Crystallizing and Drying of PLA

The majority of NatureWorks® polylactide (PLA) grades are semi-crystalline polymers with relatively slow nucleation and
crystallization rates. As a result, most extruded objects from these grades such as sheet and pellets will be 100% amorphous
after normal quenching operations. These grades include 2002D, 4032D, 4042D. Extruded pellets or sheet from 2100D
could possibly contain some crystalline domains depending upon the quench history. Fully amorphous grades such as 4060D
and 8300D will never crystallize and there should be no attempt to process them in crystallization equipment. In addition,
all PLA is subject to hydrolysis when heated in the presence of water. Therefore, drying is required to prevent a loss in
properties. This document fully explains the drying and crystallization options for PLA and provides some resources for
equipment testing, purchasing and toll manufacturing.

Theory Behind Drying and Crystallization of PLA:

PLA is a hygroscopic thermoplastic. That is, it readily absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. The presence of even small
amounts of moisture will hydrolyze PLA in the melt phase, reducing the molecular weight. As a result, the mechanical
properties of PLA decrease and the end-product quality is compromised. Therefore, PLA must be thoroughly dry just prior to
melt processing. In many cases, recycled PLA may also have to be crystallized prior to drying.

Unlike the other major packaging resins (e.g., polyolefins, polystyrene, and PVC), PLA is produced by a condensation
reaction. This reaction, which also produces water, is reversible. Therefore, when undried PLA is melted the resin and water
chemically react. Hydrolysis occurs and key mechanical properties of the PLA are reduced. This hydrolysis reaction also
changes PLA melt viscosity and the crystallization rate, making it very difficult to process into a quality end product.

Virgin PLA resin is crystallized and dried to 400-ppm moisture level prior to leaving the production plant. The resin is sold
in boxes with moisture resistant foil liners to maintain that moisture level. If the PLA is received in undamaged boxes and
liners, the drying requirements are minimal but still required. In addition, if the foil liner has been opened, drying will be
required. The resin is crystallized to allow easier drying. Uncrystallized PLA becomes sticky and clumps when its
temperature reaches 60oC (140°F). This is PLA's glass transition temperature; the point at which the amorphous portion of
the pellet begins to soften. Regrind or recycled PLA may or may not be crystallized. Flake from clear thermoformed parts,
trim scrap, or cast sheet, is highly amorphous. Flake from oriented film or oriented sheet will be a mixture of crystalline and
amorphous fractions, while that from fibers will be highly crystalline.

It is the process, the shape and degree of crystallinity, and the percentage of regrind that will determine if the recycled PLA
will need to be crystallized. A rule of thumb is that a crystallizer is not required if the amorphous portion of the feed stream is
less than 40% of the total and the extruder has screw-cooling capabilities. However, this generalization ignores wide
variation in the level of crystallinity and size distribution in the flake. Also, some screw designs have a higher degree of
flexibility in handling amorphous regrind than do others. If the process is using amorphous regrind, it is absolutely critical to
have screw that has cooling through the root of the screw through the feed section and half way into the melting section of
the screw. Due to the rapid rate of moisture pick-up of PLA, any regrind that has been stored needs to be dried adequately,
prior to re-extrusion. Most processors of recycled PLA choose to crystallize the recycle in order to eliminate any problems
with drying. Crystallization permits trouble-free drying in conventional equipment at 150°F-190°F. Amorphous PLA
requires drying at much lower temperatures 43-55oC (110 - 130°F), to prevent sticking in the dryer.

Most PLA drying is done in dehumidifying hoppers using hot air at a very low dew point. The dehumidified air passes
through a bed of PLA to extract moisture from the resin. A desiccant material, such as silica, absorbs moisture from the
circulating air. Dual desiccant bed systems are common, in which one bed is on-stream while the stand-by bed is being
regenerated. Either a time cycle or a predetermined decrease in air dew point is used to shift airflow from one bed to the
other.

