Sugar cane to make plastics from ethanol

In addition to the field of alternative energy, the need of renewable sources will also be needed in the field of chemical raw materials provision including to make plastics. One step to reduce dependence on fossil fuels to chemical feedstocks is to create materials from plants such as sugarcane.

Dow Chemical which has been operated for decades in Brazil will be entered into a collaboration with Mitsuito, a Japanese industrial conglomerate, in order to build the largest facility in Brazil which will be used to produce biopolymers(bioplactics) from ethanol made ​​from sugar cane. The main goal of this collaboration is to move towards renewable sources of raw materials for chemicals.

According to the company, make plastic from plants like sugar cane can be as cheap as making plastics from petroleum. Dow Chemical want to make plastic replacements for flexible packaging as well as medical market. The big plant is expected to produce about 240,000 cubic meters of ethanol annually. Ethanol produced will be used to make polyethylene which a kind of plastic most used worldwide.

The cheap process of making plastic from ethanol made from sugar cane is also supported by the Brazil government which encourages for the development of industry of making ethanol from sugar cane which able to pushes on cost reduction. Maybe soon the chemical raw materials from the plant will be able to compete with petrochemicals.