03. Jun 2014
BUGWORKERS project successfully produces competitive PHB
The EU BUGWORKERS project, which has been conducted throughout the past 4 years by a consortium coordinated by AIMPLAS, the Technological Institute of Plastics, was initiated to develop plastic parts based on biopolymers produced by fermentation from agro-industrial residues using eco-friendly production routes.
The consortium has now announced the successful development of compounds based on poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) that satisfy the specifications for the initial target applications, i.e. white goods, audio and video door entry systems. The material fully meets the requirements in terms of processability, dimensional accuracy and performance.
The PHB was produced by means of bacterial fermentation using sugar hydrolysates ex tracted from agro-industrial sources, such as wheat straw, as the raw material. The reduced cost of the wheat straw, combined with an optimized fermentation process boosted the productivity, has yielded an efficient production process for a lower cost PHB. Moreover, for the extraction and purification of the polymer use was made of green solvents that reduce the environmental impact of the PHB production process.
The PHB was then compounded in order to enhance its mechanical properties and improve its processability. After compounding, it was ready to be processed - via traditional plastic conversion technologies such as injection molding, sheet extrusion and thermoforming - into different case-study parts. A variety of part, including a microphone holder, a button rod, a refrigerator egg-box, a refrigerator water storage cabinet and a washing machine knob were produced from this PHB compound. Co-extrusion and co-injection with other biomaterials were also tested, with success, to further complement the characteristics of PHB with the introduction of external layers. Also, at lab scale, cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) and lignin nanoparticles were developed for producing PHB-based nanocomposites with additional functionalities.
The cost of the final PHB compound is estimated at between 4 and 5.5 €/kg, which is in the range of other biopolymers currently available on the market, and lower than commercial grades of PHB.
The project is now being rounded off.. After 44 months of intensive research, the results are highly promising. The final parts will be presented at the final meeting of the project on June 2014.
The BUGWORKERS Consortium is comprised 14 different companies from various sectors, with as end-user participants FERMAX, a producer of audio and video entry door systems and ARCELIK, a manufacturer of white goods.