Petroleum-based plastics may be on the road to fossilization: price volatility, chemical persistence, overall lifecycle costs, and health risks associated with these conventional plastics are sparking interest in renewable, plant-based plastics. With ever-increasing demand for limited raw materials such as petroleum oils, stocks of raw materials are dwindling. In conjunction with this, political instability has led to skyrocketing costs for these raw materials. It is only natural that end users have become more interested in renewable materials. Commercializing Bioresins 2007: Emerging Markets for Biobased Plastics, IntertechPira’s third conference on biobased plastics, will provide a forum to explore growth opportunities for corn-, soy-, starch-, and cellulose-based resins in industrial applications.

Proposed conference sessions include:
Market overview and analysis
Latest developments in bioresins manufacture
Innovations in bioresins applications
Technology advances in water soluble polymers

Conference participants will explore the outlook for bioplastics markets; generating market pull and understanding customer acceptance; cost factors and comparisons to the petrochemical value chain; adoption of biomaterials in electronics and automotive applications; and selling strategies for bioresins. The conference’s social functions, which include a reception, luncheon, breakfast, and refreshment breaks, will provide ample opportunity for attendees to further explore specific areas of interest. Over 100 industry executives and technologists from leading organizations are expected to attend this international conference. The list of attendees will include representatives from resin producers; composite and apparel manufacturers; textile weavers; and petroleum-based resin, filler, additive, and fiber manufacturers. End users from the automotive, textile, consumer electronics, food packaging and medical industries are also expected to attend.