bioplastics MAGAZINE Issue 06/2018

In November 2018, Marco Jansen, Commercial Director Renewable Chemicals Europe & North America of Braskem says:

The 13th Global Bioplastics Award 2018 was given to Aakar Innovations for their biobased sanitary pads for girls and women in rural India

Two Farmers, Sean Mason and Mark Green, from Herefordshire, UK had the vision of making delicious hand-cooked potato crisps that celebrate the true flavours of Herefordshire, whilst protecting their beloved countryside with a 100% compostable bag.

Biome Bioplastics, Southampton, UK, has launched a digital educational channel, #ThinkBioplastic. The platform aims to help government, media and the public better understand the complexities of plastics and plastic pollution and learn more about available alternatives.

“We believe the time is now to step up and accelerate, embrace our responsibility and work with others to engage a radical shift that will help free the world from packaging waste. We will be acting both at global and local level to ensure circularity of packaging becomes the new norm. (Today), we are announcing a series of investments and commitments that – I believe – will have a concrete impact. These will be amplified as we collaborate with industry-peers, governments, NGOs, start-ups and the finance sector; harness new technologies and invest in new solutions.”

Chemicals company Braskem announces it has joined European network Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC) as a full member.

Public outcry about and subsequent resistance to tea bags made with polypropylene has compelled brand owners to take action. The latest to do so is Clipper Teas, the tea brand owned by natural and organic food company Wessanen, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Compostable polymers are increasingly found in applications such as packaging, disposable nonwovens and hygiene products, consumer goods and agricultural products. A wide variety of compostable polymers have been developed, derived both from petrochemical and renewable sources. But, what do we know about how these materials behave in other environments or conditions outside of industrial composting facilities?

Biobased plastics are an essential element for plastic-free holidays

As you read these lines, the 13th European Bioplastics Conference in Berlin is over or – for some of you – still going on. And as always, we are grateful to European Bioplastics for giving us the opportunity to present the Annual Global Bioplastics Award at this prestigious event. For those of you who missed it, turn to page 10, where we present this year’s winner. We had already reported about the project earlier this year, and it so happened that the development was anonymously proposed for the award – and won.

DuPont Industrial Biosciences has completed the expansion of their Kinston, NC manufacturing facility, which produces bio-based, high-performance DuPont Sorona® polymers.

The European Parliament recently approved its report on the draft Directive on Marine Pollution and Single-use Plastics. “European Bioplastics fully supports the transition from a linear to a circular economy. Bioplastics enable more sustainable solutions for a range of products“, says François de Bie, Chairman of European Bioplastics (EUBP).“We agree on the importance of reducing single-use plastic products where feasible, but hygiene and food safety cannot be compromised. With regard to some of the concerned single-use products – such as e.g. plates and cutlery –, biodegradable certified compostable plastics provide an organically recyclable alternative“.

Introduction of the Global Organization for PHA

A sensitivity approach

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a material obtained from renewable resources, suitable for obtaining melt-processable fibres. It combines ecological advantages with a good performance in textiles. PLA successfully bridges the gap between synthetic and natural fibres and finds a wide range of uses, but despite their benefits, most commercial PLA grades do not yet fulfil all the mechanical and thermal requirements for some textile applications.

As demand for bioplastics grows, the industry is starting to feel the challenge of finding sustainable biofeedstock. Algae appears to be a promising source [1]. Algae can be both grown commercially, or harvested from commercial and industrial processes, such as water treatment.

P olylactic Acid (PLA) is one of the fastest growing biobased polymers on the market. Processors have tried to use Calcium Carbonate to improve properties and the cost structure, as is common in conventional polymers. Omya gained experience showing that conventional Calcium Carbonate can lead to the degradation of PLA and PLA / PBAT blends used in products such as cups, trays, lids and bags. Omya followed market demand to develop a new type of Calcium Carbonate that does not cause PLA degradation.

Neste, the world’s leading provider of sustainable renewable diesel and an expert in delivering drop-in renewable chemical solutions, and Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of new sustainable material solutions targeted at a range of industries.

