins are equal in terms of properties and performance, the plastics manufacturing industry should benefit from this important development with no need to invest in new industrial equipment:
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The project is now in technical and economic specification process and the startup of green polyethylene production on an industrial scale is expected in late 2009. The new unit will have modern technology and competitive scale, and could reach an annual production capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes. The location and industrial design of the unit will be determined within the next few months.

"Braskem is extremely proud to be at the forefront of a technological breakthrough that aligns the interests of the company, our shareholders, clients and consumers, and that above all else is a great source of pride among Brazilians", concludes Grubisich.

The number of bio-based platform chemicals is growing steadily. We now have replacements for virtually all basic compounds used most commonly in the petrochemical industry as far as plastics are concerned. Green alternatives now exist for some major types of plastic: for low and high density polyethylene (LDPE/HDPE) and polypropylene (PP), polyethylene teraphthalate (PET), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). In fact, in several cases, the bio-based alternatives outperform their petroleum rivals on many properties (for an example, see Rilsan, a very robust castor bean oil based polyamide).

References:
Braskem: Braskem has the first certified green Polyethylene in the World - June 21, 2007.

For the properties of high density polyethylene, see its profile at MatWeb.

An overview of processing techniques and applications of HDPE, at Braskem.