South Korea’s CJ BIO launches market-first amorphous PHA polymer for improved functionality

13 May 2022 --- CJ Bio, a division of South Korea-based CJ CheilJedang, is launching a “market-first” amorphous PHA polymer as part of its new PHACT Marine Biodegradable Polymers line. The amorphous PHA polymer will be produced at its newly-commissioned Pasuruan, Indonesia, facility.

Amorphous PHA is a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers “fundamentally different” performance characteristics than the crystalline or semi-crystalline forms that currently dominate the PHA market.

For its initial applications, the PHACT A1000P polymer will be used as a modifier to other compostable polymers and biopolymers to improve functional and processing characteristics and enable these products to achieve faster rates of biodegradation or composting.

PHACT is certified biodegradable under industrial compost, soil (ambient), and marine environments. It is considered “home-compostable,” meaning that it does not require specialized equipment or elevated temperatures to fully degrade.

Numerous applications
CJ Bio indicates that the segments and applications for PHACT are numerous. The immediate focus will be on flexible and rigid packaging, which accounts for more than 50% of single-use plastics, it says.

Other markets include agriculture, organic waste management, coatings and adhesives, personal care and healthcare.The raw materials in PHACT are sugars from plants like sugarcane.

Max Senechal, CJ Bio’s CCO, says the company is looking forward to working with plastic resin producers, compounders, converters and brand owners across multiple segments to put this technology to work and reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment.

“The world is ready for fully biodegradable bioplastics solutions. Our environment needs it, regulatory agencies support it, and consumers want it,” he claims. “Eliminating the harm that petroleum-based plastic waste causes to people’s health and the environment is a project that thousands and thousands of people are working on around the world today.”

“It [reducing petroleum-based plastic waste] is something that we can accomplish through working together and the intelligent application of technology. At CJ BIO, we’re excited for the opportunity to introduce people to PHACT and help them meet their [environmental] sustainability goals of a lower carbon footprint and a favorable end-of-life scenario.”

Bio-based and biodegradable
The raw materials in PHACT are sugars sourced from plants like sugarcane, tapioca, corn and cellulosic biomass. CJ BIO can increase PHA content in microorganisms from about 5% default accumulation up to 85% through fermentation via engineered microbial strains. The company employs advanced downstream technology for PHA component extraction and specific product manufacturing.

These PHA products can be compounded and processed using conventional plastics processing equipment. They can also be used as modifiers to other polymers or biopolymers to increase bio-based content, accelerate biodegradation and improve the functional properties of resins and finished products.CJ Bio’s immediate focus for this polymer is on flexible and rigid packaging.

One promising application is accelerating the rate of composting of the biopolymer polylactic acid (PLA), which has seen significant growth as a bio-based material in a broad range of finished product applications. Blending amorphous PHA in PLA leads to significant improvements in mechanical properties, such as toughness, and ductility, while maintaining clarity, according to CJ BIO.

Next-gen solutions
According to Raj Krishnaswamy, vice president for product and applications development at CJ BIO, the company is investing substantially in applications capability – both personnel and facilities – to help potential innovation partners develop next-generation solutions.

“The applications for this technology are almost unlimited. Whether you’re talking about single-use food and beverage packaging, paper coatings, personal care, drug delivery systems or medical devices – each solution needs to be developed in collaboration with value chain partners and with performance and cost in mind,” he explains.

“What all of these applications have in common is the need for a truly biodegradable solution, and with CJ BIO PHA technology, we believe we can get there.”

Edited by Joshua Poole