Corn-Based Fibers and Packaging Give New Meaning to Earth Day

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Corn-Based Fibers and Packaging Give New Meaning to Earth Day

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Corn-Based Fibers and Packaging Give New Meaning to Earth Day

MINNESOTA, MINNEAPOLIS, Apr. 19 -/E-Wire/-- Earth Day has traditionally been a time of reflection about preserving nature. This year, many consumers and major companies are taking a different view. They are celebrating how Mother Nature can help pave the way for a more sustainable future where raw materials for everyday items ranging from clothing to cups can be replenished every year.

With countless political and environmental questions surrounding the world’s oil supply, one company has discovered a solution in the most unlikely of places â€" Iowa and Nebraska cornfields. Sound like a field of dreams? It’s not. It’s a reality.

Consumer products made from corn-based fibers and plastics, called NatureWorksâ„¢ PLA are already being used in the U.S. by brand name companies such as The Coca- Cola Company and Pacific Coast Feather Company. Overseas, companies like Sony Pacific, Dunlop Pacific and Monogram are also using the material. Not only do these products perform as well as, if not better than, traditional materials, they also have a reduced impact on the earth.

“Most consumers don’t realize that today’s plastic packaging and food wrap, and the majority of synthetic fibers used in everything from sports clothing to pillow filling, originally comes from oil,â€쳌 said Randy Howard, president and CEO of Cargill Dow LLC. “Not only is oil in limited supply, but processing and disposing of everyday consumer items made from oil holds significant environmental limitations.

In essence, Cargill Dow harvests the carbon naturally stored in simple plant sugars when a plant, in this case corn, undergoes the process of photosynthesis. Through a process of simple fermentation and distillation, Cargill Dow is able to extract the carbon and use it as the basic building block for commercial grade plastics and fibers. In contrast to traditional plastics that rely on the earth’s limited supply of petroleum as a base feedstock, the company is using raw materials that are annually grown and in abundant supply.

“We have discovered that all along Mother Nature has had the solution. Through age-old processes such as simple fermentation â€" the same process used to make wine and cheese â€" we can make commercially viable products from simple plant sugars,â€쳌 said Howard. “It really works. And, it has a better environmental lifecycle that literally goes from the field to everyday products and, ultimately, back to nature.â€쳌

From the corn planter to the retail counter, NatureWorks PLA has a lifecycle that reduces fossil fuel consumption by up to 50 percent. In addition, the process to make NatureWorks PLA generates 15 percent to 60 percent less greenhouse gases (GHG) than the material it replaces. Research also shows that technology advancements in PLA could allow up to 80 percent to 100 percent reduction in greenhouse gasses.

“We really are out to change the world,â€쳌 said Howard. “For our company, we truly believe that every day is Earth Day. What we are doing is taking a renewable, abundant crop and using it as the raw material for a range of consumer goods. We’re doing it with a process that is a step-change in environmental stewardship. We don’t believe that status quo is good enough. We want and are dedicated to being much better than that. And, we’re committed to making our products and processes even better. We truly want to make a better world for our children and future generations.â€쳌

Recently, Cargill Dow held the grand opening of their new, world-scale manufacturing plant approximately 20 miles north of Omaha in Blair, Neb. But the company is not stopping there: it is conducting extensive research into biology-based processes and techniques and is looking to eventually use a raw material called biomass (such as corn stalks, wheat straw and prairie grasses) to make NatureWorks PLA.

“We’re using the tools and resources Mother Nature has provided to us as the foundation for a new industrial revolution,â€쳌 said Howard. “There is certainly a strong sense of mission among employees at Cargill Dow. We are committed to manufacturing revolutionary products that will minimize the impact on our environment. â€쳌

Many noted experts have cited Cargill Dow’s work as being the start of a new industrial revolution based on bioprocessing and bio-refinements. The company’s work holds the potential to spur a new industry that is also being actively explored by the Department of Energy, many leading universities and other companies throughout the world.

One of the key strengths of new bio-based materials such as NatureWorks PLA in Europe and Asia Pacific has been the fact that the plastic will fully decompose in municipal and industrial composting systems. In addition, it is compatible with all existing waste disposal systems such as landfill and incineration. At the end of their useful life, products made from NatureWorks PLA simply degrade into soil nutrients.

Founded in 1997, Cargill Dow LLC is based in Minnetonka, Minn. It is the first company to offer its customers a family of polymers derived entirely from annually renewable resources with the cost and performance necessary to compete with packaging materials and traditional fibers. The company has achieved this breakthrough by applying its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer. For more company information, please visit the Cargill Dow Web site at http://www.cargilldow.com.

Michael O’Brien, michael_o’[REDACTED-EMAIL], Cargill Dow LLC, Phone: [REDACTED-PHONE] or Stephanie Kurtz, [REDACTED-EMAIL], Gibbs & Soell Public Relations, Phone: [REDACTED-PHONE]

http://www.cargilldow.com

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