Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from plant sources such as hemp oil, soy bean oil and corn starch rather than traditional plastics which are derived from petroleum. This is generally regarded as a more sustainable activity, as it relies less on fossil fuel imports and produces less greenhouse emissions. However, manufacturing of bioplastic materials is not benign. Energy, which is most often derived from fossil fuels, is used to power farm machinery, to irrigate growing crops, to produce fertilisers and pesticides, to transport crops and crop products to processing plants, to extract the processible biomaterials, and ultimately to produce the bioplastic. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... U.S. Marihuana production permit. ... Binomial name Glycine max Soybeans (US) or soya beans (UK) (Glycine max) are a high-protein legume (Family Fabaceae) grown as food for both humans and livestock. ... Products made out of cornstarch Cornstarch is the starch of the maize grain, commonly known as corn. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... The Earth Day flag includes a NASA photo. ... Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons, primarily coal and petroleum (fuel oil or natural gas), formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants and animals[1] by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earths crust over hundreds of millions of years[2]. The theory that hydrocarbons were formed from these... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ...

Bioplastics and biodegradation

Terminology used in the bioplastics sector is quite confusing. Most in the industry use the term bioplastic to mean a plastic produced from a biological - and hence renewable and potentially sustainable - source. Cellulose film, for instance, is one of the oldest plastics. It is, and has always has been, made from wood cellulose and is fully biodegradable in its natural form. The wood it is made from can be sourced from commercially managed forestry. Innovia is one of the major producers of cellulose film - some of which it markets as biodegradable.

Many bioplastics are biodegradable, meaning they can be degraded by microbes under suitable conditions. Some bioplastics will biodegrade in the relatively cool conditions of a home compost heap. Most will only degrade in the hotter and more tightly controlled conditions of commercial composting units. Biodegradation is the decomposition of material by microorganisms. ...

While many bioplastics are biodegradable, some are not - referred to as durable. Even some petrochemical-based plastics are biodegradable. The Ecoflex range of biodegradable plastics manufactured by BASF of Germany is an example of this type. This material is used as an additive to improve the performance of many commercial bioplastics.

There is an internationally agreed standard that defines how quickly and to what extent a biodegradable plastic must be degraded under commercial composting conditions - EN13432. This is published by the International Organisation for Standardization ISO and is recognised in many countries, including all of Europe, Japan and the US. However, it is designed only for the aggressive conditions of commercial composting units. There is no standard applicable to home composting conditions. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies. ...

The term biodegradable plastic is often also used by producers of specially modified petrochemical-based plastics which appear to biodegrade. A little explanation is needed here. Traditional plastics such as polyethylene are degraded by ultra-violet light and oxygen. To stop this process, and to make the plastics usable, manufacturers add stabilisation chemicals. By adding a controlled amount of degradation initiator to the plastic it is possible to achieve a controlled disintegration process driven by the ultra-violet light in sunlight or by atmoshpheric oxygen. The North American company EPI is a leading player in this type of additive technology. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

This degradation process is highly effective. However, this type of plastic is best referred to as "degradable plastic" or "oxy-degradable plastic" because the process is not initiated by microbial action. Some degradable plastics manufacturers argue that, once a certain level of degradation of the plastic has been achieved, the degraded residue will be attacked by microbes. However, this route has yet to be proven. In any case, these degradable materials do not meet the requirements of the EN13432 commercial composting standard.

Other market issues

Italian bioplastic manufacturer Novamont states in its own environmental audit that producing one kilogram of its starch-based product uses 500g of petroleum and consumes almost 80% of the energy required to produce a traditional polyethylene polymer. Environmental data from NatureWorks, the only commercial manufacturer of PLA (polylacticacid) bioplastic, says that making its plastic material delivers a fossil fuel saving of between 25 and 68 per cent compared with polyethylene, in part due to its purchasing of [renewable energy] certificates for its manufacturing plant.

A detailed study examining the process of manufacturing a number of common packaging items in several traditional plastics and polylacticacid carried out by US-group Franklin Associates and published by the Athena Institute shows the bioplastic to be less environmentally damaging for some products, but more environmentally damaging for others. The authors' key finding is that the use of bioplastics cannot be assumed to be environmentally beneficial, but has to be determined through case by case analysis. With the exception of cellulose, most bioplastic technology is relatively new and is currently not as cost competitive with petroleum-based plastics. And because many bioplastics are reliant on fossil fuel derived energy for their manufacturing, even with today's rising oil prices, that gap is not closing very fast.

