Bio-based Biodegradable PLA Plastic Launched Under BioE3 Framework

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Jitendra Singh, has formally launched the commercial use of bio-based biodegradable plastic made from Polylactic Acid (PLA). The launch took place at the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) in New Delhi and marks a step by India towards next generation sustainable manufacturing.

The project and its backing

The venture is being carried forward by Balrampur Chini Mills Limited (BCML) under the government framework called BioE3, which stands for Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment. A grant of Rs 75 crore from the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), which works under DBT, supports a pilot scale research facility of 100 TPA for PLA and co-polymers. The plant will come up inside BCML's integrated manufacturing complex at Kumbhi in Uttar Pradesh.

What the pilot facility will do

The facility is meant to develop specialised PLA grades and advanced co-polymers for high value uses, generate techno-economic data and process know-how, support product development and customer validation, help indigenise the technology and allow a smooth scale up towards commercial production. It is also expected to draw industry, academia and research institutions closer together.

Bioeconomy figures cited

Dr Jitendra Singh said the Indian bioeconomy, worth around US$10 billion in 2014, has climbed to nearly US$195 billion, a sign of how quickly biotechnology driven activity has spread. The next phase, he argued, must turn scientific ability into products and technologies that sell. He pressed the waste to wealth idea, saying different regions throw up different kinds of biomass that need different conversion routes, and remarked that there is no such thing as waste.

Wider message

The Minister asked for simpler public outreach, suggesting that people be shown how an everyday crop such as sugarcane can travel beyond food into sustainable materials. Linking the work to the Vocal for Local and Global approach, he said indigenous production capability should be built at home and then carried to world markets. Dr Rajesh Sudhir Gokhale, Secretary, DBT and Chairman, BIRAC, said the project can create a value chain beyond ethanol by turning sugar and other biomass into lactic acid and high value biopolymers.