Total Corbion PLA launches bioplastics plant in Thailand

The Total Corbion PLA joint venture has successfully started-up its 75,000 tonnes per year PLA bioplastics plant in Thailand.

The new facility will produce a broad range of Luminy PLA resins from renewable, non-GWO sugarcane produced locally in Thailand, from standard PLA to innovative, high-heat PLA and PDLA with unique properties.

The products will be used in a wide range of markets, including packaging, consumer goods, 3D printing, and the automotive sector.

Thanks to the facility, the global production of PLA bioplastics will increase by almost 50 per cent, to 240,000 tonnes per year.

Stephane Dion, CEO of Total Corbion, said: “The start-up of this state-of-the-art plant establishes Total Corbion PLA as a world-scale PLA bioplastic producer, ideally located to serve growing markets from Asia Pacific to Europe and the Americas. The subsequent increase in global PLA capacity will enable manufacturers and brand owners to move into the circular economy and produce biobased products with lower carbon footprints and multiple end of life options.”