Top Editors ... Bioplastics a golden future?

Title: Bioplastics a golden future?
Date: 24/11/2006
Autor: By Dr. Harald Kaeb, Chairman, European Bioplastics

Rising crude oil prices and a growing demand for environmentally friendly packaging coupled with greater innovation and more competitive pricing are all factors that are boosting the potential of bioplastics

In the past 15 to 24 months, bioplastics products, (ie plastics made from biodegradeable polymers from renewable sources) have been reported on extensively in the press. This increased attention is an indication of the positive development of the market on the one hand, and the changes in crude oil and plastics pnces on the other. Just a few years ago, bioplastics were expensive products with a limited performance spectrum, at best suitable for niche markets. Today, virtually everyone believes in the opportunities for bioplastics, which are finalty offering a feasible alternative to plastics made of polymers derived from crude oil.
However, although there have been significant advances in the field of bioplastics, there is still some way to go until they become 'commodity plastics'. Whether and how quickly this will happen depends on a lot of different factors.
The role of legislation in Germany, for example, certified compostable bioplastic packaging is now exempt from the Green Dot Fee until 2012. This modification of the German Packaging Ordinance was adopted after the efforts of the industry association European Bioplastics {formeriy IBAW) in Berlín. Companies bringing this kind of packaging into the rnarket have to ensure as part of their product responsibility that the 'highest possible amount' of the product is recycled. In other words, German legislators are leaving it up to the industry to take responsibility for fulfilment, without laying down any specific recycling measures.
At the end of 2005, a legislative initiative in France announced that, from 2010, all plastics packaging had to be biodegradable. However, after numerous negotiations, amendments were made in the course of the legislative process, and it is now only single use plastic carrier bags that are covered.
In the USA, there has been a law (the 'Farm Bill') in place since 2003 requiring Federal Agencies to give preference to the procurement of bio-based products. The criteria that these products have to meet were published last year.
Recent strong price rises for crude oil and thus plastics; the increasingly evident risks of cltmaíe change; and the uncertain supply situation for irnported raw materials are serious reasons for both industry and society to become less dependent on fossil fuel resources in the future. lt is therefore up to the industry to convert risks into opportunities íhrough innovation. In an interview in the first issue of the new “bioplastics Magazin”, Helmut Traitler, vice president, packaging at Nestlé, repeated a statment he had given at a conference earlier in the year: “The industry has to lead the way.” Nestlé is now using starch-based trays from Plantic for its Milk Tray brand, but this remains a tiny drop in a large ocean.

