Italian bioplastics producer Novamont officially opened its E35m bio-refinery project today at its main bioplastics production site at Terni, in Italy.<\/b><\/p>\n
The project, a joint venture between Novamont and Coldiretti, involves 600 local partners that will cultivate the crops needed to supply its new central bio-refinery. By the middle of next year it will be operating at an effective yielding an annual capacity of 40.000 tonnes, says Novamont, and will produce 60.000tpa in 2008.<\/p>\n
“The bio-refinery Novamont is one of the first real examples of a new model that creates an integrated system among industry, agriculture, environment and local economy,\u201d says Novamont managing director Catia Bastioli. “This is a model that can be reproduced in other territories.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bio-refinery will use vegetable oils and corn starch to produce a range of bio-based chemical derivatives, including materials required to manufacture Novamont\u2019s Origi-Bi biodegradable polyesters and Mater-Bi thermoplastic starches.<\/p>\n
Novamont, Europe\u2019s largest bioplastics producer, estimates that in Italy alone more than 800.000 hectares of agricultural land is un-cultivated under EU set-aside rules. It says converting this land to corn and oleaginous plant production could yield around 2 million tonnes of bio-plastics.<\/p>\n
Bastioli sees this first bio-refinery as a challenge to investors and industrialists to adopt bio-based production and adopt her logic of life cycle thinking. “Now we can follow paths that are different from the current ones,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Catia Bastioli will be speaking about the changing bioplastics industry at EPN\u2019s 8th Bioplastics conference in Frankfurt in December. For more information www.bpevent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n