bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue 04/2013

Dragonkraft Europe (Eccles, Manchester, UK), an eco-conscious start up with the backing of Akcros Chemicals (headquartered in Eccles as well), has launched a new bio-resin system for the composites, coatings and adhesives market.

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) have made an agreement with the toy manufacturer Playmobil (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG, of Zirndorf, Germany) to develop and produce a panda keyring made from a PLA compound (BioFlex® by FKuR, Willich Germany).

But where is the market? Some three years ago, a dedicated research programme on biobased performance materials was established in the Netherlands with the aim of developing new biopolymers and improving the properties of the existing materials in the market. Industrial partners from the entire value chain have come together in this programme to carry out R&D projects - 8 in total - varying from the development of novel renewable polyamides to chitosan-based antimicrobial coatings.

Influence of biofibers and their hybrids on the mechanical properties of a PHBV/PLA Blend Soy hull, switchgrass and miscanthus (Fig.1) are cheap and widely available biofibers. Soy hull is obtained from soy beans during the extraction of oil and used as animal feed or discarded as waste. Both miscanthus and switchgrass are perennial biofibers mainly treated as energy crops.

New advanced polymers have enabled handheld device designers greater freedom so they can continue to refresh the look, feel and upgrade performance, while delivering a better environmental footprint, according to Handheld Segment Leader Mark Hazel of DuPont Performance Polymers. Hazel identifies the polymer material as DuPont™ Zytel® RS HTN high performance polyamide – a partly renewably sourced specialty polyamide compound made with biobased sebacic acid. Stiffness, strength, low warpage and low moisture pickup combine to help ensure thinner walls for sleek, light designs that improve performance.

BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany), Cargill (Minneapolis, MN, USA) and Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark) recently announced the achievement of an important milestone in their joint development of technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable raw materials by successfully demonstrating the production of 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) in pilot scale.

LANXESS (Leverkusen, Germany) and Genomatica (San Diego, California, USA) announced that Lanxess has run a production campaign of biobased Polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) in Lanxess’ world-scale production plant using 20 tonnes of biobased 1,4 butanediol (bio-BDO) made with Genomatica’s commercially-proven, patented, direct fermentation process from sugar.

While plastics are already indispensable materials for the production of pipes, seals, vapour barriers or insulation in the construction industry, this type of material is also increasingly used for interior and exterior cladding.

Natural calamities, such as the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the earthquake in Haiti, and Hurricane Katrina in the US, wreak havoc on communities and leave families homeless. To aid in such emotional disasters, the governments of the respective countries provide those affected with temporary shelter, food, and clothing. Among these forms of assistance, temporary housing is a major investment.

Biopac (Pershore, Worcestershire, UK) announced a leading role in ECLIPSE, an international consortium which has secured funding of €5 million to develop innovative packaging using natural materials in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.

PSM® bioplastics by Wuhan Huali Environmental Technology, from Wuhan China is a new material made from plant starch which can be used for film blowing, blow-moulding, injection-moulding, thermoforming and foam blowing.

At the World’s biggest trade show on plastics and rubber: K’2013 in Düsseldorf, Germany bioplastics will certainly play an important role again.

8th Global Bioplastics Award calls for proposals Initiated for the first time in 2006 by European Plastics News, the only Global Bioplastics Award will be granted in 2013 for the 8th time. The Bioplastics Oskar recognises innovation, success and achievements by manufacturers, processors, brand owners or users of bioplastic materials.

Bio-Polyethylene (or bio-PE) was introduced under the brand name Green PE and first produced on a commercial scale in September 2010 by the Brazilian company Braskem. Bio-PE is derived from sugar-cane-based bioethanol and has a very positive environmental balance because, taking into account the complete supply chain, it removes up to 2.5 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere for each tonne produced.

In June, the bioplastics specialist, FKuR Kunststoff GmbH (Willich, Germany), celebrated its 10th anniversary. Dr. Edmund Dolfen, Managing Director, used the occasion to expand the responsibility of the family business.

Last December marked the first ever appearance of biodegradable cellulose fibre netting sleeves on the shelves of retailer REWE in Austria. The netting was developed by Verpackungszentrum Graz. Lenzing AG (Lenzing, Austria) produce the cellulose fibres which are also marketed for clothing under the brand name Lenzing Modal colour.

Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle™ (a partly bio-based PET bottle), launched in 2009, is now available in 25 countries. With about 15 billion units it made up about 8% of Coke’s PET bottles in 2012. Just recently the PlantBottle was launched in China. And the development is going on.

After the biggest issue ever in June it now seems like the calm before the storm. It’s not only summertime but it is the period before an autumn crammed with activities. At K’2013, the world’s premier trade fair for plastics and rubber in Düsseldorf, Germany, in mid October, bioplastics MAGAZINE will welcome visitors in hall 07a, booth B10.

Thanks to the collaboration between API (Mussolente, Italy), supplier of elastomers and biodegradable compounds, and DLM (Opera, Italy), manufacturer of hydraulics and hydropneumatics, the first protective cap for quick connect couplings in 100% biodegradable soft material has been created.

