bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue 01/2016

Anellotech, Pearl River, New York, USA, a sustainable technology company focused on producing cost-competitive renewable chemicals from non-food biomass, has announced that it has entered into the next phase of its strategic partnership with Osaka, Japan-based Suntory Holdings Limited, one of the world’s leading consumer beverage companies.

BioAmber Inc., which is headquartered in Montreal and Reverdia, the Netherlands-based joint venture between Royal DSM an d Roquette Frères, are both involved in the production and commercialization of bio-based succinic acid using their own unique proprietary yeast-based technologies.

TerraVerdae BioWorks, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, an industrial biotechnology company developing advanced bioplastics and biomaterials from environmentally sustainable, single-carbon (C1) feedstocks, has announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership agreement with PolyFerm, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

The second biggest application sector for biocomposites is the automotive interior sector.

An agreement signed today by Bio-on and S.E.C.I. S.p.A. (part of Gruppo Industriale Maccaferri Holding), will see Italy’s and the world’s first facility for the production of PHA bioplastics from a co-product from biodiesel production, namely glycerol.

Avantium and Mitsui announced in December their plan to bring 100 % bio-based PEF (Polyethylene Furanoate) packaging to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Before you read this column, you should know that I retired on December 31, 2015 as Manager of the (USDA) BioPreferred Program. So anything I say here is as a private citizen, not a government employee.

In mid-January, science and agricultural leaders DuPont Industrial Biosciences, Wilmington Delaware, USA and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Chicago, Illinois, USA announced a new breakthrough process with the potential to expand the materials landscape in the 21st century with exciting and truly novel, high-performance renewable materials.

The CARBIO project has developed a carbon/flax hybrid automotive roof using Composite Evolution’s Biotex Flax material.

Ten years of bioplastics MAGAZINE… whew – how the time has flown. I remember well how it all began.

DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware, USA) and The Dow Chemical Company (Midland, Michigan, USA) announced in mid December 2015 hat their boards of directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals.

Manufacturers of semi-structural automotive applications now have the option to reduce part weight by 5 % or more, maintain mechanical performance, and even use more sustainable materials. A triad of developments makes this possible.

No. Levulinic acid (LA) is not exactly a new building block or better a new platform chemical.

Managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Biobased Products Preferred Procurement Program (BioPreferred® Program) provides that Federal agencies in the USA must give purchasing preference to biobased products designated by this program [1, 2].

Metabolix (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) is launching its new line of amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) grades to be used as performance additives for PVC and PLA.

Eyewear company Charmant USA has announced the launch of Awear, a line of eco-friendly eyeglasses.

At the SIGEP Exhibition in Rimini, Italy (23 – 27 January 2016) a new line of ice-cream containers made from BioFoam® has been introduced by the companies Erreme (Foligno, Italy) and Domogel (Costa di Mezzate, Italy).

The world’s largest crude palm oil producer - Malaysia-based Felda Global Ventures Berhad – is collaborating with Newlight Technologies and Innogas Technologies on a project aimed at the development of biodegradable polymers from palm oil biomass waste in Malaysia.

Italy-based Bio-on laboratories have created a new type of bioplastic, designed to make safe and eco-sustainable children’s toys.

In a recent blog posted by Metabolix Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Lynne Brum, the use of Metabolix I6003 PHAs in WPC was touted as a “cost effective solution which imparts superior mechanical properties and process benefits in wood filled PVC building materials.”

The Biopolymer Network Limited (BPN) team from Rotorua, New Zealand, who developed Zealafoam®, a PLA based alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS), continues to develop new opportunities for bio-based foam.

Röchling Automotive reports promising results on the development of automotive parts made of Plantura™ PLA based biopolymers.

The Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, has released a formal position paper against biodegradability additives for petroleum-based plastics, which are marketed as enhancing the sustainability of plastic by rendering the material biodegradable.

While gluten has got a lot of bad press over the past few years, there is still good news to report.

From 16 – 17 December 2015, the world’s largest conference on Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) and Natural Fibre Composites (NFC) with more than 220 participants took place for the sixth time in Cologne, Germany.

German law lacks a legal basis for sustainable public procurement. Legislation requiring resource and environmental considerations to be taken into account when purchasing goods and services for the public sector has not yet been put in place.