Due to low oil and gasoline prices, many companies will choose to reduce costs to improve profits, and abandon innovative technologies that are actually more environmentally friendly. This status quo is not conducive to the development of bio-based and biodegradable plastics. Still, the market demand for bioplastics continues to grow and investment continues to pour in. This is because the material is in line with the vision of corporate development and, in the context of sustainable development policy, is characterized by functional diversification, correctness of arguments and programmatic superiority.
Why are more and more companies and countries optimistic about bioplastics? What is driving its development? Two outstanding properties of the material are sufficient to answer these questions. On the one hand, the source of bioplastics is renewable raw materials; on the other hand, bioplastics are biodegradable, and the latter is their main characteristic. These two properties are independent of each other, have different directions, and the respective representative materials are not competitive with each other. The term "bioplastics" is arbitrary and confusing. Both of these features are extremely important.
Bioplastics
In a specific polymer category, PET with a biobased content of 30% is an outstanding representative of the leading position in terms of production capacity and market. The Nova Institute has published professional data on the development of global bioplastics production capacity in recent years, which are also used by the European Bioplastics Association in its published data (see Figure 1).
If ethylene glycol (MEG) can be produced from bio-based feedstocks, then basically every manufacturer can make PET with a 30% bio-based content. The market currently supplies about 300,000 tons of bio-based MEG, capable of producing about 1 million tons of PET with a 30% bio-based content. A portion of this PET is used by The Coca-Cola Company in the production of beverage bottles. In fact, Coca-Cola has been working on this production project since 2009. Since then, the company has manufactured more than 40 billion beverage bottles containing bio-PET, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300,000 tons.
In the spring of 2015, Coca-Cola showcased the first bioplastic beverage bottle using 100% terephthalic acid (PTA). But producing PTA is not economical enough for startups, who are currently testing various integrated approaches. Bio-based PET materials are easy to recycle and suitable for long-term applications, meeting the high demands of the plastics industry in the future. At present, the number of users and application fields using PET is steadily increasing, ranging from pharmaceutical packaging, auto parts, outdoor textiles, etc.
Polyvinyl Furanone (PEF)
Following the success of PET, polyvinyl furanone (PEF), which is currently in development, is made from MEG and furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and is 100% bio-based from the start segment. Avantium Technology in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a technology leader in the field of FDCA production. BASF Europe in Ludwigshafen, Germany, announced in March last year that it will build a new FDCA production plant in Antwerp, Belgium, with a production capacity of up to 50,000 tons per year. Mitsui & Co., Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan has also signed a long-term supply contract with it.
Compared with PET, PEF is positioned as a material with stronger barrier properties to CO2 and O2. Due to its higher mechanical strength, packaging with thinner walls can be produced, thereby reducing the packaging weight of films and bottles. Based on its functionality, environmental performance and cost advantages, PEF is recognized as a promising new material for the bioplastics market.
Polyethylene
Bio-polyethylene (PE) has been in the market for many years. Braskem, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is currently the only manufacturer to successfully position the polymer as a premium product in the tough commodity segment—without giving it new functionality, the advantage of being a lower carbon footprint. Currently, its customer base is growing and distribution channels continue to develop. Food manufacturers, who used to avoid bioplastic packaging when it comes to packaging adoption between food and non-food products, are seeing an opportunity again (see Figure 3). For the manufacturer, reaching a capacity of 200,000 tonnes/year of bio-based PE is an important first step, and further investments are now being considered. Although bio-PE materials are also used in technical products, such as cable outer layers or sewage pipes, the main use of bio-polyolefins is still in non-food packaging areas, such as packaging of cosmetics or consumables
It is worth noting that packaging giants, such as RPC Group in Rushden, UK, Amcor in Hawthorne, Australia, Stora Enso Group in Helsinki, Finland, and Gerresheimer in Dusseldorf, Germany, all attach great importance to "bio-based" and put It serves as the foundation for future development. Tetra Pak International, based in Piay, Switzerland, plans to put about 100 million 100% bio-based TetraRex packaging boxes on the market in early 2016, the source of which is bio-PE material produced by Braskem
Polyamide
Excellent resistance and high elasticity are fundamental properties of many biopolyamides (PA). Like PA10 and PA11, which have been on the market for decades, the new PA4 and PA5 are attracting market attention due to their special properties such as temperature stability, chemical resistance and dimensional stability. While PAs in the traditional sense are often used for special applications in the automotive sector, bio-PAs have also conquered the consumer goods sector, such as outdoor clothing, sports shoes and eyeglass frames. Major polymer producers, such as Invista S.a.r.l. in KS/Wichita, USA, DSM Engineering Plastics in Heerlen, Netherlands, and Evonik Industries in Essen, Germany, are actively working with various biotech companies to further expand the scope of their PA monomer portfolio. Technology companies such as Calysta Corporation in Menlo Park, Canada/US; Cathay Pacific Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China; Emery Oleochemicals Group, Selangor, Malaysia; and Verdezyne, Inc., Carlsbad, Canada/US.
