MATERIALS | BIOPLASTICS
Right: Fraunhofer’s new bio-based extruded foam can be made on existing equipment
Different crops also thrive with different gauges
of mulch film – with watermelon preferring 0.9mil film which strawberries perform best with 1.6mil film. The films also have a wide spread of proper- ties, such as impact strength and puncture resist- ance. In the field, BG-7800 (PBAT/TPS) was efficient for short-term crops while BG-7880 (also PBAT/ TPS) was better for longer harvests. BG-7805 (PBAT/PLA) was still being assessed. “We found that BDM performance varies
strongly by resin, gauge, colour and environment,” he said. Some, like BG-7880, offer longer durability while others degrade too early in harsh conditions. Colour also matters: green and white-black degrade faster, making them good for short crops but risky for long cycles. The next research step is to match film choice to
crop cycle and climate and improve formulations for more reliable field degradation. “We need to continue multi-season trials to build real-world confidence,” he said.
Bio-based foam The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has devel- oped a bio-based extruded foam that can be made on existing equipment. The foam, made of polybutylene succinate (PBS),
Below: Fraunhofer CCPE has tailored the properties of PBSA/PLA blends for commercial use
addresses CO2 reduction, regulatory compliance and economic efficiency, says Fraunhofer. The PBS Extrusion Foam (xPBS) can replace conventional polyethylene (PE) foams in key applications such as packaging, protective and transport solutions and construction. In these markets, regulatory requirements and high sustainability demands are driving the need for bio-based materials, it says. A key factor for industry is that xPBS functions as
a so-called drop-in solution. The foam can be processed on existing extrusion lines without requiring major investments in retrofitting. This gives companies the opportunity to make their products more sustainable in the short term without fundamentally changing existing processes. The project was a collaboration between several
Fraunhofer institutes including ICT (which drove formulation and process development of the foaming process) and IAP, which focused on polymer synthesis and the adjustment of material properties.
“Our goal was to develop a material solution that can be used directly in industry,” said Anja Dennard, project manager at Fraunhofer ICT. “The fact we can now produce PBS foams with properties compara- ble to PE on an industrial scale is a first.”
Bio-based blends Fraunhofer researchers have also shown how commercial PBSA/PLA blends can be tailored – through industrial processing methods – to make them suitable for flexible film applications to replace conventional plastics. Scientists at Fraunhofer CCPE systematically
IMAGE: FRAUNHOFER ICT 16 FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION | July/August 2026
investigated the influence of processing and material composition on the properties of film blends of PBSA (polybutylene succinate-co-adi- pate) and PLA (polylactic acid). The study, published in the journal Polymers, showed a correlation between processing, micro- structure and mechanical behaviour. Both cast films and blown films had a lamellar blend morphology at the microscale but differed on the nanoscale. In cast films, processing led to an orientation of the semi-crystalline PBSA structures, whereas no comparable crystalline preferred orientation was seen in blown films. The two film types studied cover a wide range of stiffness and strength and achieve property levels relevant for the substitution
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IMAGE: FRAUNHOFER ICT
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