Many bioplastics also lack the performance and ease of processing of traditional materials. Polylactic acid plastic is being used by a handful of small companies for water bottles. But shelf life is limited because the plastic is permeable to water - the bottles lose their contents and slowly deform. However, bioplastics are seeing some use in Europe, where they account for 60% of the biodegradable materials market. The most common end use market is for packaging materials. Japan has also been a pioneer in bioplastics, incorporating them into electronics and automobiles. For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

While production of most bioplastics results in reduced carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditional alternatives, there are some real concerns that the creation of a global bio-based economy could contribute to an accelerated rate of deforestation if not managed effectively. There are associated concerns over the impact on water supply and soil erosion. This article is about the process of deforestation in the environment. ...

There are also fears that bioplastics will damage existing recycling projects. Packaging such as HDPE milk bottles and PET water and soft drinks bottles is easily identified and hence setting up a recycling infrastructure has been quite successful in many parts of the world. Polylactic acid and PET do not mix - as bottles made from polylactic acid cannot be distinguished from PET bottles by the consumer there is a risk that recycled PET could be rendered unusable. This could be overcome by ensuring diistinctive bottle types or by investing in suitable sorting technology. However, the first route is unreliable and the second costly.

Genetic modification (GM) is also a challenge for the bioplastics industry. None of the currently available bioplastics - which can be considered first generation products - require the use of GM crops. However, it is not possible to ensure corn used to make bioplastic in North America is GM-free. Genetic engineering, genetic modification (GM), and gene splicing (once in widespread use but now deprecated) are terms for the process of manipulating genes in an organism, usually outside of the organisms normal reproductive process. ...

European consumers are hostile to any products that are linked to the GM industry. As a result, some UK retailers such as Sainsbury's will not use bioplastic manufactured in the US, such as Natureworks polylactic acid. There is currently no commercial European source of polylactic acid bioplastic.

There is also concern that the route from corn to bioplastics is not the most efficient. Looking further ahead, some of the second generation bioplastics manufacturing technologies under development employ the "plant factory" model, using GM versions of plants such as switchgrass and sugarcane to maximise yield. The US company Metabolix is a pioneer in this second generation technology. However, a change in consumer perception of GM technology in Europe will be required for these to be widely accepted.

Market situation

These days plastics are predominantly made from crude oil. However, the increasing hunger for energy worldwide and also political instability in the large oil exporting countries have led to a dramatic increase in the price of oil in recent years. A consistently low oil price, as was seen throughout the 90s, is not very likely in the future. In this context, renewable resources are becoming a more viable and promising alternative for the plastics industry. However, as energy is used in the growing, harvesting and conversion of agricultural crops to bioplastics immunity to rising oil prices is sometimes overestimated. Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Petroleum (from Greek petra – rock and elaion – oil or Latin oleum – oil ) or crude oil is a thick, dark brown or greenish liquid. ... A renewable resource is a natural resource that is not depleted when used by human beings. ...

Because of the fragmentation in the market it is difficult to estimate the total market size for bioplastics, but estimates by SRI Consulting put global consumption in 2006 at around 85,000 tonnes. In contrast, global consumption of all flexible packaging is estimated at around 12.3 million tonnes (see Plastics News).

COPA (Committee of Agricultural Organisation in the European Union) and COGEGA (General Committee for the Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union) have made an assessment of the potential of bioplastics in different sectors of the European economy:

Catering products: 450.000 t/a Organic waste bags: 100.000 t/a Biodegradable mulch foils: 130.000 t/a Biodegradable foils for diapers 80.000 t/a Diapers, 100% biodegradable: 240.000 t/a Foil packaging: 400.000 t/a Vegetable packaging: 400.000 t/a Tyre components: 200.000 t/a Biodegradation is the decomposition of material by microorganisms. ...