Due to rapid growth in PLA processing many new plastic converters are manufacturing end products from PLA. A number of
these companies are just now learning how critical drying is when producing high quality PLA end products. Others may not
be aware of the differences in behavior between amorphous and crystallized grades of PLA. It is important to note that
inadequate drying, (on a ppm level) causes a large portion of all quality problems in PLA processing.

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PLA Best Practices:

Drying: PLA must be dried to <250 parts per million (ppm) moisture and maintained at this moisture level to minimize
hydrolysis during melt processing. This is not optional with PLA; it is absolutely essential. A dry resin will help control the
Relative Viscosity (RV) loss, which should be less than 0.1. A reduction in RV greater than this can result in a product
outside of the useful range for several extruded PLA applications. Controlling RV loss is critical to maintaining impact
strength, melt viscosity, and other key properties of the starting material.

The crystallized PLA should be dried at 65 – 90oC (150 - 190°F), using dehumidified air with a dew point of –40°C (-40o
F). Higher drying temperatures can lead to softening and blocking of polymer in the dryer. Lower drying temperatures will
result in extended drying times.

Dew point is an absolute measure of air moisture and is independent of air temperature. Dew point should always be used to
control dryer performance, therefore, the dryer should be equipped with a dew-point monitor and alarm plus a temperature
monitor on the dryer inlet line. Airflow is another critical component to drying. Airflow to the dryer heats the resin and
absorbs its moisture. Sufficient airflow maintains the resin at the proper temperature for its entire residence time. The data in
the figures below were obtained using airflow of 0.016 m3 per minute per kg of polymer (0.25 cubic foot per minute (cfm)
per pound). This was sufficient for the relatively small, 90 kg (200 pound) capacity dryer, used in the experiments.
Commercial extrusion lines typically require higher air volumes and generally use 0.032 – 0.064 m3/min per kg ( 0.5 – 1.0
cfm/pound of resin). NatureWorks recommends consulting your dryer manufacturer and obtaining their recommendations
for minimum airflow for their dryer design. At any rate, a volumetric flow indicator is recommended to monitor airflow.

In laboratory experiments, NatureWorks measured the drying times for various grades of PLA at different drying air
temperatures. Figure 1 below shows 4 different drying curves.

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 Drying Curve

3000

2500

Amorphous 40 C Amorphous 50 C

2000
Moisture Level (ppm)

Crystalline 50 C Crystalline 80 C

1500

1000

500

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Time (hrs)

Figure 1: Drying Curve of PLA pellets at various temperatures. Airflow volume rate was 0.016 m3/min per kg (0.25
cfm/lb) of pellets. The air dew point was – 40oC.
From these data, one can extract drying half times (t1/2), which is the time required for the PLA to reduce its moisture
concentration to one half the initial value. The drying half times from amorphous and crystalline PLA are listed in Table 1
below.

PLA Product and Temperature Drying Half Time (t1/2)

Amorphous Pellets
40°C (104oF) 4.0 hr
Crystalline Products
40°C (104oF) 4.3 hr
50°C (122oF) 3.9 hr
60°C (140oF) 3.3 hr
70°C (158oF) 2.1 hr
80°C (176oF) 1.3 hr
100°C (212oF) 0.6 hr

Table 1: Drying Half Times for PLA Pellets with Dry Air (- 40°C/-40oF dew point) at 0.016 m3/minute per kg (0.25 cfm/lb).

Drying times are determined by measuring the initial moisture content and using the drying half time values in Table 1. The
half time is the time in hours it takes for the moisture level in PLA to drop to ½ of its initial value. For example, if you
wanted to dry PLA with initial moisture content of 1600 ppm down to 200 ppm at 80oC (176°F), you would need to use the
half time of 1.3 hours. Therefore, it would take 1.3 hours to drop the moisture level from 1600-ppm to 800-ppm. It would
then take an additional 1.3 hours to drop the moisture it from a level of 800-ppm to 400-ppm. Finally it would take an
additional 1.3 hours to drop the level from 400-ppm to 200-ppm for a total of 3.9 hours at 80°C (176oF). Other times and
temperatures will be appropriate depending upon the initial moisture level and the time available for drying.

