Plastics in Iowa

The Iowa Corn Promotion Board, ICPB, has signed its first commercial license with Battelle to commercialise a new plastic additive compound made from corn that offers a variety of commercial advantages.

The compound, isosorbide, can be used to improve the properties of plastic materials such as bottles. Battelle operates the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where the development will occur.

"The use of renewable corn-derived isosorbide will reduce the amount of petroleum necessary to make plastics. Incorporating isosorbide into plastic will improve the properties of the plastic and reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said PNNL Program Manager for Bioproducts, Todd Werpy.

Preliminary cost estimates show that the isosorbide is competitive with petroleum based building blocks conventionally used to make plastics.

"Isosorbide could consume 30 to 40 million bushels of corn annually," said ICPB Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs, Rod Williamson.