In South Korea, Samyang is planning to build a renewable isosorbide manufacturing facility with capacity to produce 10,000 tons per year.
“This year we will build an eco-friendly plastic material factory made of corn,” Samyang group chairman Kim Yoon told Aju Business Daily. “It will take about two years to build the factory.”
Isosorbide is a monomer that can be used to produce polycarbonates, polyesters, polyurethanes and epoxides. “This project has great significance as Samyang will go into the new field of industrial biotechnology,” Kim adds.
Roquette, a French company, was the first to produce isosorbide from food processing byproducts. Samyang first produced isosorbide in 2014 following six years of R&D.