Imagine instead of eating corn, you are now wearing
corn…and not as a Halloween costume, but as your favorite career dresswear. This is
not a corny joke, but NatureWorks PLA, a fiber entirely derived from corn, with the final
product a "natural plastic". Nature Works PLA is made from the dextrose
extracted from corn. The dextrose is then fermented to produce lactic acid. The water is
then removed and converted to fiber form. Corn is being used as the dextrose source
because of its abundance and low cost.
The fiber is being produced as a joint venture (Cargill Dow
Polymers LLC) between Cargill, Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company, two of the biggest names
in agriculture and chemicals. Cargill markets, processes and distributes agricultural
products on an international scale. Dow is a global manufacturer of chemicals, plastics
and agricultural products. Cargill supplies the lactic acid and Dow brings the large-scale
polymer manufacturing economics to the joint venture. An application for generic fiber
classification has been submitted to the Federal Trade Commission.
Fabrics made with NatureWorks PLA offer consumers a unique
combination of options. These properties have attracted considerable attention. The
fabrics exhibit the comfort and hand of natural fibers such as cotton, silk and wool while
having the performance, cost, and easy care characteristics of synthetics. PLA fibers
demonstrate excellent resiliency, outstanding crimp retention and improved wicking
compared with natural fibers. Fabrics produced from PLA are being utilized for their silky
feel, drape, durability and moisture properties.
PLA is not a new polymer. But the recent advances in the
fermentation of glucose (which is obtained from the corn) had led to a dramatic reduction
in the manufacturing cost of the lactic acid used to make the polymers. For the first time
these fibers can be made entirely from a renewable resource (corn) while at the same time
compete in the marketplace in relation to cost and performance.
"People have know for years that plants hold the potential
to meet a number of our society needs," says Pat Gruber, Vice President of
Technology. What we have done is take a basic plant function that has been going on for
eons and learned how to tap into it to make two of the world’s most used items,
plastics and fibers. And, we are doing so in an environmentally and socially responsible
manner."
Fiber producers, yarn spinners, manufacturers have already been
working with this fiber. NatureWorks PLA can be used in a wide range of woven and
non-woven applications, including: clothing, carpets, diapers, mattresses, upholstery,
interior and outdoor furnishings, filtration and geotextile applications. Industrial
applications are attributed to its UV resistance, reduced flammability, low smoke
generation, toxicity and soil resistance and stain removal. Several U.S. mills are
spinning yarn made from NatureWorks PLA including Unifi, Fiber Innovations Technology and
Parkdale Mills. At the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Japan, Cargill sponsored a fashion
show of "clothes from the earth" which included fabrics made with NatureWorks
PLA.
Most important among its many advantages is that NatureWorks PLA
is a renewable resource. Nature Works PLA is being touted as an eco-efficient and
environmentally friendly product. The NatureWorks PLA process uses 30-50% less fossil fuel
than usually required to produce conventional fiber. PLA products can be disposed of by
composting. According to William Stavropoulos, president and CEO of Dow Chemical Company,
"What’s exciting about this technology is its breadth of applications and the
fact that it comes from annually renewable resources. NatureWorks offers the opportunity
to truly develop sustainable products because we are using raw materials that can be
regenerated year after year and it is cost competitive and environmentally
responsible."
Cargill Dow Polymers currently operates a plant near
Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company is investing $8 million to double capacity this year
to meet immediate market development needs. Cargill and Dow have invested more than $300
million in a new manufacturing facility in Blair, Nebraska, which is scheduled to come on
stream at the end of 2001. This new plant will serve global demand until capacity is added
in Europe and Asia.
Future plans call for extracting dextrose from other plant
sources such as sugar beets, wheat, rice and other products containing cellulose.
Worldwide production is an implication of this renewable resource…a boon for farmers
here and around the globe. A major new market for producers of agriculture crops is
created, securing an employment base for rural workers.
"To think that what is grown in a field can now be
converted into plastic is really quite amazing," says Jim Stoppert, President and CEO
of Cargill Dow Polymers. "The Nature Works process allows us to tap into the natural
raw materials contained within plants and creates plastics with performance that is equal
to or better than those made from non-renewable sources."
Sources:
http://www.dow.com
http://www.seedquest.com
http://textileworld.com
http://www.ifj.com
