Kaneka, one of the top patent holders in the Biodegradable Packaging sector, announced last week the creation of its new Biopolymers Division, which will market its plant-based PHBH-brand polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) resin. PHBH is a plant-based product that has been granted Food Contact Approval by the FDA and is suitable for all food packaging products. It is stable under every day usage conditions, but will begin to biodegrade under certain conditions. Kaneka's intellectual property is heavily geared towards various biodegradable materials, and includes several issued patents on PHA. The wide range of materials that its patent portfolio covers suggests that the new Biopolymers Division may also market other products in the future, such as pentaerythritol.
