Quebec supplier unveils thermoplastic starch

Montreal-based Cerestech, Inc. has commercially introduced several branded thermoplastic starch (TPS) blends, trademarked as Cereloy. According to Cerestech, the product will deliver cost-effective, high property retention film and injection molded products with a substantially reduced carbon footprint, compared to such resins as polyethylene, polypropylene, biodegradable polyester or polylactic acid (PLA).

The company is a technology development and licensing spin-off from the cole Polytechnique engineering school in Montreal. Large-scale or sample sizes are available to converters worldwide.

Using starches derived from corn, wheat and tapioca, the technology allows for direct substitution of traditional plastics from fossil-fuel sources with TPS in large volume applications such as films, bags and injection molded products.

“Never before have we seen products delivering such high performance while offering a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission,” said Dr. Basil Favis, Cerestech founder and chief scientific officer. “The production of pure thermoplastic starch using our approach emits up to 90 per cent less greenhouse gases than polyethylene, and also has significant advantages in terms of nonrenewable energy consumption when compared to other plastics.”