Bio-based polymers company Novomer (Waltham, Massachusetts / USA; www.novomer.com) has teamed up with specialty starches producer Penford Corp (Centennial, Colorado / USA; www.penford.com) to develop starch-polypropylene carbonate (PPC) polymer composites. The companies said the low-cost materials will be suitable for packaging applications such as barrier films and structured articles.

Novomer will contribute its PPC technology and knowledge of sustainable polymers to the partnership, while Penford will provide its experience of specialty starch-based formulations. PPC is composed of nearly 50% waste carbon dioxide by weight, has good mechanical and barrier properties and is compatible with specialty modified starch, the companies said.

“Governments and companies, especially those in packaged goods markets around the globe, continue to place a heavy emphasis on initiatives aimed at reducing carbon levels in the atmosphere and creating alternatives to petroleum based plastics,” stated Peter Shepard, executive VP of Novomer. “We believe that the combination of Novomer's extensive PPC technology with Penford's lower cost, renewable specialty starch products will create truly novel and cost effective packaging materials and a new avenue to address these market needs.”