Total 2.000.000 t/a

Certification

Adding the prefix "bio-", misrepresenting a plastic compound as biodegradable, or confusing product labeling has become commonplace lately. Several certification schemes have therefore been set up based on the EN 13 432 industrial norm and the French NF U52001 norm, products made out any raw plastic material pretending to be biodegradable, are tested as to their true and biodegradability and compostability. Consumer products and packaging which passed the tests prescribed in the testing protocol laid down in these norms, may carry a special label. So far starch based plastics, PLA based plastics and certain aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester compounds such as succinates and adipates, have obtained these certificates. Additivated plastics sold as fotodegradable, oxobiodegradable have not yet received these certificates and will probably not be eligible as the additives generally contain heavy metals such as cobalt and cannot show a biodegradation whereby over 90% of the plastic mass is converted into biomass and subsequently into carbon dioxide and water. Due to their photo- or oxo degradation, these additivated plastics are not suitable for recycling and can only be properly disposed of by incineration or landfill. Starch (CAS# 9005-25-8) is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water; it is used by plants as a way to store excess glucose. ... In chemistry, non-aromatic and non-cyclic (acyclic) organic compounds are called aliphatic. ... In chemistry, an aromatic molecule is one in which electrons are free to cycle around circular arrangements of atoms, which are alternately singly and doubly bonded to one another. ... SEM picture of a bend in a high surface area polyester fiber with a seven-lobed cross section Polyester is a category of polymers, or, more specifically condensation polymers, which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. ... Succinic acid (IUPAC systematic name: butanedioic acid; historically known as spirit of amber) is a dicarboxylic acid with the formula: HOOC–CH2–CH2–COOH At room temperature, pure succinic acid is a solid that forms colorless, odorless crystals. ... A heavy metal is any of a number of higher atomic weight elements, which has the properties of a metallic substance at room temperature. ... For other uses, see Cobalt (disambiguation). ... See biomass (ecology) for the use of the term in ecology, where it refers to the cumulation of living matter Switchgrass, a tough plant used in the biofuel industry in the United States Rice chaff. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... Chemical decomposition or analysis is the fragmentation of a chemical compound into elements or smaller compounds. ... Look up landfill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Applications

Packaging

Because of their biological biodegradability, the use of bioplastics is especially popular in the packaging sector. The use of bioplastics for shopping bags is already very common. After their initial use they can be reused as bags for organic waste and then be composted. Trays and containers for fruit, vegetables, eggs and meat, bottles for soft drinks and dairy products and blister foils for fruit and vegetables are also already widely manufactured from bioplastics. Packaging is the enclosing of a physical object, typically a product that will be offered for sale. ... Organic material or organic matter is any material which originated as a living organism. ... A handful of compost A double-wide bin with compost at different stages of decomposition Compost is the aerobically decomposed remnants of organic materials. ...

Catering Products

Catering products belong to the group of perishable plastics. Disposable crockery and cutlery, as well as pots and bowls, pack foils for hamburgers and straws are being dumped after a single use, together with food-leftovers, forming huge amounts of waste, particularly at big events. The use of bioplastics offers significant advantages not only in an ecological sense but also in an economical sense.

Non Packaging

Applications outside packaging include mobile phone casings (NEC), carpet fibres (Dupont Sorona), and car interiors (Mazda). The French company, Arkema, produces a grade of bioplastic called Rilsan, which is being used in fuel line and plastic pipe applications.

In these areas, the goal is obviously not biodegradability, but to create items from sustainable resources.

Plastic Types

Starch based plastics

Constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market, thermoplastic starch currently represents the most important and widely used bioplastic. Pure starch possesses the characteristic of being able to absorb humidity and is thus being used for the production of drug capsules in the pharmaceutical sector. Flexibiliser and plasticiser such as sorbitol and glycerine are added so that starch can also be processed thermo-plastically. By varying the amounts of these additives, the characteristic of the material can be tailored to specific needs (also called "thermo-plastical starch"). For other uses, see Plastic (disambiguation). ... Humidity is the amount of water vapor in air. ... Plasticizers are plastic additives, most commonly phthalates, that give plastics flexibility and durability. ... Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, is a sugar alcohol the body metabolises slowly. ... Glycerin, also known as glycerine and glycerol, and less commonly as 1,2,3-propanetriol, 1,2,3-trihydroxypropane, glyceritol, and glycyl alcohol is a colorless, odorless, hygroscopic, and sweet tasting viscous liquid. ...

Polylactide acid (PLA) plastics

Polylactide acid (PLA) is a transparent plastic made from natural resources. It not only resembles conventional petrochemical mass plastics (like PE or PP) in its characteristics, but it can also be processed easily on standard equipment that already exists for the production of conventional plastics. PLA and PLA-Blends generally come in the form of granulates with various properties and are used in the plastic processing industry for the production of foil, moulds, tins, cups, bottles and other packaging. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into polylactic acid. ... PE is a code for: Pacific Electric Railway (AAR reporting marks PE) Air Europe Italy (IATA airline designator) Peru (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code, NATO country code) Peterborough: PE is the British post code for the region in eastern England which is served by Peterborough postal sorting office. ... Look up pp, pp. ... One half of a bronze mould for casting a socketed spear head dated to the period 1400-1000 BC. There are no known parallels for this mould. ... Packaging is the enclosing of a physical object, typically a product that will be offered for sale. ...

