| Joint venture reaps first product By Associated Press November 28, 2006 LOUDON - DuPont Co. and England-based Tate & Lyle on Monday announced the first shipment from a $100 million joint venture plant that turns corn sugars into a chemical that can be used in everything from clothing fibers to airplane de-icing fluids. "The first shipments ... mark the beginning of the commercial availability of DuPont's bio-based pipeline, which is designed to deliver high performance, renewably sourced materials," said Thomas Connelly, chief innovation officer at Dover, Del.-based DuPont. Using a proprietary fermentation process developed by DuPont and Tate & Lyle, the plant, located about 35 miles west of Knoxville, produces a new bio-based product known by the trademarked name Bio-PDO. The bio-product can be made using 40 percent less energy than petroleum-based equivalents. The companies estimate that producing 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO could save the equivalent of 10 million gallons of gasoline per year, or enough to fuel 22,000 cars. The first shipments are going for use in a DuPont branded polymer for residential carpets and apparel and to an unnamed customer evaluating Bio-PDO's industrial applications. The companies said they also have plans for Bio-PDO in cosmetics, liquid detergents, industrial de-icing fluids and anti-freeze. "We are seeing strong demand for all of our grades of Bio-PDO due to its performance, biodegradable nature and ability to replace petroleum-derived products," DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products President Steven Mirshak said. |