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Development of NatureWorks LLCFrom Kernel to Pellet

Joseph Schroeder, Ph.D.

Lead Chemist

NatureWorks LLC

Frontiers in Biorefining

October 22, 2010

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Our Mission

to be the global leader in producing a broad family of performance plastics from

renewable resources, dedicated to meeting the

world's needs today without compromising the earth's

ability to meet the needs of tomorrow.

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The NatureWorks journey…..

‟89 ‟90 „91 ‟92 ‟93 ‟94 ‟95 ‟96 ‟97 ‟98 ‟99 ‟00 ‟01 ‟02 ‟03 ‟04 ‟05 ‟06 ‟07 ‟08 „09 ‟10

Project begins in

Cargill

Pilot plant

(5 lb/hr)

Semiworks plant

(1,000 lb/hr)

JDA Dow

Chemical

Cargill Dow

Polymers, LLC (JV)

NatureWorks LLC

(stand alone JV)

Cargill acquires Dow‟s

interest in NatureWorks

Blair, NE

(20,000 lb/hr)

Polysar

JDA

NatureWorks jointly owned by

Cargill and Teijin

Wholly owned

by Cargill

Blair, NE

(40,000 lb/hr)

People & Organizations . . .

Plants . . .

Capital . . . Tens of Millions

of $$Hundreds of

Millions of $$

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Early history of polylactide polymers

– Lactide monomer production described in 1912

– Polylactide production described in 1932 (Carothers et. al.)

• Technology developed further by DuPont, with high molecular weight

polymers in 1955, but technology appears to have been shelved

• First commercial application c.1972, with Ethicon Inc. development of

resorbable sutures (poly-lactide-co-glycolide)

– Resurgence of interest in 1980‟s

• E.S. Lipinsky, “Chemicals from Biomass: Petrochemical Substitution

Options”, Science, 212, 1465-1471 (1981) (Battelle Columbus Laboratories)

• E.S. Lipinsky and R.G. Sinclair, “Is Lactic Acid a Commodity Chemical?”,

Chem. Eng. Progress (Aug. 1986)

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A few key Nebraska /US corn statistics:

• 1 bushel (bu) = 56 lbs = 25.4 kg

• 1 acre = 43,560 ft2 = 4047 m2

• 1 ear of corn has 600-900 individual kernels

• April 15 – June 5 planting season

• Sept 10 – Nov 25 harvest

• Top 5 producers IA, IL, NE, MN, IN (66% of US crop)

• 9.2 M acres harvested in 2006 (86.5 M US)

• 1.472 B bu in ’06 (US 13.1 B)

• 70% of NE crop is irrigated (highest in US)

• 160 bu/acre (US 151.1 bu/acre) (est. 180 bu/acre by 2015)

• 22.5 degC avg temp during growth

• 30” rainfall annual

• 1.86 B bu storage (59% on farm)

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What can you get from one bushel of corn?

1.6 Pounds of Corn Oil

Cooking Oil, Margarine, Mayonnaise, Salad

Dressing, Shortening, Soups, Printing Ink,

Soap, Leather Tanning

AND

32 Pounds of Starch

Adhesives, Batteries, Cardboard, Crayons,

Degradable Plastics, Dyes, Plywood, Paper,

Antibiotics, Chewing Gun

AND OR

13.5 Pounds of Gluten Feed

21% Protein

Livestock & Poultry Feed, Pet Food

33 Pounds of Sweetener

Shoe Polish, Soft Drinks & Juices, Jams and Jellies,

Canned Fruit, Cereal, Licorice, Peanut Butter,

Catsup, Marshmallows

AND OR

2.6 Pounds of Gluten Meal

60% Protein

Amino Acids, Fur Cleaner, Poultry Feed

2.7 Gallons of Ethanol/Alcohol

Motor Fuel Additive, Alcoholic Beverages, Industrial

Alcohol

OR

19 Pounds of Ingeo™ Biopolymer

The US uses one billion lbs of starch in corrugated paper every year.

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Primary Processing

SecondaryProcessing

Tertiary Processing

Processing Investment (Technology, Capital, Labor)

Valu

e (

$ p

er

bush

el m

illed)

Plants(Corn)

Starch

ModifiedStarches

$

HFCS

Dextrose

Bio-products

Coproducts

(Feed, Oil)

Erythritol Lysine

Lactic Acid

Ethanol

Source: E.M. Munro, CRA, Inc.

Value Chain Derived from the

Cargill Wet Corn Milling Site in Blair, Nebraska

Ingeo

NatureWorks LLC

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NatureWorks Ingeo™

Manufacturing Process

Devolatiliser

Deactivator/Additives

Polymer Reactors

Pre-Polymer Reactors

Lactic Acid, 88%

Water

Distillation

LA, Water

Lactide

Reactor

Catalyst/ Purge

Recovery

Column

Crystallization/DryingPLA

Pellets

Purge

L-Lactide

Meso-LactideCrude Lactide

To HLA Plant

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Biorefinery . . .

Chemical . . .

O

OH

HO

OH

OH

OH

O

OH

HO

OH

OH

O

O

HO

OH

OH

O

O

HO

OH

OH

OH

HOOH

O

CH3

n

Corn

Processing

Fermentation

Starch Glucose L-Lactic Acid

O

O

O

O

H3C

CH3

HOO

OH

CH3

O

O

CH3

HOOH

O

CH3

HOO

OH

CH3

O

O

CH3

n < 20 n > 1000

Pre-Polymer

(Oligomer)L-Lactic Acid L-Lactide Ingeo Biopolymer

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Lactic Acid

NatureWorks LLC -

Ingeo Biopolymer

Plant

640 acres - 1 sq. mile – 263 ha.

