SK Geo Centric and Cologne Industries launch eco-friendly plastic PBAT

SK Geo-Centric (SKGC), a subsidiary of SK Innovation, announced on December 22 that it will partner with Cologne Industries to commercialize and bring to market PBAT, an eco-friendly biodegradable plastic
.

PBAT (polybutylene adipate-ethylene terephthalate) is an eco-friendly plastic that degrades rapidly in nature through reactions of oxygen, heat, light and enzymes
.

SK Geo-Centric has been working with Cologne Industries on joint research and development since last year, and after signing a strategic cooperation agreement in April, a commercial product was launched in just 8 months, and a prototype product was subsequently developed and obtained Ecolabel certificate (EL724)
.

SK Geo-Centric is expanding its customer base by providing PBAT raw materials and its marketing expertise and network
.
SK Geo-Centric is the only Korean producer of 1,4-butanediol (BDO), a key ingredient in PBAT as well as various fabrics, plastics and electrochemical substances
.

On the other hand, Köln Industries has a high level of technical strength in the production of polyester products and will combine the technologies of both companies in terms of optimum temperature, ideal material mixing ratio and other factors on the basis of a reliable supply of PBAT raw materials skills to produce high quality PBAT at the Gumi factory
.

While ordinary plastic takes more than a century to decompose in the natural environment, PBAT decomposes by more than 90 percent in just six months after being buried
.

Therefore, this property makes it a highly environmentally friendly plastic substance
.
Due to its rapid decomposition speed and flexibility, it can be used in various disposable plastic bags and agricultural mulch films,
etc.

Mulch is an agricultural plastic film that is used to retain soil temperature and moisture
.

In particular, when it is coupled with other components such as harder PLA (polylactic acid), starch, it can have similar strength to existing plastic films such as LD and LLDPE
.
It also has excellent printability and processability and can be used in a variety of packaging applications
.

The PBAT production capacity of the Gumi plant is 3,000 tons per year
.
SK Geo-Centric, in partnership with Kolon Industries, plans to increase its manufacturing scale to 60,000 tons/year to meet the growing demand in the global biodegradable plastics market
.

Kang Dong-hoon, vice president of the Green Business Group at SK Geo Centric, said, "We believe that PBAT will have a wide range of applications in the future because of its flexibility and fast decomposition rate, and it is environmentally friendly when buried in the ground
.
We will mass-produce PBAT.
Greener chemistry to accelerate our 'Carbon to Green' strategy
.
"

Lee Bum han, Head of Technology at Köln Industries, said: "We are delighted to be able to contribute to solving environmental problems through the mass production of biodegradable plastics, especially since plastic waste has been identified as one of the main sources of pollution
.
We will accelerate Our ESG management to position ourselves as an environmentally friendly company that opens doors to a sustainable future
.
”