Stereocomplex PLA launch

Total Corbion has launched a technology that can create full stereocomplex PLA with long, regularly interlocking polymer chains, enabling a higher heat resistance than standard PLA to be achieved.

The proprietary technology will enable PLA applications able to withstand temperatures close to 200°C. Samples of glass fibre reinforced stereocomplex PLA are available to those wanting to test the new technology for their applications.

This breakthrough in PLA temperature resistance unlocks a range of new application possibilities, and provides a biobased replacement for PBT and PA glass fibre reinforced products. Injection moulded applications for under-the-hood automotive components, for example, can now be made from glass fibre reinforced with it, offering both a higher biobased content and a reduced carbon footprint. The technology can offer these same sustainability benefits to the wider automotive, aerospace, electronics, home appliance, marine and construction industries.

“Over the past decades, the benefits of full stereocomplex PLA have been studied by universities and R&D departments on a laboratory scale”, says Stefan Barot, the company’s senior business director for Asia Pacific. “Total Corbion PLA is the first company to scale up this technology and make it available for a broad range of industrial applications. The technology enables full stereocomplex morphology, not only in the lab environment but also in commercial production facilities.”

www.total-corbion.com