bioplastics MAGAZINE 03-2011

ISSN 1862-5258

May / June

03 | 2011

Cover-Story The New Bioplastics Symbol | 10

Basics

bioplastics

magazine

Vol. 6

PHA | 42 Personality Andy Sweetman | 50 Highlights interpack Review | 18 Chinaplas Review | 28

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FKuR plastics - made by nature!速

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Editorial

dear readers Wow! That was a busy spring, with a lot of travelling. The biggest events we attended were, without doubt, the interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany and Chinaplas in Guangzhou. At interpack 2011, the world’s biggest trade show for packaging, the group exhibition ‘bioplastics in packaging’ was again crowded from the first to the last moment. Please see our report on p 18ff. We carried a total of 4,000 copies of bioplastics MAGAZINE to interpack, and after only five days all were gone. Another roughly 1,000 copies were shipped to Chinaplas. Here, at a special ‘bioplastics pavilion’ more than 20 companies including bioplastics MAGAZINE showcased their products and services. On p. 28ff you can find our short report.

Another highlight in this issue is our ‘top talk’ interview with Rainer Barthel, Head of R&D Packaging Central Europe at Danone, about their launch of Activia in PLA cups and other questions as to the sustainability approach of the brand owner.

In the basics section we publish an extract of the new book ‘Engineering Biopolymers’ by H.-J. Endres and A. Siebert-Raths. It is the chapter on PHA. And last but not least we would like to say a cordial ‘thank you’ to all who expressed their congratulations for our fifth birthday anniversary. Be it during our party at interpack or in letters and e-mails. Hoping that all our readers and advertisers remain loyal to us, we promise to do our best to keep bioplastics MAGAZINE the information platform of choice for you.

Again, we hope you enjoy reading bioplastics MAGAZINE

Sincerely yours

Michael Thielen and Samuel Brangenberg

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bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

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Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/bioplasticsmag

Rainer Barthel: Danone Reduces Carbon Footprint

End-of-Life for PLA Egg-Cartons

Danone and WWF Introduce Activia in PLA Cups

Teknor Apex

Basics of PHA

Opinion

Cereplast

Cosmetic Packaging from Italy

Cover Ad

A part of this print run is mailed to the readers wrapped in envelopes sponsored by Minima Technology Co., Ltd.

Envelopes

Editorial contributions are always welcome.

Please contact the editorial office via mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com.

bioplastics MAGAZINE tries to use British spelling. However, in articles based on information from the USA, American spelling may also be used.

The fact that product names may not be identified in our editorial as trade marks is not an indication that such names are not registered trade marks.

Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher.

Event Calendar 59 Glossary 58 Companies in this issue 62 Editorial Planner 62

bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 91 countries.

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bioplastics MAGAZINE is printed on chlorine-free FSC certified paper.

03|2011

ISSN 1862-5258 bioplastics magazine is published 6 times a year.

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Editorial News Book-Review Coverstory interpack Review Chinaplas Review

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Imprint Content

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5-7 8

10-11

18-20

28-31

Beauty & Healthcare 12

Top-Talk 14-15

Report 22

Thermoset

The Rise of Bio-Based Thermoset 24-25

The First Step to Sustainable Composites 26-27

Applications

32

Think Tank Advocates Renewable Plastic 38-39

Application-News 34-37

Materials

16-17

Purac 40-41

Basics

42-45

Politics

46

Personality

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News

NatureWorks Among the First …

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that NatureWorks is one of the first eleven companies approved to use their new product label on its certified biobased Ingeo™ products under the department’s BioPreferred program.

NatureWorks’ Ingeo PLA is used in multiple industries and categories, including packaging, electronics, clothing, house wares, health and personal care, semi-durable products, and the foodservice industry. More than 500 companies produce Ingeo based products, including such international brands as Avianca, Electrolux, Henkel, NEC, Shiseido, Danone, and Walmart.

The production of Ingeo uses less fossil fuel and emits fewer greenhouse gases than conventional polymers.

“The USDA’s new product label serves as a critical and trusted signpost for consumers by identifying biobased materials and products that have undergone a robust and rigorous third party certification,” said Steve Davies, director of marketing and public affairs, NatureWorks. “NatureWorks is proud to be one of the first to have earned the BioPreferred distinction from the USDA.” Biobased products are those composed wholly or significantly of agricultural ingredients – renewable plant, animal, marine, or forestry materials. The new label indicates that the product has been independently certified to meet USDA BioPreferred program standards for biobased content (see bM 01/11). MT www.natureworksllc.com www.biopreferred.gov.

