Total Corbion PLA (Gorinchem / The Netherlands; www.total-corbion.com) has announced that PLA resins from sugarcane that is certified by Bonsucro (London / UK; www.bonsucro.com) are now available for commercial order. The range of these resins will be offered within its existing "Luminy" PLA resin portfolio. PLA bioplastics can be used in a range of applications, such as packaging, consumer goods and automotive components.

The company works with Bonsucro and suppliers in the development of the sugarcane industry in Thailand. The PLA resins producer says offering the Bonsucro-certified sugarcane allows converters to use PLA bioplastics made from sugarcane that is grown according to sustainable agriculture principles. According to Total Corbion, Thai supplier Mitr Phol Sugar (Bangkok; www.mitrphol.com/home.php) became the first sugar producer in Thailand to achieve Bonsucro certification in July 2016.

Total Corbion, a 50:50 joint venture between Total (Paris / France; www.total.com) and Corbion (Amsterdam / The Netherlands; www.corbion.com), is constructing a PLA polymerisation plant, with a capacity of 75,000 t/y, in Rayong / Thailand that is set to go onstream in the second half of 2018 – see Plasteurope.com of 21.11.2016. The jv's whitepaper states that "concerns of using biobased feedstocks for plastics can be successfully identified and managed, and that the many benefits of these biobased, renewable feedstocks far outweigh their challenges."