Leading global barefoot footwear company VIVOBAREFOOT, headquartered in London, UK, recently announced the launch of its new Bio shoe range featuring Primus Lite Bio, plant-based performance sneakers. Designed with outdoor performance in mind, the Bio range is made from a combination of three innovative bio-based materials that reduce reliance on petrochemicals and ultimately create more efficient and sustainable products. Each shoe in Vivobarefoot’s new line is nearly 50 % plant-based, making it Vivobarefoot’s latest stride in their quest to use 90 % sustainable materials across its entire product range by 2020.

enables large-scale production of bio-based plastic bottles

The official inauguration of Mater-Biopolymer, Novamont’s newly refurbished site for the production of its biodegradable biopolyester Origo-Bi, took place on 19 October, in Patrica, Italy.

Wästberg is a Swedish lighting company from Helsingborg, that aimed at bringing back light to human proximity.

In October 2018, the Czech companies NAFIGATE Cosmetics and NAFIGATE Corporation launched a new product - Coconut shower peeling milk, in which microbeads are replaced with Hydal P3HB. The whole new cosmetics eco-design concept received the name Dedicated to You and Nature in order to express its biodegradability and biocompatibility. Hence, coconut shower peeling milk represents a circular revolution in the cosmetics industry. It is fully biodegradable, waste-free and harmless to nature.

Most frequently clicked news

Electrolux builds the world’s first bioplastic concept refrigerator

The constant increase in global production capacities of biobased plastics [1] results in a variety of products made of biobased plastics that reach the established disposal streams as post-consumer wastes after being used. In Germany, one of these disposal streams is the collection and disposal of lightweight packaging waste by the yellow bin or the yellow bag system. KNOTEN WEIMAR and TU Chemnitz have investigated the behaviour of biobased plastic products in the sorting of lightweight packaging wastes at operating plants and pointed out possible options for material recycling. The research project was carried out on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and funded by the project management organization Fachagentur für nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR) [2].

Certified compostable film applications with multiple benefits

To reduce reliance on petroleum-based plastics, thyssenkrupp has developed a manufacturing process for the bioplastic PLA. The world’s first commercial plant based on the patented PLAneo® technology recently started production in Changchun, China. It is operated by the Jilin COFCO Biomaterial Corporation, a subsidiary of COFCO, China’s largest food and beverage group. The new plant with an initial capacity of 10,000 tonnes, produces all standard PLA types, among other things for the production of eco-friendly packaging, fibers, textiles and engineering plastics.

Unilever (headquartered in Rotterdam, The Netherlands) and Bio-on (Bologna, Italy) recently announced the start of a strategic partnership to develop, produce and sell personal hygiene and care products that guarantee a smaller or no environmental impact. Using patented bio-technologies for natural, biodegradable microplastics (PHA) production, Unilever and Bio-on are taking an important step towards building a more sustainable economy and more responsible consumption in the personal care sector.

Rodenburg Biopolymers’ activities started in 1945, trading plant-derived products for various industries. Soon Arie Rodenburg added side stream activities, by buying defects from potato sorters. This was when the long-term relationship with potato side streams started. Who would have known that a forage business would turn into Bioplastics half a century later?

Low quality waste cooking oil (WCO) has traditionally been regarded as a low-value waste product, unfit for further use. Not by Czech company NAFIGATE Corporation, however, whose Hydal Biotechnology uses 100 % waste in the form of waste cooking oil to produce fully biodegradable PHA biopolymer. The company uses oil also as a source of energy, making biopolymer significantly more affordable than bioplastics manufactured from the so-called first-generation feedstock, such as corn or sugar cane. Hence, the technology is Zero Waste with 50 % less energy consumption than conventional polyethylene (PE).

When Futamura acquired its cellulose films business in 2016, including the trademark brands Cellophane™ and NatureFlex™, the business was already braced for positive change, with early investment from owners Futamura, the cellulose films business based in Wigton (Cumbria, UK) and Tecumseh (Kansas, USA), strengthened its core production facilities and planned for strategic growth. Then who could have foreseen that the broadcast of one BBC nature documentary, Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, would put the metaphorical cat amongst the pigeons (or catfish amongst the shrimp?) turning this plastic world as we know it upside down and placing a spotlight on bio-material alternatives to single-use conventional plastics.