MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS
Right: Films made from PBS in the Rubio project are recyclable and biodegradable
species to assess their suitability for use in the manufacture of the end products. For example, black poplar grown in Zamostea (Romania) and blackwood acacia grown in Moara (Romania) have shown promising results in the production of lactic acid for making bioplastics. Aimplas is also taking part in the Preserve
project to improve the performance of bioplastics so that they not only ensure optimal preservation of food and beverages, but also protect non-renewa- ble resources in the environment and on the planet. Within the project, Aimplas is working on the development of PHA-based water vapour barrier coatings to improve the properties of cellulose- based packaging. It is also developing reinforce- ment materials in conventional compounding and flat sheet extrusion processes to improve the mechanical properties of recycled bioplastics. It is also involved in chemical and enzymatic recycling processes to give a second life to the newly developed packaging.
“Our aim is to minimise the use of fossil-based plastics by encouraging the development of bioplastics with the same and even better proper- ties,” said Lola Gómez, principal investigator of the project at Aimplas. Here, work is being done to improve properties such as the development of barrier coatings based on proteins and PHA, the use of e-beam irradiation to improve barrier and mechanical properties, and developing polymer reinforcement technologies to improve the properties of recycled bioplastics.
Film from plants Partners in the pan-European Rubio project have used ‘regionally available’ plant residues to create recyclable, biodegradable materials. As part of the project, the Fraunhofer Institute
for Applied Polymer Research (IAP) is developing new types of a bioplastic called polybutylene succinate (PBS) – and, with Polifilm Extrusion has
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developed an initial commercial product. The PBS films are recyclable, biodegradable and can be processed on standard extrusion lines. “There are currently only three types of PBS on
the market – and these are suitable only for a limited number of processing methods and applications,” said Thomas Büsse, head of the processing pilot plant for biopolymers at Fraun- hofer IAP.
Real conditions Chaire CoPack, AgroParisTech and the University of Montpellier have conducted a scientific study that validates the biodegradation of certified composta- ble food contact packaging in industrial compost- ing facilities. The preliminary report of the study provides evidence that certified compostable packaging is a viable sustainable solution to waste management in the food packaging industry, says TotalEnergies Corbion. The test used 20 tonnes of food- and bio-waste collected from households, along with 323kg of assorted certified compostable packaging. In
IMAGE: POLIFILM
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