Cargill Dow Technology Wins Presidential Green Chemistry Award.

Business Editors

Cargill Dow LLC is the 2002 recipient of the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge, Alternative Reaction Conditions Award. Honored in a ceremony held at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C., on June 24, Cargill Dow was recognized for the development of their revolutionary process to make plastic from corn - NatureWorks(TM) PLA.

NatureWorks, growing as a mainstream supply, is a commercial-grade polymer used in the fiber and packaging markets around the world. Capable of competing head to head with traditional materials used in these industries - based on performance and cost - the technology behind NatureWorks is truly an environmental success.

Accepting the award was Dr. Patrick Gruber, vice president and chief technology officer, Cargill Dow. Dr. Gruber was the lead chemist on the development of NatureWorks, a project he took on just 12 years ago.

"On behalf of all Cargill Dow employees, the Presidential Green Chemistry Award is received with much pride in our work and goals for a better future - a more sustainable future," said Dr. Gruber. "We have successfully developed the technology to use renewable resources and reduce dependency on finite fossil fuels for the production of everyday products such as food packaging and clothing. And, we're doing it in a socially and environmentally responsible way that will help preserve the world for upcoming generations."

The award, operated by the Environmental Protection Agency and a partnership of various trade, scientific and academia entities, recognizes companies that have found innovative solutions to reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances in the production of chemical products. Annual award submissions are judged by an independent panel of chemical experts convened by the American Chemical Society.

Fulfilling the award criteria, NatureWorks offers many key benefits including its lifecycle, which requires up to 50 percent less fossil resources than comparable petroleum-based products. In addition, PLA generates 15 percent to 60 percent less greenhouse gases (GHG) than the material it replaces. With additional PLA technology advances GHGs could be reduced up to 80 percent to 100 percent.

NatureWorks PLA technology produces the renewable resource-based resin by "harvesting" carbon from plants, such as corn, which has been removed from the air during photosynthesis. This is achieved by tapping into the carbon stored in plant starches, which are then broken down into natural plant sugars. The carbon and other elements in these natural sugars are used to make polylactide through a simple process of fermentation and separation. In the near future, Cargill Dow plans to use biomass (stalks, leaves and wheat straw) as the raw material for the production of NatureWorks.

While the technology to create PLA has been known for many years, previous attempts looked solely at biodegradable applications. Only Cargill Dow was able to perfect the physical properties of the resins to commercially compete.

In April of this year, Cargill Dow opened the first world-scale manufacturing plant just 20 miles north of Omaha in Blair, Neb. At capacity, the plant will produce more than 300 million pounds (140,000 metric tons) of PLA annually for customers in North America, Europe and Japan, while using up to 40,000 bushels of locally grown corn per day as the raw material for the manufacturing process.

"The certainty of this technology is that a new industrial revolution with a more sustainable future is reality," said Randy Howard, president and CEO, Cargill Dow. "The scope of our operation is proof of our commitment to the social, economical and environmental growth of this technology. And, the reality of this is that companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Sony, Dunlop and Pacific Coast Feather Company, to name a few, realize the value NatureWorks PLA brings their brands."

Founded in 1997, Cargill Dow LLC is based in Minnetonka, Minn. It is the first company to offer its customers a family of polymers derived entirely from annually renewable resources with the cost and performance necessary to compete with packaging materials and traditional fibers. The company has achieved this breakthrough by applying its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer. For more company information, please visit the Cargill Dow Web site at http://www.cargilldow.com.