Bio-Based Corn Plant to Produce Polymers, Plastics and More

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September 1, 2005

Bio-Based Corn Plant to Produce Polymers, Plastics and More

Seattle, WA, USA--(Jobwerx News)--Tennessee plant under construction, will produce polymers for plastics, clothing and carpeting from corn, to create 50 new manufacturing jobs.

A new $100 million plant under construction here will create 50 new manufacturing jobs and help create a bio-based economy that will help reduce U.S. reliance on foreign oil by using renewable resources to make high-performance products and energy, DuPont Chairman and CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr. and Tate & Lyle PLC Chief Executive Iain Ferguson said today.

DuPont and Tate & Lyle have formed a joint venture to build the plant, which will use renewable resources to replace petrochemical-based products. DuPont and Tate & Lyle scientists have developed a new method to use corn to produce 1,3 propanediol (PDO). This new product, Bio-PDO™, is a key ingredient in the production of DuPont™ Sorona®, the newest DuPont polymer for clothing, carpeting, plastics and many other possible uses.

The production of Bio-PDO™ consumes 30-40 percent less energy than petroleum-based PDO (on a per pound basis). Production of 100 million pounds of Bio-PDO™ in the Loudon plant will save the equivalent of 10 million gallons of gasoline per year.

"The world is in a position today where we can no longer afford to rely solely on oil and oil-derived products to sustain us," DuPont's Holliday said. "Biology-based solutions offer us the opportunity to transform economies by creating new, high-performance bio-materials that use less energy to manufacture, are preferred by our customers and are better for the long-term health of our economy and the environment."

"We think the time for corn is now and that we are ideally placed to bring this new bio-based material to market," said Tate & Lyle's Ferguson. "Bio-PDOTM delivers on green credentials and meets both the environmental and economic need to reduce oil-dependency. The corn fields of today will be the oilfields of the future and we believe that our joint venture, due on stream next calendar year, is well matched to meet the demands of the current climate."

The Future of Sorona®: Clothing from a cornfield. Click on photo for High Resolution image.

"This $100 million investment by DuPont and Tate & Lyle will help keep our state on the cutting edge for biotechnology-related industry," said Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen. "I'm also pleased to see new manufacturing jobs created in East Tennessee, and that these new products will be focused around renewable resources."

The U.S Environmental Protection Agency presented DuPont with its annual "Presidential Green Chemistry Award" in 2003 for the company's research leading to the development of the Bio-PDO™ process.

Tate & Lyle is a world leading manufacturer of renewable ingredients. It uses innovative technology to transform corn, wheat and sugar into value-added ingredients for customers in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paper, packaging and building industries. The Company is a leader in cereal sweeteners and starches, sugar refining, value added food and industrial ingredients, and citric acid. Tate & Lyle is the world number-one in industrial starches and is the sole manufacturer of SPLENDA® Sucralose. The Company operates more than 60 production facilities in 28 countries.

DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel.

The DuPont Oval, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Bio-PDO™, and Sorona® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates. SPLENDA® and the SPLENDA® logo are trademarks of McNeil Nutritionals, LLC.

Photo courtesy of DuPont.

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