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Let's begin with (a quick definition of bioplastics ): "A form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch, or microbiota, rather than fossil fuel plastics which are derived from petroleum."
Ingeo, in turn, is a NatureWorks LLC's trademark for a bioplastic made from a biopolymer called polylactic acid (PLA) that's derived from corn. Josh Clark of HowStuffWorks explains that Ingeo "uses starches from corn that break down much more easily than petroleum-based plastics. The degradation process is organic enough that products made from PLA can be composted with other organic materials like leaves and grass clippings." The process starts with starch extruded from corn meal, resulting in a simple starch called dextrose. "Dextrose," says Clark, "is a type of glucose, which is a simple sugar that plants produce during photosynthesis. With the active ingredient in corn starch isolated, the dextrose is put through a fermentation process similar to the one used to make beer. Instead of alcohol, however, the dextrose is converted into lactic acid—the same stuff that makes your muscles cramp when you exercise without proper hydration. Heat is applied to the lactic acid polymers, causing them to link together and form a long chain that ultimately becomes the material used to make many corn plastic products."
"Ingeo is the world's first man-made fiber collection from 100% annually renewable resources," adds Kara DiCamillo at TreeHugger, "and more and more young designers are using it."
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