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Oral
Presentation 5-02
Sustainable
Materials and Chemicals: What’s Next for Cargill Dow?
David
A. Glassner
Cargill Dow LLC 15305 Minnetonka Blvd.
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Telephone: (952) 742-0456; Fax: (952) 742-0477; E-mail:
david_glassner@cargilldow.com
Cargill Dow is building a polylactide polymer business based on the performance, price and sustainability profile of the material. Cargill Dow has increased its capacity for polylactide manufacture from 4,000 tons per year to 140,000 tons per year with the completion of its Blair, Nebraska polylactide manufacturing facility. The facility was started up in November 2001 as planned and progress to date is reported. Cargill Dow’s vision is much wider than just polylactide polymers; the vision is making sustainable materials and chemicals from renewable resources. In this light Cargill Dow has entered the ethyl lactate business. Cargill Dow has unique advantages in the ethyl lactate market and we are using them to build a competitive advantage. This is only the beginning and Cargill Dow is looking to substantially improve the sustainability of its manufacturing processes through the use of renewable energy technology. This presentation will review Cargill Dow’s PLA development and the status of key environmental sustainability indicators. Sustainability as pursued by Cargill Dow is defined and our approach to improving the sustainability of our manufacturing processes. The role of biotechnology in producing more sustainable products is highlighted.
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