Specialty chemicals maker Perstorp Group will open a bioplastics lab in Sweden in January.
The lab will be at the firm's headquarters site in Perstorp, officials said in a Nov. 6 news release. Perstorp has been working to market its caprolactones as additives in the bioplastics market. Global bioplastics demand is growing at a rate of 20 percent per year, officials said.
In 2013, Perstorp launched Capa-brand processing aids for bioplastics. The compostable material can improve the toughness and flexibility of polylactic acid, PHA and other bioplastics, officials said, making those materials competitive in film and packaging applications.
The firm also is making more investments in technical resources for its bioplastics business. “We're increasing our competitiveness in bioplastics through these investments,” bioplastics project manager Linda Zellner said in the release. “We intend to take a leading position in the development of new bioplastic products.”
Perstorp makes Capa and other caprolactones in Warrington, England, at a pilot plant it acquired from Solvay SA in 2006.