Polylactic acid (PLA) producer Natureworks has opened its second site with a 75,000 t/yr capacity project in Nakhon Sawan, Thailand, that uses sugarcane as a feedstock.
The site will use locally sourced sugarcane to produce lactide monomer that can then be polymerised on site to PLA, according to the company. The product will be used across different sectors such as packaging, fibres and consumer applications, it added.
The company is jointly owned by US-based Cargill and Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical.
Natureworks also operates a 150,000 t/yr plant in Blair, Nebraska, in the US. With both sites, Natureworks is now the first company to have more than one PLA production facility globally, it said.
