ABB to automate new bioplastics plant set to produce 75,000 tons of sustainable plastic per year

In Switzerland, ABB is to automate NatureWorks’ (world’s leading manufacturer of polylactic acid) new bioplastics plant in Thailand which will convert sugar cane to sustainable plastics. The plant – set to produce 75,000 tons of biopolymer per year – will ferment and distill plant-based sugars, converting the sugars first to lactic acid, then lactide and then polymerize them into Ingeo PLA.

Ingeo PLA is an eco-friendly, biobased material used in a wide-range of plastic and fiber products from compostable food packaging – coffee capsules, tea bags, food containers – to 3D printing filament, diapers, and even refrigerator liners.

Compared to traditional fossil-based polymers, manufacturing Ingeo produces approximately 80 percent less greenhouse gases and uses 52 percent less non-renewable energy.

Bioplastic manufacturing is expected to grow by over 260 percent by 2026; this project will make a major contribution towards this growth.