New business development - Biosurfactant

Kaneka has positioned four business domains to implement its research and business development strategy: Materials, Quality of Life, Health Care, and Nutrition. Within these domains, we further innovate our technologies, expand business models, and create new ones. We set the purpose of our research and business development activities from the perspective of markets and customers.

The sustainable innovation spirit of this material is indisputable. No matter where this material ends up, it will degrade into water, CO2, and biomass by the microorganisms available in nature. It allows producing innovative packaging, entirely in line with the circular economy, integrating the added value of compostability as end-of-life, and opens up new perspectives in waste management systems.

The material can be processed with conventional plastic industry equipment, such as injection molding and extrusion machinery. The typical end applications are those for which organic recyclability (compostable and anaerobic digestibility) is the intended end-of-life or for which it is challenging to avoid fragments ending up in the open environment. It is suitable for (food) packaging, organic waste management, agricultural, horticultural, and marine-related applications.

EPERAN™-PP and EPERAN™ are Kaneka’s expanded polypropylene and polyethylene foam beads or particles. These particles are used to be molded into various shapes and products whose superior mechanical and outstanding cushioning and energy absorption properties make them ideal materials for the automotive industry, engineering products, returnable containers, housings for HVAC, cushioning and protective packaging, and many more.