Successful Premiere for ecoPack systems Without ecology there is no economy – and vice versa. That was the conclusion of the first ecoPack systems conference on the issue of sustainable packaging held by Regensburg-based PETnology/tecPET GmbH in Düsseldorf (Germany) in early May, just before interpack. The event premiere was a great success and attracted eighty participants.

Reflecting the general trend in the packaging industry, the ecoPack systems conference concentrated on the sustainability of modern packaging. Time and again, the importance of sustainability was underlined – in the introductory speech as well as throughout all seven sessions, which featured a total of 20 industry presentations. One highlight was the panel discussion with (from the left to the right in the picture) Dr. Thomas Rummler, German Federal Environment Ministry; Dr. Francesca Aulenta, BASF; Dr. Jürgen Bruder, IK Plastics Packaging Industry Association Germany; Dr. Michael Thielen, bioplastics MAGAZINE as co-moderator and Dr. Otto Appel, PETnology/tecPET GmbH as moderator.

Sustainability was defined as a global concept covering environmental compatibility, energy consumption, reusability and recyclability. The participants therefore concluded that all those involved in the value chain – from the producers of raw materials and machinery through to packaging and food companies and of course the end user – had a responsibility to find effective and sustainable solutions.

There was also general agreement that packaging will continue to gain in importance, with around a third of all food still spoiling before it reaches the consumer. Uniform guidelines are needed for the information given to consumers about each particular form of packaging and how it contributes to the drive for sustainability.

“The idea behind ecoPack systems was to extend our range of conferences for the packaging industry and offer another platform to exchange information in the growing packaging market alongside our well established PETnology Europe conference,” explained Dr Otto Appel, Managing Director at PETnology. “Of course, we are delighted to have attracted eighty participants to the first of our new ecoPack systems conferences, but we are also very excited at being able to address different target groups from those who attend our PETnology event.” MT www.ecopack-conference.com www.petnology.com

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News

Bayer Starts Pilot Plant for Plastic Manufacturing With CO2 Bayer of Leverkusen, Germany is taking a new direction in the production of high-quality plastics with the help of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the energy sector. A pilot plant has come on stream at Chempark Leverkusen to trial the new process on a technical scale. The plant produces a chemical precursor into which CO2 is incorporated and then processed into polyurethanes that are used in many everyday items. As a result, CO2 – a waste gas and key contributor to climate change – can now be recycled and used as a raw material and substitute for petroleum.

The innovative process is the result of the ‘Dream Production’ project; a collaboration between industry and science. Bayer is working on the project with the energy company RWE, which supplies the CO2 used in the process. Other project partners are RWTH Aachen University and the CAT Catalytic Center, which is run jointly by the university and Bayer. The researchers recently achieved a break-through in laboratory-scale catalysis technology which makes it possible to put CO2 to efficient use, for the first time.

“There is an opportunity to establish Germany as a market leader for these technologies and secure ourselves a leading role in a competitive international environment,” said Bayer Board of Management member Dr. Wolfgang Plischke, when he addressed representatives from the media, government and science in Leverkusen earlier this year. “The inauguration of this pilot plant is another milestone in a long line of Bayer projects that have used innovative technologies to develop sustainable production processes.”

The new process helps to boost sustainability in a number of different ways. For example, carbon dioxide may offer an alternative to petroleum, which has until now been the chemical sector’s main source of the key element carbon.

Polyurethanes themselves also help to reduce energy consumption and protect the climate.

When used to insulate buildings from cold and heat, they can save approximately 70 times more energy than is used in their production. www.bayer.com

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Mitsubishi and PTT Close JV Deal PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Bangkog, Thailand recently announced that they would enter into a Joint Venture Agreement with Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC), the developer of bioplastic technology.

Consequently, PTT and MCC have established PTT MCC Biochem Company Limited, the joint venture company with the shareholding proportion of 50% and 50% respectively on March 30, 2011. This joint venture will plan for the production of Polybutylene Succinate (PBS). PBS is biodegradable, but currently is made from petrochemical succinic acid and 1,4-butanediol.

Bio-based versions of these monomers will be used at the new project in Thailand.

MCC brings process technology for the manufacture of the succinic acid, and marketing power to sell the PBS through its existing GSPla brand. PTT will contribute expertise in operations and logistics.