Another best practice for minimizing moisture-related degradation of PLA is to dry any blending ingredients, colorants,
additives, or internal scrap that could potentially contribute moisture to the base resin. If any portion of the formulation is
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hygroscopic, it must be dried according to the supplier's recommendation. Some non-hygroscopic components may not have
to be dried if their equilibrium moisture content and percentage of the formulation are small.

Crystallization: As mentioned before, crystallized PLA pellets and flake will not stick or clump together at temperatures
above the glass transition temperature, 60oC (140°F). This allows the material to be dried at much hotter temperatures.
NatureWorks has done extensive experimentation and determined that PLA pellets and flake will not stick together or clump
if the crystallinity level is greater than 10 joules/gram. At this level of crystallinity or greater, the PLA pellets will appear
cloudy instead of the very transparent appearance of the amorphous pellets. It is critical that the pellets achieve a uniform
crystallinity so that some amorphous pellets do not remain which could cause clumping problems in subsequent drying steps.
There are a number of types of crystallizers in the industry as explained below but just as in drying, there are some best
practices for achieving desirable results.

The crystallizer should be capable of heating the regrind at a steady rate with constant agitation or motion of the regrind to
prevent clumping. The clumps that form due to sticking of amorphous or partly amorphous resin do not break up as the
temperature rises without mechanical interference. In fact, they will stick to the container walls and thermocouples and cause
bridging as the clumps grow. A well-designed crystallizer not only minimizes the formation of clumps, but also is efficient at
breaking up any clumps that may form. Optimum crystallization temperatures for NatureWorks™ PLA depend upon the
grade. Low D percent grades such as 2100D, 4032D and 3001D can be crystallized at 100 - 110°C (210 - 230°F) while
equilibrium grades such as 2002D 3051D and 4042D should be crystallized at 88 – 99oC (190 - 210°F). At these
temperatures, it will take between 10 – 20 minutes for PLA to crystallize PLA. Amorphous grades such as 4060D will never
crystallized and should not be loaded into a crystallizer.

With equilibrium grades, it is often advantageous to add 200 – 400 ppm of an external lubricant such as erucamide to reduce
the COF of the pellet bed. This serves to reduce agitator loads and aids in preventing agglomeration particularly at higher
rates.

Figure 3 below is a graph of the degree of crystallinity as a function of time for various inlet air temperatures. As you can
see, at all but the lowest temperature, the flake was crystallized above the recommended 10 J/gm limit in 20 minutes or less.

Regrind exiting the crystallizer should be checked for moisture level as some drying action occurs in the crystallizer.
Knowledge of moisture level at this point will allow efficient use of the drying resources.

Crystallinity as a Function of Time

45

90 C
40 100 C
110 C
120 C
35 130 C
100 C (talc)
30
Crystallinity (J/g)

25

20

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (min)

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Figure 3: Crystallization of PLA as a Function of Time. Conair Model CR500 500 liter crystallizer with 17 rotating blades
and 3 stationary breaker bars. The agitator arm rotated at a fixed speed of 2 RPM. The Hopper capacity was 0.4 m³ (14 ft3).
The heating capacity was 33 KW and the blower output at full damper opening was 10 M3/min (360 CFM).

Moisture Control: Drying must be coordinated with production at all times. Dryness of the PLA must be maintained until it
enters processing equipment. It is best to use dried material right away so it does not absorb ambient moisture. Depending on
ambient conditions, dried PLA that is not kept in a sealed enclosure can pick up enough moisture in five minutes to defeat
most of the benefits of drying.

To maintain dryness, it is best to vacuum load the pellets and/or regrind directly from a centralized drying unit to feed
hoppers above the processing equipment. In some instances, portable hopper dryers are used and the dried resin is conveyed
directly to the feed hopper.

Moisture Analysis: The Best Practice for moisture analysis of dried samples is to check two to three samples at the end of
each drying cycle to confirm that moisture content is below 250 parts per million. NatureWorks recommends using a Karl-
Fischer titration method that heats the sample at 150oC (302°F) for 30 minutes.

