Bioplastic material important topic of conference sessions

Specialty materials company Rohm and Haas today announced that the recent "Innovation Takes Root" conference hosted by NatureWorks LLC., provided an ideal forum to explore innovative future applications for sustainable, corn-derived polylactic acid (PLA) and its alloys.

"As the only large volume, commercially available bioplastic, polylactic acid is attracting keen attention -- and not only for packaging applications," says Rob Martin, marketing manager at Rohm and Haas, a major supplier of PLA processing additives. "It was an exciting conference where presenters discussed the material's future. Attendees mentioned higher temperature packaging applications and possible future uses in alloys with petroleum-based polymers for office equipment and cell phone housings."

PLA already has attracted much attention from packaging manufacturers who must meet retailers' increasing demands for environmentally advanced packaging. The material often appears in clear thermoform or vacuform disposable, clamshell-type food containers.

In a well-attended session at the conference, Rohm and Haas's Senior Scientist Dr. Bahar Azimipour presented details about the company's PLA additives and their importance as PLA expands its reach. "Packaging comprises more than half of PLA's commercial applications, but its further growth in this arena has been constrained by processing difficulties," Dr. Azimipour explains. "We designed our products specifically to offer solutions that help customers grow their businesses in packaging -- and in the exciting new applications they're exploring."

Source: Rohm and Haas Company