Canada: First miscanthus-based bio-plastics debut

The first commercial scale production facility for Miscanthus-based bioplastic products has been successfully commissioned This project is a collaboration between New Energy Farms (NEF) and Competitive Green Technologies in Leamington Ontario.

Three years of research and development has now resulted in commercial application. The development of these products is based on the principle of fractionating the bale not the barrel, to extract fibers for multiple end uses including composite manufacture, fuel and animal bedding. The current site utilises 30,000t of biomass per year for heating of 40 acres of glasshouse vegetables, with 2,000 Acres of Miscanthus established.

This has been the vision of NEF and its partners, from the development of genetics, establishing large scale production, and the downstream processing and marketing, NEF is invested and active in all parts of the supply chain.

A range of consumer products has been developed. The first products are storage bins and plant containers, made from a blend of recycled plastic and high levels of Miscanthus fiber.

The products have been produced under an IP based process that is unique and offers significant benefits to the consumer.

The process allows products with high levels of plant fiber to be manufactured at the same speed as for using virgin plastic, which is unique. This provides products with less plastic to the customer at competitive prices.

The first storage bins have been successfully test marketed at a national chain level. Expansion is planned utilizing this principle with further sites in the US and EU.