Equipment
Dryers
There are a large number of dryer manufacturers who can design and specify a dryer suitable for your needs using the above
data. NatureWorks, LLC does not recommend any particular dryer supplier since there are many that provide a quality
product. Ideally, any dryer that is being considered for PLA should have the following features:

1) Desiccant beds capable of achieving a dew point of – 40°C (- 40oF) in the supply air
2) An after cooling unit between the drying hopper and desiccant bed to eliminate high temperature spikes in the supply air
which can cause blocking when drying amorphous products.
3) Excellent temperature control in the PLA drying range, 40 – 100 °C (104 – 212oF)
4) Ability to use dry air to convey pellets from the drying hopper to the extruder hopper (closed loop conveying).
5) High temperature alarm on the inlet air temperature and shut off control to prevent melting or blocking in the hopper
6) Dew point monitor and indicator
7) Air flow indicator

Note: A new type of dryer has been introduced recently, using Infrared drying (IR). Due to the high rate of energy transfer
with IR heating in combination with the specific wave length used, the energy costs involved with these systems can be
greatly reduced, along with the size. First tests have shown that virgin PLA can be dried and amourphous flake crystallized
and dried within only about 15 minutes. The output level of these tests were at a rate between 200 - 300 kg/h (440 - 660
lbs/h). As this technology is still developing, it is necessary to discuss the individual drying purpose (e.g. virgin or blend of
virgin/flake) with the equipment manufactures UPM or Kryenborg.

Crystallizers
General Background

There are four general types of crystallizers used in the industry for crystallizing either pellets or ground flake: Vertical
Hopper Units with Convection Heating, Horizontal Conductive Units, Solid State Reactors Tumblers and Fluidized Bed
Crystallizers. In addition, IR dryers have been shown to effectively crystallize PLA during drying. NatureWorks LLC has
used all five types of crystallizers on various PLA products. Each type of unit has its own advantages and limitations.

Vertical Hopper Unit with Convection Heating

This is the most common type of crystallizer in the industry. The vertical hopper crystallizer resembles a vertical drying
hopper with the addition of a center agitator arm. This arm is powered by a drive unit typically mounted on the top of the

NWPKG0380205V2
vessel. While there are many dryer manufacturers that have tried to retrofit existing dryer designs with a simple agitator, the
key to proper operation with PLA is the design of the agitator arm. One company, Conair Franklin has tested and developed
a design that not only works well for PET, but has also been demonstrated with PLA. In this design, the central agitator arm
is equipped with many angled agitator arms which are specially designed to keep material in motion and prevent
agglomeration. In addition, there are a number of stationary breaker bars mounted into the vessel walls that help break any
polymer agglomerates. More recently, Una-Dyn has developed a line of crystallizers and associated dryers that are uniquely
suited to the properties of PLA. In this design of dryer, the polymer is heated by way of forced air from an external blower
and electrical heater that is blown into a bottom mounted diffusion plate. Spent air is typically exhausted into the
surrounding atmosphere although recycle systems could be designed. In operation, the material is continuously drawn out of
the unit from the bottom while a level indicator controlling a hopper loader maintains a constant level at the top of the
hopper. It is necessary to start up the unit with a previously crystallized material in the bottom half of the hopper since
airflow, heat transfer and agitation is not sufficient enough at the bottom to immediately crystallize the polymer. Once the
unit is started and temperatures are at steady state, fresh amorphous material can slowly be added to the system to build the
level. Once the level is achieved, material can be drawn off of the bottom. The unit operates best in steady state continuous
mode. In some cases, it is necessary to feed a mixture of crystallized resin and fresh feed, to avoid blocking. It is
recommended to start with a 50/50 blend of fresh amorphous resin and crystallized resin. After stable operation is
established, the mixture can be moved to lower fractions of pre-crystallized resin, while avoiding sticking or blocking.

The advantages of these units are the relatively low cost and small footprint. They integrate well with most conventional
drying systems. Depending upon the design of the agitator, they may be susceptible to material agglomeration, which could
hinder rates.

