PBAT is expected to have a wide range of applications in eco-friendly packaging

In collaboration with Kolon Industries, SK Geo Centric (SKGC), a subsidiary of SK Innovation, plans to commercialize and launch PBAT, an eco-friendly biodegradable plastic material, the SKGC said on Dec. 22.

SK Geo Centric is expanding its client base through supplying PBAT raw materials and its marketing expertise and network. SK Geo Centric is South Korea’s only producer of 1.4-Butanediol, a key ingredient in PBAT as well as a variety of fabrics, plastics, and electro-chemical substances.

Members of SK Geo Centric and Kolon Industries take a commemorative photo at Kolon Industries’ PBAT production plant in Gumi, Korea.
Members of SK Geo Centric and Kolon Industries take a commemorative photo at Kolon Industries’ PBAT production plant in Gumi, Korea.

Kolon Industries, on the other hand, has a high level of technological prowess in producing polyester products and will produce high-quality PBAT at Gumi Plant by combining both companies’ technological skills in terms of optimum temperature, ideal material mixing ratios, and other factors, based on a reliable supply of PBAT raw material.

The Gumi plant has a PBAT production capability of 3000 tons per year. According to the industry, the global PBAT market will expand from 220,000 tons in 2020 to 800,000 tons in 2025, as demand for biodegradable products grows exponentially in response to increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

Working with Kolon Industries, SK Geo Centric intends to boost its manufacturing scale to 60,000 tons by 2020 to meet rising demand in the global biodegradable plastic market.

“We believe PBAT will have a broad application in the future since, due to its flexibility and rapid decomposition rate, it is harmless to the environment when buried to the ground,” said Vice President Kang Dong-hoon of SK Geo Centric’s Green Biz Group.

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