Synthetic fibre from corn

JUNE 2,2001 IIT DELHI

ECO FRIENDLY SYNTHETIC FIBRE FROM

CORN

R.B.CHAVANDEPARTMENT OF TEXTILE

TECHNOLOGY,INDIAN INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY,HAUZ-KHAS, NEW DELHI

110016


TEXTILE APPLICATIONS

CONVENTIONAL CLOTHING FOR BODY

PROTECTION HOME FURNISHINGS MADE-UPS FOR DOMESTIC

APPLICATIONS

NON CONVENTIONAL TECHNICAL TEXTILES


FUTURE CHALLENGES

DEPLETING FOSSIL FUEL (CRUDE OIL)

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION


DEPLETING FOSSIL FUEL

CURENT PREDICTIONS

POPULATION LEVEL DOUBLE

EVERY 35 YEARS

INCREASED NEEDS FOR TEXTILE GOODS

INCREASED LAND NEED FOR FOODSTUFFS

LESS LAND AVAILABILITY FOR NATURAL FIBRE CULTIVATION


INCREASED REQUIREMENT OF OTHER COMMODITIES SUCH AS SHELTER, TRANSPORT ETC.

INCREASED STRAIN ON MANUFACTURING RESOURCES ESPECIALLY CRUDE OIL

OIL WILL BECOME SCARCE COMMODITY

LOW PRIORITY FOR SYNTHETIC FIBRE MANUFACTURING COMPARED TO TRANSPORTATION, AVIATION, HEAVY CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES ETC.


ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

MOST OF SYNTHETIC FIBRES PRODUCED TODAY ARE NON-BIODEGRADABLE

WAY OUT F IND RENEWABLE SOURCES AS

RAW MATERIAL FOR TEXTILE PRODUCTION TO TAKE CARE OF DEPLETING FOSSIL FUEL RESOURCES

SYNTHESIZE BIO-DEGRADABLE FIBRES FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION


DEVELOPMENT OF NEW SYNTHETIC POLYESTER FIBRE

CORN AS RENEWABLE RAW MATERIA (AGRICULTURE PRODUCE)

TOTALLY BIO-DEGRADABLE


NON FOOD CROP AS RENEWABLE SOURCE

RECENTLY THERE IS A WIDE SPREAD RECOGNITION OF NON FOOD CROPS AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF FEEDSTOCK FOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

IN 1995 IT IS REPORTED

BIOTECHNOLOGY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO MAKE AVAILABLE HUGE RANGE OF BASIC RAW MATERIALS INTERMEDIATE FEEDSTOCK AND EVEN FINAL END PRODUCTS FOR CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

IN 1998 IT IS REPORTED

THERE IS GROWING SENSE OF URGENCY TO MOVE AWAY FROM OUR DEPENDENCE ON DEPLETING FOSSIL FUELS AND TO SEEK OUT NEW FEEDSTOCK


ADVANTAGES OF NON FOOD CROPS AS FEED STOCKS

RENEWABLE RESOURCE, SUSTAINABLE IN THE LONG RUN COMPARED TO FOSSIL FUELS WHICH ARE DWINDLING RAPIDLY

AT CURRENT CONSUMPTION LEVELS CRUDE OIL RESERVES ARE PREDICTED TO DEPLETE WITHIN 50 YEARS

GAS RESERVES WITHIN 75 YEARS

COAL RESERVES IN ABOUT 200 YEARS


THE USE OF FOSSIL FUELS CAUSE ALL KINDS OF POLLUTION

CROPS BEING GENERALLY LESS POLLUTING, LOCK UP CARBONDIOXIDE FROM THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE FORM OF CARBOHYDRATES, LIPIDS AND PROTEINS, THEREBY MINIMIZING THE EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

