The expansion will take place at the company’s US plant in Blair, Nebraska, USA. Corbion, which also produces lactic acid in the Netherlands, Brazil, Spain and Thailand, did not disclose capacity figures or a start-up date for the expanded capacity. In early 2020 it announced plans to expand its offering in Asia with a new plant at an existing site in Rayong Province, Thailand.

Corbion said it aims to achieve the US expansion at in the most sustainable way possible. Without giving details, it said it will employ technology designed to enable a significant boost in efficiency while avoiding an increase in emissions, thus demonstrating that production growth can be decoupled from CO2 output.

The use of lactic acid and its derivatives as ingredients in foods and beverages for safe preservation, and in home and personal care products for effective but gentle disinfection and hygiene, has increased steadily in the Americas over the past five years, the company said.  

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist