Braskem has introduced a new polypropylene (PP) grade in under the INSPIRE brand designed to replace polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in consumer food packaging applications when higher temperature resistance is needed. Examples include ready-made meals at grocery stores and fast casual restaurants.

The new grade has optical properties that approach PET, with improved thermal properties over PET and traditional random copolymer polypropylene. The new grade is suitable for thermoformed applications which demand a great balance of clarity and heat resistance, such as store and restaurant pre-prepared and ready-to-heat meals. The improved heat resistance allows these containers to be used in dishwashers and allow for multiple reuse occasions for improved sustainability versus single-use packaging.

The Inspire series of value-added PP products offers enhanced performance attributes versus commodity grade polymers to deliver a distinctive balance of performance and sustainability.

In June, Braskem announced the construction completion of its world-class polypropylene production line in La Porte, TX, designed with a production capacity of more than 450 kilotons (kt) or 1 billion pounds per year. It can produce the company’s entire PP portfolio including homopolymers, impact copolymers and random copolymers. Initial production test runs began in July with the first full scale commercial production activity currently expected in the third quarter of 2020.

Braskem is the largest polyolefins producer in the Americas and a leading producer of biopolymers in the world.