MAJORITY OF PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM PLANT FEED STOCK WOULD BE COMPLETELY BIO-DEGDABLE


NEED FOR BIO-DEGRADABLE FIBRES AND PLASTICS

SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL,GOBALLY BURNING PROBLEM

DECREASE IN THE AVAILABILITY OF LANDFILL SPACE

OCEAN DUMPING IS ILLEGAL

INCINERATION AS THE WAY TO TREAT THE MAJORITY OF WASTE IS NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE

FOR THESE REASONS

ORGANIC WASTE COMPOSTING AND THE USE OF BIODEGRADABLE FIBRES AND PLASTICS IS THE ONLY WAY FOR ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION


THEORETICAL BASIS FOR BIODEGRADATION OF FIBRES

DEPOLYMERIZATION DUE TO EITHER HYDROLYSIS OR OXIDATION OF FIBRE (POLYMER) DUE TO ENZYME SECRETED FROM CERTAIN MICRO-ORGANISMS

ENZYME MAY ACT AT THE END OF POLYMER CHAIN (END GROUP ATTACK) OR AT ANY POINT ON CHAIN (RANDOM ATTACK)

TO FACILITATE DEPOLYMERIZATION, THE ENZYMES MUST BE ABLE TO TIE THESELVES WITH THE FIBRE AND TO ARRIVE TO THE CENTRE THAT CAN BE HYDROLYSED OR OXIDIZED


MAJORITY OF BIO-DEGRADABLE FIBRES ARE HYDROPHILILC, FORMED FROM FLEXIBLE CHAINS WITH LOW LEVEL OF CRYSTALLIZATION

THEY HAVE THE MAIN CHAIN WITH TIES CONTAINING OXYGEN OR NITROGEN OR BOTH

THIS DESCRIPTION CORRESPONDS TO NATURAL FIBRES


NON BIODEGRADABLE FIBRES

NON-BIODEGRADABLE FIBRES HAVE OPPOSITE CHARACTERISTICS

THE POLYMERS WITHOUT OXYGEN SUCH AS POLYETHYLENE, POLYPROPYLENE RESIST COMPLETELY BIOLOGICAL DEGRADATION

THE AROMATIC POLYESTER (PET) THOUGH CONTAINS OXYGEN, RESIST BIO-DEGRADABILITY DUE TO CHAIN RIGIDITY AND CRYSTALLIZATION


SAME APPLIES TO POLYAMIDES THOUGH THEY CONTAIN NITROGEN

CONTRARY TO AROMATIC POLYESTER, THE ALIPHATIC POLYESTERS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO BIODEGRADATION.

THEY ARE ALSO THERMOPLASTIC AND LIKE ANY OTHER POLYESTER CAN BE CONVERTED INTO FIBRES AND FILMS


BIODEGRADABLE ALIPHATIC POLYESTERS


BIODEGRADABLE ALIPHATIC POLYESTERS

BIO-DEGRADABLE ALIPHATIC POLYESTERS CAN BE FORMED ON INDUSTRIAL SCALE BY POLYMERIZATION OF

GLYCOLLIC ACID (PGA)

LACTIC ACID (PLA)

HYDROXY BUTYRIC ACID (PHB)

CAPROLACTONE (PCL)

AMONG THESE, THE POLYMERS BASED ON POLYLACTIC ACID (PLA) ARE MOST PROMISING


POLY LACTIC ACID FIBRES

POLYMERIZATION OF LACTIC ACID WAS CARRIED OUT BY CAROTHERS IN 1932

UNSUITABLE POLYMER DUE TO LOW MELTING POINT

FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ABONDONNED

LACTRON WAS INTRODUCED BY KANEBO (JAPAN) in 1994

AGRICULTURE MULCH FILM APPLICATION


1998 OTHER APPLICATIONS LIKE PLASTIC CUPS, THERMO FORMING FILMS WERE EXPLORED

TODAY IN JAPAN PLA PRODUCTION IS 500 - 1000 TONS/ANNUM

PLA/RAYON BLENDS DEVELOPED TO REDUCE COST AND IMPROVE BIO-DEGRADABILITY

1997 FIBERWEB (FRANCE) DEVELOPED NONWOVEN, DEPOSA


Production forecast

GALACTIC LABORATORIES(BELGIUM) FORECASTED BY 2008

PLA FIBRE/PLASTIC PRODUCTION 3,90,000 TONS/ANNUM

PRICE AROUND 2 DOLLAR/Kg


CARGILL DOW POLYMERS (USA)

