BIOPLASTICS | MATERIALS
Moving ahead in bioplastics
The bioplastics market is not large but bio-based and compostable materials can offer advantages in injection moulding applications. Chris Saunders reviews the latest developments
Interest in bio-based and biodegradable — or more accurately compostable — polymers is on the rise, even if overall volumes are small. Data published by European Bioplastics (based on information from Nova-Institute) shows global bioplastics production — including bio-based versions of PE, PET and PA — amounted to 1.9m tonnes for 2022. That is less than 0.5% of global plastics production (400m tonnes for 2022 according to PlasticsEurope data). However, although a niche market, bioplastics
(which Injection World defines as plastics produced from a bio-based source) can offer reduced environmental impact and simplified waste management options compared to some of today’s fossil-based polymers. While actual environmental benefits vary depending on feedstocks, production methods, application, and end-of-life options, considerable strides are being made in the sector. “Recent developments in bioplastics have
accelerated as the industry builds on the techno- logical improvements of the past decade. This is happening across the supply chain, from resin producers and converters to brand owners and retailers, as the needs of the market and the capabilities of the materials converge to provide real solutions for customer needs,” said Dr Michael Mang, vice president of technology commercialisa- tion at US-based polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) producer Danimer Scientific. “This acceleration derives from three interrelated
areas. Firstly, design for functional performance highlights the fact that new material must work for the intended end use. The experience of packaging engineers in understanding how new materials perform has allowed bioplastics to fit more quickly
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into intended use cases,” he said.
“End-of-life performance is another
area where the foundation built over time accelerates the development of new materi- als,” Mang added. He says there has been a convergence between the company’s ability to design for specific end-of- life performance and its customers’ understanding of how end-of-life works in real-world biological disposal systems. “For example, coffee pods in the European
market are an opportunity for an industrially compostable resin because the pods are disposed of with coffee grounds still present. In this case, a resin intended for home composting was repur- posed and adapted,” he said. Bioplastics developers like Danimer must also consider how their materials will be processed. “Conversion processing is a little-considered
requirement for bioplastic use. There is an installed base of conversion equipment designed and engineered for specific petroleum-based plastics,” Mang said.
Adapting to scale “Introducing bioplastics at scale requires adapting the process and the resin, creating significant economic incentives for equipment owners to transition to higher-value materials that support greater returns.”
He says the company has prioritised building this conversion adaptation into its resin design process.
Netherlands-based TotalEnergies Corbion July/August 2024 | INJECTION WORLD 15
Main image: Bioplastics are drawing attention. These tooth- brushes,
designed by Revelop and produced using a PHA com- pound from CJ Biomaterials, won a Red Dot design award this year
IMAGE: CJ BIOMATERIALS
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