The application prospect of the hottest corn plast

The application prospect of corn plastics is promising (2)

and the production of corn plastics also solves the global corn inventory problem, which can be described as killing two birds with one stone. In 2004, the global corn inventory was 111.71 million tons, and China's 33.05 million tons, accounting for one third of the world, second only to the United States, ranking second in corn reserves. Corn is different from other crops. After storage for one to two years, it will produce xanthozyme (a cancer treatment substance) and become inedible. Industrial use is the only way out

in China, 80% of the corn placed outdoors for half a year is used for feed, and the added value is low. For China, solving the problem of stored corn is undoubtedly a major breakthrough to solve the problems of agriculture, rural areas and farmers faced by China

price mass production dilemma

some people will ask: since corn plastic is so magical and has the advantages of degradability and pollution-free, why can't it be widely used and can't you see corn plastic on the market

it has been ten years since the birth of corn plastics. In the past ten years, only American nature works company has the production technology of corn plastics, namely "two-step process". It is learned that nature works of the United States is also the only enterprise in the world to produce corn plastic raw materials. At present, the price of corn plastic is generally about 3000 dollars/ton for reinforcement raw materials, and the price of chemical plastic raw materials is about 1000 dollars/ton

in terms of price, the price of corn plastic raw materials produced by nature works is three times the market price of chemical plastic raw materials. According to the data provided by nature works, in 2004, nature works had an annual production capacity of 140000 tons, but the output was only 45000 tons. The enterprises that purchase corn plastic raw materials are mainly used for the production of high-grade plastic products, biomedicine, textiles and other aspects, and a small number of them are used for industrial experiments

according to expert analysis, after ten years of development, the technical indicators of nature works' corn plastics have been comparable to chemical plastics, but the price factor has always been that corn plastics are difficult to be widely used. Ren Jie told: "if you want to achieve mass production of corn plastic, the only way is to reduce costs."

the so-called "one-step method" is to ferment corn into lactic acid and then directly make corn plastic particles. The "two-step" of nature works is to ferment corn into lactic acid, and then produce the intermediate lactide, which is then ring opened and polymerized into polylactic acid. "One step" simplifies the "two-step" process, which naturally reduces the production cost of corn plastic

the "one-step" process is applied to reduce the price of corn plastic from 3000 US dollars/ton to 1000 US dollars/ton, which is basically close to the price of chemical plastics. From the perspective of the market, this is a good opportunity for corn plastic to enter the market and start mass production in an all-round way

Ren Jie's "one-step" corn plastic has begun to be industrialized, and Shanghai tongjieliang biomaterial Co., Ltd. has begun to build a corn plastic production line, with an estimated production capacity of 100 tons in 2006. On Ren Jie's desk, I saw letters of intent and orders from all over the country. The reduction of the cost and price of corn plastic made corn plastic see a new market. And Ren Jie told: "now the 'one-step' corn plastic is very hot, but our industrialization practice has just begun, and everything can be achieved only after mass production. If we give the industrialization positioning of corn plastic at this time, it is still too early. We need to concentrate on developing products and gradually understand the corn plastic market from the industrialization process."

substitution or coexistence

the birth of "one-step" technology has changed the fate that corn plastic cannot be widely used due to its high cost. Ren Jie predicted that corn plastic will replace chemical plastics in five years. With the degradable and environmental protection characteristics of corn plastic, the technical process and product characteristics in the current application field have reached the level of chemical plastics

the application industries of corn plastic are mainly in the packaging industry, plastic industry, agricultural mulching film, etc., and these industries are an important part of the plastic industry. At present, the downstream industry and raw material industry of corn plastics have not yet formed a scale, and the new technology of corn plastics is still in the industrial experimental stage. Therefore, whether corn plastic can replace chemical plastics remains to be seen for some time. It is impossible for corn plastic to replace chemical plastics in a short time

however, Ren Jie is still confident in corn plastic. The performance of corn plastic packaging materials has been comparable to that of chemical plastics. With the continuous development of corn plastic in the packaging industry and the continuous improvement of the downstream industrial chain, the position of chemical plastics in the packaging industry is bound to be replaced by corn plastic. From the perspective of cost, the price of oil has been rising, while the price of corn has been stabilizing. From the perspective of energy, oil is a non renewable resource, while corn is a renewable resource. From the perspective of the market, although corn plastic is still in the stage of small-scale promotion, those who invest in the corn plastic industry are all powerful multinational enterprises, and their influence and economic strength are beyond doubt. With their driving benefits, corn plastic will become the fastest growth point of the plastic industry

Ms. Budd, President of American nature works company, also holds this view. She said that corn plastic appeared as the fourth new material. After more than 10 years of research and industrialization, corn plastic has found a living space in the market. The development of technology will definitely make corn plastic really enter people's daily life, and the popularity will certainly reach the application range of chemical plastics

although the industry supports corn plastics, its technology will take time to mature, and its application scope needs to be expanded. So at present, the best choice is to support corn plastics and provide industrialization, technology development and financial support. On the other hand, the field of chemical plastics still needs to strengthen supervision to avoid serious pollution, and at the same time, speed up the development of waste plastic treatment technology

how much energy can the corn plastic industry have? No one can estimate that the uncertain future of corn plastic has not stopped the pace of investment in corn plastic. Why does corn plastic have such a big temptation? Is it environmental protection? Or economic interests? For other reasons, whether scholars or investors, we all have different answers in our hearts

what is corn plastic

its scientific name is "polylactic acid" (PLA), and bio environmental protection materials that can be fully degraded are regarded as "the fourth kind of new materials" after metal materials, inorganic materials and polymer materials. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a high molecular material, also known as corn plastic, which is produced from lactic acid products produced by important agricultural cash crops (corn, etc.) through modern biotechnology and then through a special polymerization process

polylactic acid can be used in packaging materials, daily plastic products, medicine, artificial bones, surgical bone nails, surgical sutures, textile fabrics, agricultural mulch, carpets, household decorations, etc. Polylactic acid material is completely degradable, so it is not harmful to the environment. Corn, lactic acid, polylactic acid, and various products are finally degraded into organic fertilizers, which is the "life process" of corn plastics. Corn plastic can be said to come from the land, and then restore the material of the land. It can also be recycled continuously. It takes six months for corn plastic to be directly buried in the soil to degrade, while it takes only a week to degrade rapidly in the case of high-temperature composting

corn plastic and CDM project

in accordance with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, countries such as Europe and Japan will purchase carbon dioxide emission reduction projects from developing countries to complete the task of carbon dioxide emission reduction. The process of producing corn plastics can be said to be a process of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The process of planting corn absorbs carbon dioxide and then forms starch, while chemical plastics are the culprit in producing carbon dioxide and various pollutants. Therefore, the production of corn plastic can apply for CDM projects to sell the carbon dioxide index electrical and electronic industries to countries with carbon dioxide emission reduction tasks, so as to make profits. It is also a kind of carbon dioxide emission reduction trade

however, this process is not easy. According to experts, the emission reduction of corn plastic belongs to the forestry project in the CDM project. Because forestry projects are difficult to collect carbon dioxide data, and the process and integration of data are very difficult, at present, there are few enterprises applying for forestry projects that can consider a variety of experimental regulations

source: China's scientific and technological wealth