Daesang to produce new eco-friendly material Cadaverine

Daesang Corp., South Korean manufacturer of food and pharmaceutical ingredients, announced on Wednesday that it has developed a new eco-friendly material called Cadaverine that can replace petroleum-based materials.

The company aims to expand its white bio business which would replace materials from the chemicals industry with renewable alternatives.

Daesang has completed the pilot production of Cadaverine samples. Cadaverine is a bio-based environmentally friendly material derived from biomass, mainly used as a raw material for producing nylon and polyurethane.

Using lysine, an amino acid, as the raw material, Cadaverine has lower carbon emissions compared to the conventional petroleum-based material hexamethylenediamine, contributing to carbon neutrality, explained Daesang.

In the future, Daesang plans to directly produce Cadaverine using its fermentation manufacturing technology based on lysine as the raw material in the materials business division.

In particular, as Daesang produces lysine, the main ingredient, in its own bio plant in Gunsan, it can secure the cost competitiveness of Cadaverine.

After the pilot production, the company is focusing on securing domestic and international customers, including chemical fiber companies, through sample testing.

Daesang is also making efforts to develop thermoplastic starch, a biodegradable bioplastic material using corn starch. Through this, the company aims to localize and diversify the materials for biodegradable bioplastics, most of which are currently relying on imports.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com