December 18, 2006—DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products, a joint venture of DuPont and Tate & Lyle, has begun the first commercial shipments of a chemical produced from corn sugar.
The biobased product, called Bio-PDO, can be used in a variety of applications, either by itself or as an ingredient in the production of materials that have traditionally been based on petroleum feedstocks. DuPont will use Bio-PDO to produce a polymer called Sorona, which is used to manufacture carpeting, automotive furnishings, packaging, and other products, and in engineering thermoplastic resins. Sorona is currently produced from petroleum-based PDO, but DuPont will shift to Bio-PDO in early 2007.
Bio-PDO will be branded Susterra propanediol for industrial applications such as de-icing fluids, antifreeze, and heat transfer fluids where its low toxicity and biodegradability are beneficial, and branded Zemea in personal care and liquid detergent products, where the products’ purity level and low irritation are benefits.
The production of Bio-PDO reportedly consumes 40 percent less energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent versus petroleum-based PDO. The companies plan to produce 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO per year, which they say will save the energy equivalent of 10 million gallons of gasoline.
For more information, visit Dupont’s Web site.
