| European Bioplastics: Global Bioplastics Industry Poised for Major Expansion and Innovation | ||||
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources The global bioplastics industry is at the beginning of a major phase of production expansion and commercial product innovation. European Bioplastics (Berlin) reports that global production will quadruple from 300,000 tons to more than 1 million tons per year by 2011. The company has commissioned a study to analyze the potential for bioplastics to be published at the end of 2008 and has predicted that the European market for bioplastics could reach 5 million tons by 2020. Currently, bioplastics production represents 0.25% of the world's plastics production at about 200 million tons per year. The Dow Chemical Company and Crystalsev, one of Brazil's largest ethanol producers, are planning to produce 350,000 tons per year of polyethylene from sugar-cane ethanol starting in 2011. Other major companies involved in the sector include Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group and Japan's Hitachi Zosen Corporation. |
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