Teijin to boost bioplastic production

Japanese chemical company Teijin Ltd. will take its highly heat-resistant Biofront bioplastic made of plant-derived polylactic acid to full-scale commercial production within the period of the three-year-medium-term management plan, which begins in fiscal 2009, starting April 1. Yoshinaga Karasawa, representative director, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said that the intention was to boost the annual production volume for the bioplastic “to tens of thousands of tons in the coming three years.” He also noted a new commitment to look into the use of non-food materials as feedstock for the manufacture of Biofront, besides edible resources. (December 11, 2008)