bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue 04/2011

PLA is a versatile bioplastics raw material from renewable resources.

Israel is going through a real change in it’s attitude towards waste management in general and specifically management of packaging waste, as a new government law was passed and declared active from July 2011.

Pharmafilter is an integral concept for patient care, waste management and wastewater purification for hospitals, nursing homes and other care institutions.

The demand for biobased materials is driven by concerns for the environment and the need for sustainable development. Carbon backbones from plant-derived molecules have considerable potential as basic inputs for many materials currently produced from petroleum-based feedstocks with their associated environmental problems.

DuPont Sorona®, a renewably sourced environmentally sustainable polymer (PTT Polytrimethylenterephthalate), is now available for the commercial segment of the floor covering market.

DSM’s Arnitel® Eco, a high performance thermoplastic copolyester (TPC) up to 50% derived from renewable resources (rapeseed oil), is creating higher value with lower environmental impact in the M&Q Packaging Corporation PanSaver ECO® high-temperature ovenable pan liners.

To help make even the weekly shopping as eco-friendly as possible, Publisearch srl has created a line of key fobs with built-in trolley tokens, all 100% biodegradable.

The interest in bio-based plastics falls into two main areas – sustainability and economics, and there is significant overlap between these areas.

As the disposal of packaging in applications such as food has had an adverse impact on the environment, it has opened up numerous opportunities for retailers and packaging manufacturers in bioplastics.

I’m sure that many of you (just like me …) did not know (or perhaps you did know!) that the first plastics materials in history were bioplastics.

On 16 June, the industry association European Bioplastics elected a new Board which represent the association and its members for the coming two years.

At the 3rd China International Biological Plastic Application Conference (Guangzhou, May 15-16, 2011) a new Low-carbon Biomaterial Production & Research Innovation Alliance was established by over 30 organizations, all engaged in low carbon biological plastic industry.

Eco-Corr® is a biobased and biodegradable film utilizing Cortec’s patented VpCI® technology.

Bioplastics are just plastics with special features

H.J. Heinz Company, headquartered in Pittsburg; Pennsylvania, USA, one of the world’s leading marketers and producers of ketchup and much more recently announced a strategic partnership (an industry-first) with the Coca-Cola Company that enables Heinz to produce its ketchup bottles using Coca-Cola’s breakthrough PlantBottle™ packaging.

Re: Blue Cat (issue 03/2011)

Agro-Food Processing Waste for Truly Sustainable Bioplastics

Today there is a cultural change that encourages consumers to minimize the use of plastics made from non-renewable resources like fossil fuels and to demand packaging that does not persist in the environment.

NatureWorks recently announced a major capital investment project at its Blair, Nebraska, USA, manufacturing facility for the production of new grades of high-performance Ingeo™ biopolymers as well as a new generation of lactide intermediates.

A new bio-based, BPA-free and high-temperature copolyester

Bio-composites manufactured from natural materials such as fibres and bio-derived polymers offer a sustainable alternative to traditional ones, but at present they are still not available for their use in structural applications.

Toyota’s new hybrid vehicle, ‘Prius α’, features automotive interior parts made of DuPont™ Sorona® EP polymer, a high-performance, partly renewably sourced thermoplastic resin (PTT Polytrimethylenterephthalate), contributing to the advanced interior design while also reducing the environmental footprint.

Solvay, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium and Avantium, headquartered in Amsterdam,The Netherlands, recently announced that they have entered into a partnership to jointly develop a next generation of green high-performance polyamides for engineering plastics.

2011 is set to be a defining year of the bioplastics industry in Europe, with implications for the industry around the world.

The cover photo of this issue does not exactly reflect one of our highlight topics. But it reflects the topic of our next conference.

Blow molding applications abound for polymeric materials and represent significant opportunities for biopolymers.

Standardisation plays a crucial role for bioplastics. Biodegradability, bio-based content, carbon-footprint etc. cannot be noted directly by consumers.

Nanofibrillar cellulose and their industrial promising future in combination with bioplastics.