Total Petrochemicals: Galactic jv to Produce Bioplastics

Total Petrochemicals (Brussels / Belgium; www.totalpetrochemicals.com) and Galactic (Brussels / Belgium; www.lactic.com) are creating a joint venture – Futerro – to develop a production process for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics using renewable vegetable technology. The jv will construct a 1,500 t/y PLA pilot plant at the Galactic Escanaffles site, near Tournai / Belgium, which is scheduled to come on stream in 2009. The research and development phase will last four to five years and will begin at the same time as construction of the plant. /Plastics Information Europe/