Other bioplastics
Customer demand drives the development of sustainable high-performance plastics. The 2015 Bioplastics Award was awarded to the highly transparent and scratch-resistant synthetic material "Durabio", a biopolycarbonate (PC) derived from isosorbide produced by Roquette Freres, Lestron, France, Tokyo, Japan Manufactured jointly by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Sharp Corporation of Osaka, Japan.
Customer demands for superior performance in bioplastics have also led to the development of polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT), which is particularly suitable for applications in elastic textile fibers (see Table 1). If thermosetting plastics are also taken into account, the number of derivatives will be higher. Bio-based polyurethanes (PU) or polyepoxides are also now promising in a number of different applications (see Figure 6). Interested companies can take advantage of the growing number of commercially available bio-based monomer building blocks, primarily diols or polyols, whose properties can be improved as much as bio-components.
The application of bioplastics in the toy industry is also increasing day by day. The Lego toy company in Billund, Denmark, issued a statement in 2015 saying that by 2030 it will use only sustainable raw materials to make its products, which is equivalent to 70,000 tons/year of plastic capacity. Finding materials that can replace fossil ABS is its next task, and reducing carbon emissions must also be performed. The LEGO toy company has established innovation centers and has partnered with biopolymer manufacturers and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Although bioplastics have been used in toys, their market development is still in its infancy.
Biodegradable plastic
Many polymers are biodegradable in relation to their chemical and physical structures, of which polyester is the largest branch. The complex polymer material polylactic acid (PLA) has countless structures, including one that is durable. MN/Minnetonka-based NatureWorks is the leader among manufacturers, topping the list with a capacity of 150,000 tons per year, leaving its competitors far behind. At present, many companies are trying to further improve the manufacturing process or production process. Corbion in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, announced plans to build a 75,000-ton/year plant in Rayon, Thailand, which is expected to be operational in 2018.
PLA is now sold around the world, mainly used in packaging, fibers and films, and most of them in the form of composites occupy an important market share. The functionality of the material makes it suitable for use in many fields: food packaging (eg yogurt cups, beverage bottles, laminate films or foam containers) as textile fibers or technical products (fabrics, filters, non-woven materials) or for Consumables (such as office supplies or technical components).
PBS and PBAT
Due to the boom in succinic acid (SA) biotechnology, experts expect the production of polybutylene succinate (PBS) to usher in rapid growth. Like PLA, the aliphatic polymer can be 100% biomaterial and can be made by hydrogenating SA to make 1,4 butanediol (BDO), or directly by fermentation to make BDO. Chemical companies such as BASF, DSM Engineering Plastics and Mitsubishi Chemical are investing in innovative biotech start-ups in this technology space, such as BioAmber in Quebec, Canada, Genomatica in San Diego, Canada/US, and Myriant in Woburn, Morocco/US company. It is believed that PBS will soon be mass-produced like polybutylene adipate diol (PBAT), which is widely used today. Both polyesters have been widely used as softening blends of starch or PLA and have benefited the most from the growth of the "bag market"
Many countries and regions already have relevant national laws that require the sorting of biological waste and other wastes, such as transport packaging in Italy, fruit and vegetable packaging bags in France, which has contributed to the huge market of compostable packaging bags with a capacity of 70,000 tons. And the future market potential is even greater: experts predict that the consumption of compostable packaging bags in Europe will triple in the next five years, and the global market potential will increase several times in the next five years. Currently, nova researchers are carefully studying the importance of analyzing the EU market and basic legal conditions.
PHA
As another member of the polyester family, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are directly produced from bacteria. PHAs with different structures exhibit distinct properties, some of which can be completely decomposed in various media. Numerous small-scale companies are trying to produce and market them on a global scale. Recently, Bio-On Srl of San Giorgio di Piano, Italy, announced that it has cooperated with two interested European business partners, from Italy and France, to build two new production plants, each with a capacity of about 10,000 ton/year capacity. Chinese and American companies are also dabbling in the PHA space.
The development of degradable polymers is more complex than currently believed. PLA itself already has some of the properties of a modern plastic: it can be tailored to meet the needs of a particular application, and many structures can be fully exploited simply by combining them with other polymers. The current focus is on a relatively narrow product category - the manufacture of short-lived, compostable, single-use products using a variety of biodegradable polyesters, largely due to policy-driven Positioned as a unique market selling point. However, this is not the end of development, but only a small climax during development.
Prospects
Plastic is undoubtedly powerful, it can help us solve many problems. It must also reinvent itself in the decades to come. Resource and environmental concerns are directly related to short-lived plastic products, which are already widely used but are often difficult to recycle. This is why plastic products must be recyclable, otherwise they place a lot of burden on the environment.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Plastics Strategy, experts and representatives of major companies believe that biodegradation is the right solution for short-lived plastic products. The fundamental problem, however, is that products must be produced with as few resources as possible and designed for more uses. The life cycle analysis report shows that recycling and using renewable resources is the focus of the problem. The European Parliament and the European Commission have proposed many proposals on the basis of basic principles, but the status of bioplastics has not been confirmed, it has only developed in recent years, and the structure of mass-produced plastic systems has also been established, which in turn leads to The inertia of traditional plastic production. However, this will not affect the development of the bioplastics industry. Once a stable foundation has been established for market development, bioplastics will be well supported by politicians, consumers and commentators, and will be able to attract and retain new investors.
