July 07th 2021
Samyang Corp. has developed biodegradable plastic using corn starch.
A Bio-material That Can Be Easily Processed into Films.
Samyang Corp. announced on July 6 that it has developed biodegradable plastic using corn starch for the first time in the world. The biodegradable plastic utilizes a bio-material called “isosorbide*,” which is created by chemically processing starch from plants such as corn. The material is stronger and tougher than petroleum-based materials, so it can be easily processed in the form of film. For this reason, it is used to produce disposable bags, agricultural films and fishing nets among others.
Samyang Corp. also developed a compound that can be processed into films. Processing biodegradable plastic into a film form requires a compounding process. The company has developed technology related to this compounding process.
Samyang Innochem, an affiliate of Samyang Corp. is currently building an isosorbide plant with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons for completion in the second half of 2021.
Source: https://www.samyang.com/eng/HD03/Details/1789
* Isosorbide is a bicyclic chemical compound from the group of diols and the oxygen-containing heterocycles, containing two fused furan rings. The starting material for isosorbide is D-sorbitol, which is obtained by catalytic hydrogenation of D-glucose, which is in turn produced by hydrolysis of starch. Isosorbide is discussed as a plant-based platform chemical from which biodegradable derivatives of various functionality can be obtained. Isosorbide is currently of great scientific and technical interest as a monomer building block for biopolymeric polycarbonates, polyesters, polyurethanes and epoxides.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isosorbide