The joint venture between DuPont and Tate & Lyle has finally seen its first commercial shipments of Bio-PDO roll off the production line.
The $100m London facility produces 1,3-propanediol (Bio-PDO) from renewable resources such as corn sugar, which makes it the first facility of its kind in the world to produce the new ingredient.
According to the company Bio-PDO uses corn instead of petroleum-based feedstocks and is said to use 40% less energy, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20% compared with petroleum-based propanediol.
“Bio-PDO is a versatile ingredient for a number of products including speciality polymers such as Sorona and also is well suited for cosmetics, liquid detergents and industrial applications like anti-freeze,” said DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products president Steven Mirshak. “We are seeing strong demand for all our grades of Bio-PDO due to its performance, biodegradable nature, and ability to replace petroleum-derived products. Wherever a glycol is being used today, businesses should consider replacing it with our new renewable ingredient.”