TotalEnergies Corbion partners with Sansu to boost recycled PLA bioplastics adoption

SOUTH KOREA – TotalEnergies Corbion has forged a partnership with Korean water producer Sansu to pioneer the development of an embossed label water bottle crafted from Luminy polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics, marking a significant step forward in the adoption of recycled PLA (rPLA) as a feedstock in South Korea.

This collaboration aims to revolutionize rPLA production processes, addressing the challenges associated with post-consumer recycling (PCR) of PLA.

Traditionally, creating PCR PLA has been a cumbersome process, involving the removal of caps and labels, followed by crushing, cleaning, and shipping the used PLA in the form of flakes back to TotalEnergies Corbion’s Thailand plant.

There, it is depolymerized into PLA monomers and repolymerized into rPLA. However, this process is deemed inefficient.

To streamline the process, Sansu and TotalEnergies Corbion have agreed to produce a 100% PLA bottle with an embossed label, eliminating the need to remove labels and caps.

Thomas Philipon, CEO of TotalEnergies Corbion, emphasizes the significance of this partnership in advancing the adoption of Luminy PLA bioplastics and contributing to reducing carbon emissions from plastic usage.

Recent advancements in recycling technology have enabled rPLA to achieve properties equivalent to virgin Luminy PLA, including food contact approval.

Luminy PLA bioplastics, derived from sugarcane, boast environmental benefits, capturing CO2 from the atmosphere during cultivation.

TotalEnergies Corbion’s commitment to sustainable practices extends to efficient land use in Thailand, where its entire production capacity requires only 0.08% of arable land.

This, coupled with the reduced carbon footprint of bio-based Luminy PLA compared to conventional plastics, underscores the environmental advantages of PLA bioplastics.

The company’s rigorous life cycle assessment (LCA) analyses provide a comprehensive overview of Luminy PLA’s environmental impact across various categories, including global warming potential, carbon footprint, water footprint, and direct land use change.

TotalEnergies Corbion’s recent LCA findings highlight the environmental advantages of advanced recycling of PLA over production from virgin feedstock, with Luminy 30% rPLA demonstrating significantly lower global warming potential compared to virgin Luminy PLA.

Specializing in producing PLA with allocated recycled content, TotalEnergies Corbion caters to global customers like Sansu, reflecting a shared commitment to sustainability through the integration of advanced recycled content into product packaging.

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