Bioplastics materials
Developments in the raw materials coupled with an increase in the quantities produced are also required to drive the market. Today, there are three main types of plastics based on renewable raw materials (RRM) on the market: starch materials; PLA (Polylactide, often wrongly referred to as Poly Latic Acid); and cellulosic materials. To these can be added a fourth highly promising plastic, PHA (polyhydroxy fatty acids) produced by using a fully biological fermentation process in which microorganisms convert agriculturl raw materials such as corn sugar into a family of copolymers that they accumulate in their bodies. Currently, these polyesters are commercialy available only in very small quantities, but this will change. Earlier this year, Metabolix, Cambridge and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) announced the construction of a new 50.000 tonne PHA plant at an ADM site in the USA. Other PHA developers in Japan, China, Brazil are also involved in such considerations.
Just last year the Italian company, Novamont in Novara, which has been producing bioplastics materials based on complex vegetable starch and biodegradable polyester for more than 10 yaers, started producing a new polyester based on vegetable oils. As Novamont´s production capacity is no longer sufficient, a new plant in Terni (Umbri, Italy) is being built and will be up and running by next summer 2007 and will double Novamont´s biopolymer output to 40.000 tonnes per year. The company is investing considerable research efforts and expenditure into developing a wide properties that can be compared with those of polyethylene.
Other starch-based materials have recently been produced and marketed by Biop, Schwarzheide, Germany and Stanelco, Southampton, UK. At Schwarzheide, Biop is currently building a plant with a prodution capacity of 10.000 tonnes per year, which will process potato starch, among other components. The Australian company, Plantic, which markets transparent, water-soluble films, is also relying heavily on starch-based materials for producing packaging that is primarily used for confectionery.
For PLA, the world´s largest bioplastics producer is NatureWorks (Cargill), USA, which has a production capacity of 140.000 tonnes of PLA per year. In Europe, the company Hycail (Tate & Lyle) announced the introduction, last December, of a heat resistent type of PLA. In China, 10 smaller PLA plants are developing and one ar least has already been documented in the press – a planned plant with a production capacity of 10.000 tonnes, in which the Swiss-German plant manufacturer Uhde Inventa Fischer is participating. Japanese companies such as Toyota are also developing PLA materials.
BASF and FkuR in Germany have recently developed formulations for biodegradable materials with a high PLA content and have launched the first products, which are suitable for diverse film and injection moulding applications, depending on the individual grade. Following the model of conventional plastics, bioplastics are now being intensively compounded and extruded by multilayer technology. lt is pleasing to note that machinery manufacturers such as Reifenhäuser, Mann & Hummel, and Leistritz (all of Germany), are offering special solutions for optimised processing of bioplastics and biodegradable materials.
If biodegradability and compostability are to satisfy the strict product certification criteria, the selection of colorants, additives and adhesives must also be considered, and there are several suitable products nowavailable.
Packaging applications
As the materials and products atlain greater technical maturity, the demand for them increases. Today, biopackaging can be found in many European supermarkets, such as Sainsburys, UK, which is a pioneer in this field; Delhaize, Belgium; Iper (part of the Carrefour group), ltaly; Albert Heijn, The Netherlands and Migros, Switzerland which are all actively putting their trusf in biopackaging. Lasí year, íhe world's largesí relailer, Wal Mari, ¡nlroduced iís first range of producís ¡n corn-based PLA packaging throughout the USA.
At the present time, biopackaging is employed mainly for organically produced foods but also for conventional fruit & vegetables, and bread & bakery products. Nets, trays and flowpacks from PLA, cellulose and starch materials are all being used. Last year for the first time, dífferent PLA water bottles were introduced on the market.
For supermarkets, the advantage of being able to compost unsaleable perished food products together with their packaging rather than have to separate the contents from the packaging at great cost, is considerable. Composttable service packs, such as trays, plates, cups or cutlery are increasingly to be found on delicatessen or snack-bar counters or at major events.
Labelling
Advertising and communication strategies are important factors in launching successful new products. Many consumers today fear climate change and are made aware of the oil price trend through their own pockets. They therefore react very positively to innovations such as bioplastics.
Bioplastics products must therefore be made easily identifiable to them. For this purpose, the industry has developed many different labels to highlight a product´s 'cornpostability'. The labels are based on European standard EN 13432 or ASTM 6400, for example, and are certified by a neutral certifying institute on the successful verification of their cornpostability. In Germany, this task is the responsibility of DIN Certco, Berlin: in the USA the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) offers similar services. In this way, biodegradable plastics can be clearly distinguished on a scientific basis. Greater awareness and availability should also further fuel consurner demand.
European Bioplastics
A proper representation to governments, retailers and consumers of the interests of companies thal produce, process or use bioplastics or biodegradable components is an important factor in the future success of this sector. The International Biodegradable Polymers Association (IBAW) assurned the task of representing the interests of the industry, and in March of this year, at the request of its rnembers, it was renamed 'European Bioplastics' to reflect the geographical focus of its activities in Europe.
The use of renewable resources in plastics manufacture is one of the industry's most important issues today, yet the Association continues to see biodegradability/ compostability as an integral part of the overall concept. The association is committed to representing the indusíry involved and encouraging innovations and market development.
In the past two years, membership of the association has doubled to 62. New members include companies such as Tetra Pak, Sweden; Kraft Foods, Germany; Nestlé, Switzerland; and Danone, Germany, which are involved as 'end users'. Plastics producers and processors form the backbone of the association, but agricultural raw material producers also support the Association. Virtually all parties involved display a mood of optimism but it remains to be seen if this is just the start of a real boom market.
European Bioplastics, Berlín, Germany 407


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