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Bioplastics manufacturer has teamed up with South Korea-based Dongil Platech, manufacturer of drinking straws, to develop a bioplastic straw made of a blend of PLA and amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoates (aPHA). This will be the first straw of its kind to incorporate CJ Biomaterials’ Phact aPHA.

According to the collaborators, the addition of aPHA to the Dongil straw was inspired due to the flow property improvements aPHA provided for processing, in addition to making flexibility easier to achieve. Apparently, the processing time for PLA-only based straws entails a long cycle time. The addition of aPHA improved processing time by 50% using Dongil’s technology. The value proposition was enhanced performance along with a positive impact on the bottom line. CJ Biomaterials aims to explore the value proposition encountered by Dongil to see if they can add value to other PLA-only straws to improve flow properties during manufacturing to improve overall cycle times and profitability

As previously reported, CJ Biomaterials was the world’s first company to produce aPHA, which is a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally different performance characteristics than crystalline or semi-crystalline forms of the biopolymer. It is a biobased material that is TUV OK Certified for industrial and home compost, soil biodegradable and marine biodegradable. When combined with other biopolymers, like PLA technology, it helps improve a product’s rate of biodegradation. Dongil Platech’s new eco-friendly straw is made from sustainably sourced natural ingredients from corn and sugar cane that are free from environmental hormones and heavy metals.