50 : 50 JOINT VENTURE STARTED IN 1997

LEADER IN TECHNOLOGY OF PLA

PLA POLYMER MARKETED UNDER TRADE NAME NATURE WORKS PLA

CURRENT PRODUCTION 4,000 TONS/ANNUM


INSTALLED A NEW PLANT WITH 70,000 TONS/ANNUM CAPACITY

HAVE PLANS TO SCALE PRODUCTION TO 1,40,000 TONS/ANNUM

ANTICIPATION, BY 2002 MANY COMPETITORS WOULD ENTER INTO PRODUCTION OF THIS NEW POLYMER


PRODUCTION ROUTE

TRADE NAMES

LACTRON (KANEBO, JAPAN) , NATURE WORKS PLA (CARGILL DOW POLYMERS, USA)

CORN AS RAW MATERIAL

POSSIBLE TO USE OTHER PLANT MATERIALS

RICE, WHEAT, SUGAR BEETS AND EVEN AGRICULTURE WASTE


PRODUCTION ROUTE

MILLING

MILLING OF CORN TO SEPARATE STARCH FROM RAW MATERIAL

PROCESSING OF STARCH TO GET UNREFINED DEXTROSE/SUGAR


FERMENTATION

FERMENTATION OF DEXTROSE/SUGAR TO LACTIC ACID

PROCESS SIMILAR TO THAT USED BY BEER AND WINE PRODUCERS

IT IS THE SAME LACTIC ACID

USED AS A FOOD ADDITIVE AND

FOUND IN MUSCLE TISSUE IN HUMAN BODY


INTERMEDIATE PRODUCTION

THROUGH A SPECIAL CONDENSATION PROCSS A CYCLIC INTERMEDIATE DIMER “ LACTIDE” IS FORMED

POLYMER PRODUCTION

LACTIDE IS PURIFIED THROUGH VACUUM DISTILLATION

RING OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF LACTIDE THROUGH SOLVENT FREE MELT PROCESS

POLYMERS WITH WIDE RANGE OF APPLICATIONS THROUGH CONTROL OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT AND CRYSTALLINITY


CHEMISTRY

CONVERSION OF LACTIC ACID INTO DIMER LACTIDE BY WATER ELIMINATION

SPECIAL RING OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF LACTIDE TO POLYLACTIDE (PLA)

FAMILY OF POLYMERS DEPENDING ON STEREO CHEMISTRY OF LACTIC ACID AND ITS DIMER

THREE FORMS OF LACTIC ACID : L - ISOMER, D- ISOMER AND MESO - ISOMER


POLYMERIZATION OF L - ISOMER PRODUCE CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS

THAT CONTAIN MORE THAN 15% D - ISOMER PRODUCE AMORPHOUS POLYMERS

BETTER CONTROL OF STEREOCHEMISTRY OF DIMERS EXPLAINS THE SUPERIORITY OF POLYESTERS THAN THOSE OBATAINED BY CAROTHERS IN 1932


FIG 2 LACTIDE FORMATION


PROPERTIES

The key properties of new synthetic fibre derived from corn are as follows:

Superior melt processability, can produce microfibres.

Low moisture absorption, rapid wicking, excellent hand drape and resilience.

Wrinkle resistance.


Qualities from silk-like to cotton-like.

Exceptional UV resistance.

Low flammability, stain resistance.

Can be washed,dry cleaned and commercially laundered.

Business

Synthetic fibre from corn