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LG Chem Ltd. will build two production facilities in Illinois with US agricultural food processor and bio solution company Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM), to produce biodegradable plastic for food packaging.
Under the two joint ventures with ADM, they will build a facility to annually produce 75,000 tons of polylactic acid (PLA), in Decatur.
In the same city, a separate facility will be built to produce up to 150,000 tons of high-purity corn-based lactic acid, a feedstock for PLA.
PLA is a bioplastic derived from organic sources such as corn starch and sugar cane, and its popularity as an alternative to plastics derived from fossil fuels is growing rapidly.
According to LG Chem, a manufacturer can produce 2.5 billion 500-milliliter water bottles per year using 75,000 tons of PLA.
LG Chem and ADM intend to begin construction on the two facilities in 2023 and finish them by 2025, assuming they receive all necessary regulatory approvals.
