As the rejection of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging gains momentum around the world, plastics industry researchers have quickly discovered a possible alternative.
The new process uses waste carbon dioxide to produce polymers and polyols free from BPA that can be used in can and crown cap liners and in the production of rigid plastic beverage bottles.
The new process, which has just received government funding for further development in the United States, uses carbon dioxide in association with a catalyst, which, when added under pressure at low temperature, produces a polymer.
An added advantage of the process, known as Novomer, is that it appears to use less energy than normal polymer production, and fewer petro-chemicals. As a result the carbon footprint is 50% to 70% less than that of existing polymer production processes.
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