Kureha plans PGA plant at DuPont siteKureha plans PGA plant at DuPont site

Kureha (Tokyo) will invest more than $100 million in a new polyglycolic acid (PGA) plant to be located on DuPont’s Belle, WV site. With construction slated to start in early 2008, Kureha anticipates commercial production by early 2010. PGA is a polyester that increasingly sees use as a barrier material to control oxygen and carbon dioxide. Applying it as a barrier layer in multilayer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles for beverages like soft drinks and beer, PGA offers inherent barrier that is 100 times higher than PET (for an initial report on Kureha’s development of PGA, see November 2003 MPW http://www.modplas.com/inc/mparticle.php?section=materials&thefilename=materials11012003_04). By using PGA, bottle manufacturers can cut the amount of PET in a bottle by more than 20%, without impacting barrier. Kureha believes the materials hydrolytic properties and its polyester chemistry make it compatible with industrial PET recycling processes, so that contamination of the waste stream is not an issue. Competitive barrier materials and technologies include polyamide and silicone-oxide coatings. In addition to using the material for barrier in newer polylactic acid (PLA) packaging, Kureha says it is working with development partners to commercialize industrial applications that utilize PGA’s hydrolysis rate and mechanical strength.

Kureha has a significant amount of intellectual property covering production of PGA on a mass scale. In 2002, the company built a 100-ton pilot plant at its Iwaki Factory in Japan. DuPont’s 723-acre Belle site, where the new venture will be located, is approximately 8 miles east of Charleston, WV and situated along the Kanawha River. DuPont employs 400 in Belle, working among seven operating divisions spread over 105 acres of manufacturing space. DuPont opened the site began in 1926 as the nation’s first commercial ammonia synthesis site.—[email protected]