MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS


micro-organisms that actively break down bioplastics will be enhanced by introducing them into the process to reinforce biodegradation. “The key is to identify the most active micro-


organisms and ensure that they are present in sufficient quantities for the biological decomposition process to be truly efficient,” said Giovanni Gadaleta, a researcher at the biodegradability and compostability laboratory at Aimplas.


Above left: Biovalsa, led by Aimplas, aims to make bioplastics from materials such as rice straw and citrus pruning waste


Above right: Microfago is looking for micro- organisms and viruses


(phages) that speed up bioplastics degradation


Bioeconomy Alliance, a cross-sector platform “dedicated to mainstreaming the bioeconomy”.


Waste to bioplastic Spanish research organisation Aimplas is leading two bioplastics research projects. The first, Biovalsa, aims to make bioplastics from


materials such as rice straw and citrus pruning waste. Every year, Valencia’s agricultural sector


generates around 800,000 tonnes of plant waste. The methods for recovering this biomass are costly, as they require commercial enzymes – which represents up to 40% of the cost of the process. The idea is to replace the usual treatments with others that allow the three fractions of biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) to be recovered for use in various applications of interest to the bioplastics industry. Cellulose will be used to produce lactic acid (to make PLA), while hemicellulose is expected to yield succinic acid (to make PBS). The antimicrobial properties of lignin make it suitable for recovery and use as an additive to prevent the proliferation of micro-organisms. The project is in its first year of development,


and progress has been made in separating the components of rice straw using methods that do not involve toxic substances, says Aimplas. Different strains of bacteria and micro-organisms that can break down cellulose and hemicellulose to generate the lactic and succinic acids are also being tested. The second project, Microfago, is looking to identify a combination of micro-organisms and viruses (phages) to speed up bioplastics degradation. This aims to overcome the problem that some composting and anaerobic digestion plants do not always completely degrade these materials. The phages will act on bacteria that hinder


degradation, which favours the work of beneficial micro-organisms. At the same time, the presence of


12 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | January/February 2026


He added that the effectiveness of these techniques will be evaluated on different scales – laboratory, pilot and industrial – and compared with biodegradation or fragmentation tests regulated by current legislation.


Novel enzymes Researchers at US-based Purdue University have received a US$7 million grant to design novel enzymes that convert biomaterials into biodegradable plastics. “Nearly 99% of the plastics produced today are


made from petrochemicals, which often must be imported from outside the US,” said Karthik Sankaranarayanan, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the university. “We want to take advantage of locally available


materials, such as those commonly used throughout the state of Indiana.” These materials, such as corn, sugar or agricultural waste, will be converted into bioplastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). While retaining their mechanical strength, the materials would be “infinitely recyclable” he says. “You can take these polymers and break them down into their individual units and reuse them,” he said.


PHAs can be fragile and unstable at high


temperatures, which has hindered their widespread use in areas like consumer goods and medical devices.


“Our platform will tune the chemical structure of the final polymer to have the proper level of mechanical strength and thermal stability,” said Sankaranarayanan. “This will open the door for applications that range from packaging to biomedical devices.” The three-year project will focus on biocatalysis – using enzymes to speed up highly specific reactions to make products without harsh chemicals or extreme conditions. Purdue researchers are developing algorithms to select the enzymes and the reactions needed to create the bioplastics. Then, researchers at the


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IMAGE: AIMPLAS


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