Emirates Biotech Selects Sulzer Technology for Polylactic Acid Production

Emirates Biotech has selected Sulzer as the technology provider for its upcoming polylactic acid (PLA) production plant in the United Arab Emirates. The facility will be constructed in two phases, each with an annual capacity of 80,000 metric tons (88,200 U.S. tons), resulting in a total production capacity of 160,000 metric tons per year. According to Emirates Biotech, this volume of bioplastic material is enough to replace approximately 3.2 billion plastic bottles and reduce CO₂ emissions by over 300,000 metric tons annually.

Emirates Biotech will leverage Sulzer’s licensed PLA technology to manage all production steps from a single location, including lactide production, purification and polymerization. The facility will also use a plant-based feedstock to produce high-quality PLA bioplastics at scale.

“Our partnership with Sulzer marks a key milestone in our journey to establish a world-class PLA production facility. Sulzer’s expertise and innovative solutions will be crucial in achieving our vision of leading the biopolymer industry while contributing to a more sustainable future,” says Marc Verbruggen, Emirates Biotech CEO.

Construction on the facility is set to commence in 2025, with the facility expected to be operational by early 2028. Lactic acid will be used as feedstock to produce PLA, offering a low-carbon footprint and biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics.

“This project is extremely important as environmental challenges are highlighting the need for the global adoption of biopolymers. Further, it emphasizes our ethos of tackling sustainability from the ground up. Not only are we enabling cleaner processes and end products with our technologies, we also ensure that our equipment and systems have a very high degree of efficiency, limiting the energy input required for operation,” says Emmanuel Rapendy, global head polymers and crystallization at Sulzer’s Chemtech division.