Horizontal Conduction Heating Units

This is a unique crystallizer design that relies on high pellet to metal contact area to heat the material and constant particle
motion to eliminate agglomeration. Bepex International LLC makes a unit called a Torusdisc. The Torusdisc is a disc dryer
using hot air or gas as drying media in combination with a heating jacket and a heating rotor. The Torusdisc rotor consists of
special heated discs within a cylindrical housing, which is jacketed. The rotor is designed with vertically mounted double
walled hollow discs. Heating media flow through the rotor, the discs and the jacketed vessel surrounding the rotor. These
discs provide 85% of the total heating surface.

The rotor speed varies from 0.1 up to 0.5m/s and is independent from the residence time, so optimum mixing and heat
transfer can be obtained. The residence time can be adjusted from minutes up to several hours. The compact size makes it
especially appropriate for high heat transfer requirements at minimum floor space requirements.

The Torus disc crystallizer has been used successfully with all semi-crystalline grades of NatureWorks™ PLA. Advantages
are once that the process window has been identified, operation is trouble free. There is less air movement and heating so
operation costs are less. However, initial equipment cost is high.

Solid State Reactors (Also known as Tumbler Dryers or Vaccum-Dryers)

This is basically a jacketed tumbling mixer that has special rotary unions that allow a vacuum to be applied to the unit. This
is batch type unit and generally, the throughput is low since there is a lot of time required to load the unit, heat the unit while
tumbling and pulling a vacuum, cool the unit to resin pack out temperature and finally unloading the unit. The vessels can
range up to 9, 000 kg (20,000 lbs) in capacity. PLA will not increase in RV as PET will but the unit does dry the resin as it
crystallizes. Advantages are the ease of use and drying during crystallization. Disadvantages are that it is a batch operation
and throughputs can be low on small units due to long cycle times (typically about 8 hours for PLA). All semi- crystalline
grades of PLA have been processed on this type of crystallizer.

Fluid Bed Crystallizers

These units are essentially modified pellet classifiers that use heated air to crystallize the regrind. Typically used for pellets,
they have also been used successfully for ground flake. They have a extensive experience crystallizing PET and PET
copolymers. While there have been no commercial experience with PLA, successful laboratory tests have been performed
with all grades of semi-crystalline PLA.

NWPKG0380205V2
Fluid Bed Crystallizers
The Witte Company, Inc
P.O. Box 47, 507 Route 31 South
Washington, NJ 07882-0047 USA
Jim Schak
908-689-6500 (FAX) 908-537-6806
jschak1@[Link]
[Link]
Note: Crystallizers are not featured as such on the web site. They have extensive experience designing fluid bed crystallizers
for PET pellets and flake. They do have equipment in the New Jersey lab for evaluation.

Barr-Rosin Ltd.
48 Bell Street
Maidenhead, Berkshire
SL6 1BR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0) 1628 641 700
Fax: +44(0) 1628 776 118
[Link]
Note: Mfg of fluid bed crystallizers. Extensive experience with PET and PET copolymers (crystallization rates similar to
PLA). Lab facilities avalable.

Bühler GmbH
Ernst-Amme-Strasse 19
D-38114 Braunschweig
Phone.: ++ 49 (531) 594-0 (FAX).: ++ 49 (531) 594 22 54
Email: [Link]@[Link]

NWPKG0380205V2
Vertical Hopper Units with Convection Heating
Conair Franklin
Route 8 North
Franklin, PA 16323
412-312-6280 (FAX) 412-312-6004
Pete Stoughton
Pstoughton@[Link]
[Link]
Note: Crystallizers are not featured on their web site. They do have a brochure they can fax you upon request. They have
extensive experience designing PET crystallizers for pellets and flake. They do have equipment in the Franklin, PA lab for
evaluation.

Labotek A/S
Strøbjergvej 29
DK-3600 Frederikssund
Denmark
Tel: +45 / 48 21 84 11
Fax: +45 / 48 21 80 00
email: info@[Link]
[Link]
Note: Have designed and built PET crystallizers. NatureWorks has no experience with crystallizers from Labotek but owns a
dryer unit and has been satisfied with performance and service.

