Biodegradable plastic bottles challenge PET bottles

US NatureWorks is currently researching plastic bottles made from renewable resources to replace barrier PET bottles. The company is a well-known company that produces biodegradable plastic polylactic acid (PLA) from corn starch.

In the past, the use of PLA for packaging was limited mainly because its cost was higher than that of petroleum-based plastics, but rising oil prices prompted PLA bottles to start challenging PET bottles. NatureWorks and its partners are currently studying the use of coatings and additives to improve the barrier properties of PLA bottle packaging. The co-injection molded multilayer bottle method with a typical barrier resin as the middle layer and PLA as the inner layer and outer layer has been successfully used, and the barrier property to vapor and oxygen of the package can be significantly improved. The PLA bottle is compatible with the existing two surface coating technologies. The SiOCorpoplast Silicon Oxide Plasma (plasma) coating and Sidel's amorphous carbon coating Actis can be used to lift the PLA single layer bottle for CO2 and oxygen. The barrier properties.

Source: China Chemical News