PHB bets on plastic from sugar
Valor Econômico - 11/28/2007
PHB, a company controlled by Organização Balbo and Pedra Agroindustrial, both from São Paulo, has invested R$ 1 billion (US$ 574.7 million) in the construction of a laboratory for the development of plastics from sugar. This laboratory, located inside the University of São Carlos (Ufscar), will be opened on December 4th and is part of a more ambitious plan of the company, which intends to build a plant to have industrial scale production. With advanced researches on biopolymers from sugar for almost one decade, since last year the group planned to have its own plant in 2008. "However there is no mature market to absorb this product in large scale yet", says PHB's CEO Sylvio Ortega. On account of that, the plant, planned for 2008, may only go into operation in 2010, with productive capacity of 10 thousand tons of biopolymers/year. The initial allocation of funds of nearly US$ 50 million may also be reviewed upwards. The production of plastics from sugar has been under study in Brazil, the United States and in China for at least one decade, says Ortega. In Brazil, large groups, such as Braskem, have announced that they will use etanol as the main raw material. According to Ortega, the laboratory built in the university will have to improve the products that have been developed in the pilot plant of the group, installed in the Pedra Plant, in Serrana (SP). "The laboratory will improve the researches in progress and also develop new plastic packages for the market", says Ortega. The officer points out that the production of biopolymers from sugar may not affect the supply in the domestic market. When the demand for sugar in this market is consolidated, the country will be able to absorb nearly 2% of the total national consumption - 12 million tons of sugar/year - for this purpose. Ortega believes the demand will be greater in the international market. "Since it is a biodegradable product, there are countries in Europe and Asia with great interest".