LG Chem to mass-produce biodegradable plastic by 2025

LG Chem has developed a new material made of 100 percent biodegradable raw materials, with properties and functions identical to synthetic plastic, which it aims to mass-produce by 2025.

The new material is composed of glucose from corn and waste glycerol generated from biodiesel production.

It offers the same properties and transparency as synthetic resins, such as one of the most widely produced commodity plastics, polypropylene.

Conventional biodegradable materials are often mixed with additional plastic materials or additives to the materials to strengthen or make it more or elastic, so their properties and prices differed case by case.

According to an LG Chem official, the newly-developed biodegradable material doesn’t require the process of mixing with additional plastic materials or additives to strengthen their properties or elasticity.

The elasticity of LG Chem’s new material is 20 times greater than the usual, and it retains its transparency after being processed.

German certification body Din Certco verified that LG Chem's newly-developed material decomposed more than 90 percent within 120 days.

Ro Kisu, chief technology officer for LG Chem noted that amid growing interest in eco-friendly materials, it is essential that LG Chem successfully develop a source material composed of 100 percent biodegradable raw materials with independent technology.

The global biodegradable materials market is expected to see an annual 15 percent growth and should expand from 4.2 trillion won as of last year to 9.7 trillion won in 2025.