A Bioplastic Made with Plant-based Ingredients
Samyang Group has completed Korea's first plant for commercial production of bioplastics with plant-based ingredients.
On Nov. 16, Samyang Innochem, a chemical affiliate of Samyang Group, held a ceremony to mark the completion of the plant at Gunsan Free Trade Complex in South Jeolla Province. The plant produces isosorbide (ISB), a white bioplastic made by processing glucose.
White bioplastics refer to plastics made with renewable plant resources such as corn, soybeans and wood. Samyang Innochem produces ISB using sorbitol, a substance derived from glucose. Sorbitol is made by processing glucose, which is in turn made from starch extracted from corn or tapioca. In other words, ISB can be called plastics extracted from corn.
ISB can be processed into various forms. It has strong versatility as it can be made into polyethylene (PET) or polycarbonate for PET bottles, plasticizers that soften plastics, epoxies for shoe insoles, and polyurethane for automobile materials.
ISB is attracting much attention because it is carbon-neutral plastic. While the world is promoting carbon neutrality by 2050, experts say that it will be a big challenge to achieve carbon neutrality in the plastics sector. As ISB is extracted from corn or tapioca, it is recognized as a plastic with zero net carbon emissions.
Samyang Innochem's ISB plant in Gunsan is the world’s second plant with an ISB mass production capacity. It is the first ISB plant in Korea. It is expected to compete with France's Roquette in the global bioplastics market.
The volume of ISB produced at the Gunsan plant is about 15,000 tons per year. About 40,000 tons of sorbitol is used annually for ISB production at the plant. Samyang Genex, a subsidiary of Samyang Group, is producing sorbitol at its Ulsan plant, so Samyang Group is expected to boost efficiency in the ISB business through vertical integration.
Samyang Innochem plans to build a second ISB plant with twice the current production capacity by 2025. To this end, it plans to start the construction of the second plant near the current plant site by 2024 at the latest. Samyang Group is also drawing up a plan to start the construction of a plant for cosmetics and semiconductors in the United States.