Novamont expands production of compostable biopolymers to 40,000 tons

In Italy, following on from Terni, the Novamont group’s historic site where the production capacity of MATER-BI® compostable bioplastics is 110,000 metric tons a year, in Patrica, in the province of Frosinone, Novamont has now started producing its compostable biopolymers in the Mater-Biopolymer plant. This will enable production capacity to be increased by 40,000 tons, in response to the strong growth in demand for biodegradable and compostable products.

As well as improving production efficiency and providing a rapid response to market demands, expansion of the Patrica site will also enable the group to diversify its production sites and ensure an ever-greater range of products for different applications with an increasingly high content of renewable materials.

The production of MATER-BI® at Patrica will complement the current production of ORIGO–BI®, biopolyesters of renewable origin that are components of MATER-BI®.

The Mater-Biopolymer plant in Patrica, which directly employs 90 people, was built following redevelopment of the former Mossi & Ghisolfi PET plant and cost over 100 million euros in investment. Producing 100,000 tons of ORIGO–BI® annually, the new process has allowed the site to cut volumes by half compared to the previous “traditional” type of production, and to obtain products that have higher value and greater specificity.