Novatec, Inc.
222 E. Thomas Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21225 USA
Phone: 410-789-4811 (FAX): 410-789-4638
novatec@[Link]
[Link]
Note: NatureWorks has no experience with crystallizers from Novatec but has had good experience with dryers

Universal Dynamics, Inc

A Company of Mann Hummel ProTec
13600 Dabney Road
Woodbridge, Va. 22194-0396
Phone 703-491-2191 Fax 703-490-7001
Email info@[Link]
[Link]

NWPKG0380205V2
Horizontal Units with Conductive Heating

Bepex International LLC Hosokawa Micron b.v.

Contact person: Mr R. Imholte Gildenstraat 26,
333. N.E. Taft Street [Link] 98, 7000 AB Doetinchem,
Minneapolis, MN 55413 The Netherlands,
Tel.: (1) 612 3314370 Tel. +31 314 37 33 33.
Fax: (1) 612 627 1458 Fax +31 314 37 33 00.
E-mail: info@[Link] [Link]. nl
rimholte@[Link]

IR drying
Kreyenborg GmbH
Sven-Olaf Zillmann
Sales Manager IR Technology

Coermühlstr.1-5
48157 Münster
Germany

+49 (251) 21 40 58 58

[Link]@[Link]
[Link]

UPM Machinery Sales Ltd.

Roy Fowler
Director

Langley Business Park

Unit 5
Elder Way
Slough
Berkshire England
SL3 6EP
United Kingdom

+44 (1753) 48 55 20

[Link]@[Link]
[Link]

NWPKG0380205V2
Companies that will crystallize on a tolling basis

NTM Inc. Vertical Hopper with Convective Heating

25 Old Mill Road
Greenville, SC 29607
Phone: (864) 675-9376 (Fax): (864) 675-9378
Contact Person: Mr. Curtis Harper
Extension 111
charper@[Link]
[Link]

Bepex International LLC Horizontal with Conductive Heating

Contact person: Mr R. Imholte
333. N.E. Taft Street
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Tel.: (1) 612 3314370
Fax: (1) 612 627 1458
E-mail: info@[Link]
rimholte@[Link]

St. Jude Polymers Corporation Solid State Reactors

110 Industrial Park
Frackville, PA 17931
Stephen Babinchak
Sales and Supply Manager
Tel: (570) 874-1220 Fax: (570) 874-2980
agbabin@[Link]
[Link]

Ametek Compounding Horizontal with Conductive Heating

Green Acres Industrial Park
42 Mountain Road
Nesquehoning, PA 18240
Mark Rother
Sales Manager
(877) 878-0675 ext 245 Fax: (570) 645-8564
[Link]@[Link]
[Link]

