P&G opts for Braskem’s sugarcane PEP&G opts for Braskem’s sugarcane PE

Braskem's material will be used on selected packaging for products in P&G's Pantene Pro-V hair care and its Covergirl and Max Factor cosmetics brands. Packaging made from the new material will be rolled out globally over the next two years, with the first products expected to be on shelves in 2011.

"This innovation is truly consumer-driven. As we talk with women around the world, they tell us that they want to make themselves more beautiful without making their environment less beautiful," explains Gina Drosos, group president, Global P&G Beauty.

By October, Braskem, the giant Brazilian plastics and chemicals supplier and Latin America's largest plastics supplier, intends to have 200,000 tonnes/year of production capacity for its sugarcane-based polyethylene (PE) online, with work on sugarcane-derived polypropylene (PP) and EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer) rubber ongoing. Braskem uses sugarcane to create ethanol, which is then sent through a dehydration plant, where water is removed from the ethanol, leaving ethylene in its place. Braskem argues that this process is much more energy efficient than deriving ethylene from corn or sugar beets. The PE facility will utilize LyondellBasell's Hostalen reactor technology to create bimodal high-density polyethylene suitable for bottles, with nameplate capacity of 140,000 tonnes/year. In addition, LyondellBasell Spherilene reaction technology will support a 60,000-tonnes/year linear low-density PE line.

Braskem officials have said the PE derived from sugarcane has exactly the same characteristics as PE derived from petroleum. On the sustainability front, 1 lb of petroleum-based PE releases 2.5 kg of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, whereas the same amount of sugarcane-based PE captures that same amount of the gas, say those officials.

Beverage carton-creating giant Tetra Pak already has tasked Braskem to supply it with HDPE derived from sugarcane for molding of closures for Tetra Pak containers. This year Tetra Pak will use about 5000 tonnes/year of the "green" HDPE, a volume Tetra Pak has said is a bit more than 5% of its annual HDPE requirement.—[email protected]