On 16 May 2013, the General Assembly of the industry association European Bioplastics elected a new Board to represent the association and its members for the coming two years. François de Bie (Corbion Purac) was elected as Chairman. Mariagiovanna Vetere (NatureWorks) and Stefano Facco (Novamont) are Vice-Chairpersons.

Which agricultural feedstocks are best for industrial uses? The new paper by nova-Institute, Germany, is a contribution to the recent controversial debate about whether food crops should be used for other applications than food and feed. It is based on scientific evidence and aims to provide a more realistic and appropriate view of the use of food-crops in bio-based industries, including the production of biobased plastic materials, taking a step back from the often very emotional discussion.

Global overview Generally, there are four main factors that make the use of natural fibres and wood in plastics attractive: (1) they enhance specific properties e.g. stiffness and thermal behaviour (2) they reduce the price of the material (3) they heavily improve the bio-based share and (4) they are better recyclable when compared to glass fibres. When compared with glass fibre, wood fibre offers a weight reduction for the composite, which can be an important factor in transport costs.

The Board of Directors of Novamont SpA (Novara, Italy) has appointed Gunter Pauli Chairman of the Company by unanimous decision.

On June 18th, CSM, Purac and Caravan Ingredients have launched the new company name and brand. The new name and strategy mark the latest stage of the ongoing transformation of the company into a leading provider of biobased products, with activities in biobased food ingredients and biochemicals.

Metabolix, Inc (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) announced that Johan van Walsem has been promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Researchers at the PSTS Parco Scientifico e Tecnologico della Sicilia, Catania, Italy, have developed a novel process for the production of biodegradable polymers. The PHA (polyhydroxyalkaonate) is being synthesized by the bacterium Pseudomonas corrugata.

Synthetic rubber specialist LANXESS (headquartred in Leverkusen, Germany) will be adding not one but five new grades to its portfolio of green ethylene-propylene-diene elastomers (Keltan Eco) before the end of 2013.

A while ago, Carolus Bremer, Plast & Composite Consult, Bad Teinach-Zavelstein, Germany had the idea of light and bright architectural panels created in the most elegant designs, with a high demand for ecology and sustainability. His Bioresin Panels combine this apparent contradiction with previously unknown properties.

Avantium (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) and ALPLA Werke Alwin Lehner GmbH (headquartered in Hard, Austria), agreed to cooperate on the development of PEF bottles. After Coca-Cola and Danone, Alpla is the third company to collaborate with Avantium on their bio-polyester polyethylene furanoate (PEF).

Arkema, Colombes, France, expands its offering with Rilsan® T range, some new biosourced polyamide 10.10 processed from castor oil. Manufactured at its Serquigny facility in France, it benefits from unrivaled raw material integration, boosted by the recent acquisition of Casda and Hipro as well as a new joint venture with Jayant Agro.

Europe’s first multi-purpose fermentation plant for the continuous production of bio-based chemicals was inaugurated in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt/Germany on July 10. Built at a cost of around 20 million euros, the facility will enable ThyssenKrupp Uhde to further expand its research and development activities in the area of biochemicals based on renewable raw materials.

Novamont (Novara, Italy) recently unveiled the first product made from 4th generation Mater-Bi®, their family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics, which a press release describes to “go beyond the product itself and become an opportunity to develop circular bioeconomies. It also aims to stimulate reindustrialisation through the development of integrated Biorefineries”.

The perseverance of a young Turkish girl from Istanbul, who spent two years on a project to develop a bioplastic from banana peel, was recently rewarded when she was named this year’s winner of the 2013 $50,000 Science in Action award.

The European project InnoREX enables the production of monolayer bioplastic packaging without metallic catalysts thanks to the broad competence spectrum of the project’s consortium. The demand for biobased polymers is growing rapidly. However, due to inefficient production processes consisting of many successive batch processes, which also require the application of potentially harmful metal catalysts, biopolymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) have not yet been fully commercially exploited.

Solvay, an international chemical group, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, recently announced to invest in a PA6.10 production unit on Saint-Fons Belle-Etoile Platform (Lyon, France)

At Chinaplas 2013, PolyOne Corporation, a global provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions, announced a successful global collaboration with Xindao (Rijswijk, The Netherlands) and its design studio XD Design (Shanghai, China) to increase the content of renewable resources within the new XD Design Sunshine Solar Charger.

Switzerland has a long tradition of domestic politics based on consensus. And when it comes to biodegradable plastics and their disposal this is no different. European Bioplastics spoke to Daniel Trachsel, Managing Director of the Association of Swiss Composting and Methanisation Plants.

First production application of the compostable plastic ecovio in coffee capsules plus packaging The compostable plastic ecovio® from BASF has found its first production application in a system solution for packaging. It is furthermore the first application for the injection molding grade ecovio IS1335.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that BioPreferred® Program will again be able to offer biobased product certification and labeling. They also reopened the web portal for companies to apply for the voluntary USDA Certified Biobased Product label.