NWPKG0380205V2
Safety and Handling Considerations for most conditions. Local exhaust ventilation is recom- Environmental Concerns
Material Safety Data (MSD) sheets for PLA polymers are mended for melt operations. Use safety glasses if there Generally speaking, lost pellets are not a problem in
available from NatureWorks LLC. MSD sheets are is a potential for exposure to particles which could cause the environment except under unusual circumstances
provided to help customers satisfy their own handling, mechanical injury to the eye. If vapor exposure causes when they enter the marine environment. They are
safety, and disposal needs, and those that may be eye discomfort, use a full-face respirator. No other benign in terms of their physical environmental impact,
required by locally applicable health and safety precautions other than clean, body-covering clothing but if ingested by waterfowl or aquatic life, they may
regulations, such as OSHA (U.S.A.), MAK (Germany), or should be needed for handling PLA polymers. Use gloves mechanically cause adverse effects. Spills should be
WHMIS (Canada). MSD sheets are updated regularly; with insulation for thermal protection when exposure to the minimized, and they should be cleaned up when they
therefore, please request and review the most current melt is localized. happen. Plastics should not be discarded into the ocean
MSD sheets before handling or using any product. or any other body of water.
Combustibility
The following comments apply only to PLA polymers; PLA polymers will burn. Clear to white smoke is produced Product Stewardship
additives and processing aids used in fabrication and when product burns. Toxic fumes are released under NatureWorks LLC has a fundamental duty to all those
other materials used in finishing steps have their own conditions of incomplete combustion. Do not permit dust that make and use our products, and for the environment
safe-use profile and must be investigated separately. to accumulate. Dust layers can be ignited by spontaneous in which we live. This duty is the basis for our Product
combustion or other ignition sources. When suspended Stewardship philosophy, by which we assess the health
Hazards and Handling Precautions in air, dust can pose an explosion hazard. Firefighters and environmental information on our products and their
PLA polymers have a very low degree of toxicity and, should wear positive-pressure, self-contained breathing intended use, then take appropriate steps to protect the
under normal conditions of use, should pose no unusual apparatuses and full protective equipment. Water or water environment and the health of our employees and the
problems from incidental ingestion, or eye and skin fog is the preferred extinguishing medium. Foam, alcohol- public.
contact. However, caution is advised when handling, resistant foam, carbon dioxide or dry chemicals may also
storing, using, or disposing of these resins, and good be used. Soak thoroughly with water to cool and prevent Customer Notice
housekeeping and controlling of dusts are necessary for re-ignition. NatureWorks LLC encourages its customers and potential
safe handling of product. Workers should be protected users of its products to review their applications for such
from the possibility of contact with molten resin during Disposal products from the standpoint of human health and
fabrication. Handling and fabrication of resins can result DO NOT DUMP INTO ANY SEWERS, ON THE environmental quality. To help ensure our products are
in the generation of vapors and dusts that may cause GROUND, OR INTO ANY BODY OF WATER. For unused not used in ways for which they were not intended or
irritation to eyes and the upper respiratory tract. In dusty or uncontaminated material, the preferred options include tested, our personnel will assist customers in dealing with
atmospheres, use an approved dust respirator. Pellets or recycling into the process or sending to an industrial ecological and product safety considerations. Your sales
beads may present a slipping hazard. Good general composting facility, if available; otherwise, send to an representative can arrange the proper contacts.
ventilation of the polymer processing area is incinerator or other thermal destruction device. For NatureWorks LLC literature, including Material Safety Data
recommended. At temperatures exceeding the polymer used or contaminated material, the disposal options sheets, should be consulted prior to the use of the
melt temperature (typically 170ºC), polymer can release remain the same, although additional evaluation is company’s products. These are available from your
fumes, which may contain fragments of the polymer, required. (For example, in the U.S.A., see 40 CFR, Part NatureWorks LLC representative.
creating a potential to irritate eyes and mucous 261, “Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste.”) All
membranes. Good general ventilation should be sufficient disposal methods must be in compliance with Federal,
State/Provincial, and local laws and regulations.
NOTICE: No freedom from any patent owned by
NatureWorks LLC or others is to be inferred. Because use
conditions and applicable laws may differ from one
location to another and may change with time, Customer 15305 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka, MN
is responsible for determining whether products and the
information in this document are appropriate for 55345
Customer’s use and for ensuring that Customer’s
workplace and disposal practices are in compliance with NatureWorks and the NatureWorks logo are trademarks of
applicable laws and other governmental enactments. NatureWorks LLC
NatureWorks LLC assumes no obligation or liability for the Copyright © 2005 NatureWorks LLC
information in
this document. NO WARRANTIES ARE GIVEN; ALL
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE ARE EXPRESSLY
EXCLUDED. For additional information in the U.S. and
Canada,
call toll-free 1-877-423-7659
NOTICE REGARDING PROHIBITED USE
RESTRICTIONS: NatureWorks LLC does not recommend In Europe, call 31-(0)35-699-1344
any of its products, including samples, for use as: In Japan, call 81-33-285-0824
Components of, or packaging for, tobacco products;
Components of products where the end product is
intended for human or animal consumption; In any
application that is intended for any internal contact with
human body fluids or body tissues; As a critical
component in any medical device that supports or sustains
human life; In any product that is designed specifically for
ingestion or internal use by pregnant women; and in any
application designed specifically to promote or interfere
with human reproduction

NWPKG0380205V2