Missouri River

Corn Mill

Sugar Refinery

Corn Oil

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Flexible, Films& Coatings

Serviceware Rigid Containers

Consumer Goods

Bottles

Nonwovens Home & Office Textile Apparel

Cards

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Environmental(consumer, retail, brand owner)

• Lower CO2 footprint, less non-renewable energy usage

• Better EOL options (ind’l compost, feedstock recovery)

• Target: lower environmental footprint of plastics

• Oil vs. plant-based feed-stock cost (stability)

• CO2 / waste taxation

• Target: create viable alternate product portfolio (plastics)

Economic(plastics value chain)

Value Drivers

Despite these

volatile economic

times, STRATEGIC

and

ENVIRONMENTAL

growth / value drivers

remain strong …

• Renewable vs. oil-based feedstock

• Reduce dependence on foreign oil

• Target: cellulosicbio-refinery concept(fuel / gas + plastics)

Strategic(governments)

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Atmosphere

Ingeo™ biopolymer

Corn/Feedstock Production

Sequester CO2 by corn production

CO2 CO2

N2O CH4CO2

Ingeo Eco-Profile:Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Ingeo production system

Calculation of the eco-profile means drawing a ‘box’ around the process from field to factory

gate, and rigorously identifying and including anything which crosses the system boundary

Corn Milling,Fermentation, Polymerization

Production of: fuels, power, steam, fertilizers, water, acids, base, waste water treatment, etc.

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Lactide production

Polylactide production

Corn production

harvesting & drying +

transport to CWM

Dextrose production

System boundary Ingeo

Electricity

Fertilizers

Natural gas

Diesel

Gasoline

Propane

Natural gas

Electricity

Steam

Compressed air

Natural gas

Electricity

Steam

Natural gas

Electricity

Steam

Natural gas

Electricity

Steam

Raw materials

Carbon dioxide

and water

Wind energy

Fossil fuels

Solar energy

Air emissions

Water emissions

Solid waste

Co-products

Carbon dioxide

Irrigation water

Herbicides

Insecticides

Seed corn

Limestone

Sulfur dioxide

Enzymes

Calcium hydroxide

Water

Nutrient, acids…

Water

Wastewater

treatment plant

N2, Carbon black

Potable water

N2

Potable water

Ingeo eco-

profile

calculation

procedure

Lactic acid production

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Greenhouse Gases

Continuous improvement process

Ingeo 2005 Ingeo Current Future Improvement

-60%

• Ingeo: Vink E.T.H. et al. The eco-profile for current Ingeo® polylactide production. Industrial

Biotechnology, Volume 6, Number 4, 2010, Page 212-224.

• Fossil based polymers:

PlasticsEurope; www.lca.plasticseurope.org

• GWP100 factors according to IPCC (CO2=1, CH4=23 N2O=296)

Economic Strategic

Environmental

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Ingeo is a bio-polymer made from lactic acid

Ingeo

Polylactide

OO

O

O

OO

O

OH

H

Lactic Acid

Polymerization

Hydrolysis

A new paradigm for Cradle-to-Cradle

materials recycle . . .“Feedstock Recovery”

- H2O

+ H2O

Economic Strategic

Environmental

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A new paradigm for Cradle-to-Cradle materials recycle . . .

“Feedstock Recovery”

Ingeo from

Closed Loop Venue

Ingeo from

Curbside MRF

Post-

Industrial Ingeo

Used Plastic

as Feedstock

Europe

3rd-Party

Processor

End User

(Re-generated)

Lactic acid

NatureWorks LLC

North America

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031719212426283338Day 47Day 47

•Specific Conditions

requirement allows for

products to be designed for

normal use

•Requires the specific

conditions of high temperature

and moisture found in

municipal compost systems

Biodegradation

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Beyond 2010: NatureWorks Looking Forward

Broadening Products

& Applications

Globalizing the

Manufacturing Platform

Cellulosic

Feedstocks

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Globalizing the

Manufacturing Platform

Decision on region / site location

for 2nd Ingeo plant targeted for early 2011

• Feedstock

• Market

• Incentives

• Feedstock

• Market

• Incentives

• Feedstock

• Market

• Incentives?

• High

• Medium

• Low

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Broadening Products

& Applications

NatureWorks

Ingeo

Polylactides

Ingeo

Lactides

8000 Series - foam

7000 Series – ISBM Bottles

6000 Series – fibers/nonwovens

4000 Series - films

3000 Series – Injection Molding

2000 Series - Thermoforming

Our current platform of

competitively-priced polymer

grades optimized for use in

specific segments …

Offering new resin products /

polymer-grade lactides to enable

further global growth of the industry

To . . .

Broadening from …

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Technology Broadening

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Cellulosic

Feedstocks

Where we are today …

Where we‟re going …

– Our footprint is small. At full capacity, Ingeo™ represents:

• < 0.2 % of 2007 US corn production (< 0.05 % of global corn production)

– Ingeo is feedstock agnostic. 2nd plant will use most abundant local

industrial sugar or starch source.

– 2nd-generation technology is becoming an industrial reality …

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NatureWorks LLC

Ingeo Biopolymer Plant

Thank You