Braskem Advances With Green Plastic

Braskem has decided on its petrochemical complex in Triunfo, Brazil, as the site for a $300 million "green polyethylene" plant. The company will buy locally sourced ethanol, convert it to ethylene, and then polymerize that into 200,000 metric tons per year of polyethylene. Set to open in 2010, the plant is part of a $600 million investment program at the site that also includes a power generation unit. Meanwhile, Dow Chemical says it is close to leasing land to grow sugarcane and build a 350,000-metric-ton ethanol-based polyethylene plant in Brazil. Solvay Indupa is planning an ethanol-based polyvinyl chloride plant in the country as well.