NatureWorks, the largest producer of biobased lactides, announced world scale availability of its new Ingeo M700, a high-purity, polymer-grade lactide rich in meso-lactide. Ingeo M700 has been designed to package and deliver performance and functionality all in one unique molecule.

This is different than previous industry approaches, which have attempted to deliver the functionality requested by the market with mixtures of two different materials, L-lactide and D-lactide.

“A few producers have offered what is described chemically as racemic or ‘DL’ lactide,” said Dr. Manuel Natal, global segment leader for lactide derivatives at NatureWorks. “Compared to those lactides, Ingeo M700 is a next generation solution in terms of processing efficiency, cost effectiveness and, in a number of applications, higher end-product performance.”

Ingeo M700 lactide can be used as an intermediate for copolymers, amorphous resins, grafted substrates, resin additives and modifiers, adhesives, coatings, elastomers, printing toners, surfactants, thermosets and solvents. Ingeo M700’s melting point is below 60°C, compared to racemic lactide’s melting point of nearly 130°C, and L- and D-lactide’s around 97°C.

Providing a product with a lower melting point allows NatureWorks to supply processors with a more effective chemical intermediate on a number of different levels. For example, because of its lower processing temperatures, Ingeo M700 offers more energy efficient and generally easier manufacturing processes to deliver ester functionality and, because it is effectively an anhydrous form of lactic acid, processors will not have to deal with water when using Ingeo M700.

Ingeo M700 is up to two times more susceptible to ring-opening reactions than L-, D- or racemic lactides, which can mean less catalyst usage, lower reaction temperatures, faster reaction time and improved throughput. It can be processed below 80°C, which under most circumstances eliminates the need to handle expensive solid particles and allows easier processing.

About NatureWorks

NatureWorks LLC is a company dedicated to meeting the world’s needs of today without compromising the earth’s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow. NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available, low-carbon-footprint Ingeo lactides and biopolymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with performance and economics that compete with oil-based intermediates, plastics, and fibers, and provide brand owners new cradle-to-cradle options after the use of their products.