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)

The biopolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a polyester produced from renewable raw materials. Its characteristics are similar to those of the petrochemical-produced plastic polypropylene. Interest in PHB is currently very high. Companies worldwide are aiming to either begin production of PHB or to expand their current production capacity. Some estimate that this could result in a price reduction to fewer than 5 Euros per kilogram. However, that is still four times the market price of polyethylene at February 2007. The South American sugar industry, for example, has decided to expand PHB production to an industrial scale. PHB is distinguished primarily by its physical characteristics. It produces transparent film at a melting point higher than 130 degrees Celsius, and is biodegradable without residue. Biopolymers are a class of polymers produced by living organisms. ... Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate or PHB is a type of Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHA that is produced by micro-organisms like Alcaligenes eutrophus. ... SEM picture of a bend in a high surface area polyester fiber with a seven-lobed cross section Polyester is a category of polymers, or, more specifically condensation polymers, which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. ... Polypropylene lid of a Tic Tacs box, with a living hinge and the resin identification code under its flap Micrograph of polypropylene Polypropylene or polypropene (PP) is a thermoplastic polymer, made by the chemical industry and used in a wide variety of applications, including food packaging, ropes, textiles, plastic parts... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely-traded commodity. ... A residue, broadly, is anything left behind by a reaction or event. ...

Polyamide 11 (PA 11)

PA 11 or Nylon 11 is a biopolymer derived from vegetable oil. It is also known under the tradename Rilsan®. PA 11 belongs to the technical polymers family and is not biodegradable. Its properties are similar than PA 12 although emissions of greenhouse gases and consumption of non-renewable resources are reduced during its production. Its thermal resistance is also superior than PA 12. It is used in high performance applications as automotive fuel lines, pneumatic airbrake tubing, electrical anti-termite cable sheathing, oil & gas flexible pipes & control fluid umbilicals, sports shoes, electronic device components, catheters, etc. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Biopolymers are a class of polymers produced by living organisms. ...

Developments

• In the early 1950s, Amylomaize (>50% starch content corn) was successfully bred and commercial bioplastics applications started to be explored.
• In 2004, NEC developed a flame retardant plastic, polylactic acid, without using toxic chemicals such as halogens and phosphorus compounds [1].
• In 2005, Fujitsu became one of the first technology company to make personal computer cases from bioplastics, which are featured in their FMV-BIBLO NB80K line.
• In 2007 Braskem of Brazil announced it had developed a route to manufacture high density polyethylene (HDPE) using ethylene derived from sugar cane.

Amylomaize was a term coined by Robert P. Bear of Bear Hybrids Corn Company in Decatur, Illinois to describe his discovery and commercial breeding of a unique corn with high (>50%) amylose starch content. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NEC Corporation (Jp. ... Flame retardants are materials that inhibit or resist the spread of fire. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Toxic redirects here, but this is also the name of a song by Britney Spears; see Toxic (song) Look up toxic and toxicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The halogens are a chemical series. ... General Name, symbol, number phosphorus, P, 15 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 3, p Appearance waxy white/ red/ black/ colorless Standard atomic weight 30. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the district in Saga, Japan, see Fujitsu, Saga. ... Braskem S.A. the largestBrazilian petrochemical company with head office in Sao Paulo. ...

External links

• Bioplastics information - Bioplastics blog, news and newsletter.
• bioplastics MAGAZINE - Trade magazine dedicated to bioplastics only
• bioplastics24.com - Information portal: Bioplastics News, background information and bioplastics market directory
• Agriculture and Agrifood Canada: Bioplastics page on the Canadian Government's website
  
• PRW.com: Plastics industry news site with searchable archive - includes bioplastics news and developments
  
• The European Bioplastics Association: Information on Bioplastics and Biodegradable Polymers, Market Information
  
• German Agency for Renewable Resources (FNR)
• Trends in Japan: Article written December 2003
  
• Fortune.com: (subscription required to read entire article)
  
• Biopolymer.net : Links to organisations, companies and everything related to biopolymers/bioplastics.