The registered capital of the company is € 8.4 million (US$ 12 million). The joint investment is in accordance with PTT Group’s strategy in entering the bioplastic business in order to ensure sustainable green environment. MT www.pttplc.com www.www.m-kagaku.co.jp

News

Bioplastics to Pass One Million Tonnes This Year

Avantium Announces Start-Up of YXY Pilot Plant

Global bioplastics production capacity will more than double from 2010 to 2015. Capacity is predicted to pass the one million tonne mark already in 2011, according to a current study recently presented by the industry association European Bioplastics in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Hanover at interpack in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Avantium, headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, announced the successful start-up of its polyester pilot plant at the Chemelot site in Geleen, the Netherlands. The polyester plant is the first part of the pilot plant that Avantium is building at its new site to demonstrate its YXY technology for green materials and fuels. Avantium’s monomer pilot plant is scheduled to become operational in the second half of 2011.

From a figure of around 700,000 tonnes in 2010, the production capacity for bioplastics will increase to a predicted 1.7 million tonnes by 2015. The current year will see capacity pass an important threshold: the first half of 2011 already shows production capacity exceeding 900,000 tonnes. The million tonne mark is close, and will likely be passed by the bioplastics industry within this year. “The encouraging trend in production capacity allows us to assume, that the figures presented today will even be exceeded in the coming years”, explains Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics.

A further change is evident in the composition of global production volume. In 2010, the bioplastics branch primarily produced biodegradable materials, totalling around 400,000 tonnes (compared to 300,000 tonnes of biobased commodity plastics). This ratio will be reversed in the coming years despite overall growth. “Our market study shows that biobased commodity plastics, with a total of around one million tonnes, will make up the majority of production capacity in 2015. Biodegradable materials will, however, also grow substantially and will reach about 700,000 tonnes by then”, explains Professor Hans-Josef Endres of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Hanover.

Essential to this rapid growth is the swift expansion of bioplastics into an ever-increasing number of applications.

From packaging to car manufacture to toys, carpets and electronic components bioplastics are in demand as never before. The strongly growing group of durable biobased bioplastics appeals strongly to the packaging market, for example. Several large brand producers such as Danone and Coca-Cola have brought products to market.

Europe is the world’ s largest and most interesting market for bioplastics and is the leader in research and development. The number of production facilities, in contrast, is growing most markedly in Asia and South America. The competitiveness of European industrial sites must therefore be improved through better frameworks and regulations.

European Bioplastics challenges politicians to support the local bioplastics industry.

The YXY polyester pilot plant will produce bioplastics based on Avantium’s YXY technology. Avantium will use the polyester pilot plant for the production, development and testing of biobased polyesters, such as biobased PEF (poly-ethylene-furanoate).

Avantium has demonstrated that PEF has numerous superior properties over PET, including barrier properties (oxygen, carbon-dioxide and water) and its ability to withstand heat. The YXY technology makes it possible to produce a 100% biobased and 100% recyclable polyester. Avantium is actively working on the development of PEF bottles for water, soft drinks, fruit juices, alcoholic drinks, food, diary, cosmetic products, soaps and detergents. In parallel, Avantium is developing PEF fibers for textile, carpet and industrial applications.

Tom van Aken, Chief Executive Officer of Avantium comments: “The start-up of our polyester pilot plant is another milestone of our development of our YXY technology for biobased materials. We have successfully produced the first batches of our biopolymer PEF in the pilot plant. It demonstrates that we can use existing PET production assets to manufacture PEF. The compatibility of our products with existing production assets and supply chains will facilitate the adoption of our technology. The YXY pilot plant will make larger volumes of PEF available for application development to commercialize this 100% biobased and 100% recyclable bioplastic.” MT www.avantium.com www.yxy.com

www.european-bioplastics.org

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Book Review

Plastic Planet – The dark side of plastics

‘P

lastic Planet’ by Gerhard Petting and Werner Boote is without doubt a provocative book that presents a one-sided view and is the subject of a great deal of controversial discussion. Modern life seems unimaginable without plastics, especially when it comes to lightweight product design, packaging and hygiene. However, the book focuses on the shady side of the world of plastics. And, indeed, those shadows do exist, even though they may only be light grey - or even darkest black, as described in this book.

First of all, the reader will be surprised by the chapter entitled ‘Dreams’, a 50 page history of plastics, their technical development and changing reputation over time. The chapter contains several interesting and forgotten insights. Who still remembers the first and often bio-based plastics such as Bakelite, Shellac, Laccain, Celluloid or Rayon?

The chapter entitled ‘Nightmares’ deals with the shady side of the world of plastics, which can be summarised briefly as: The massive ingress of petro-chemical plastics into the seas, which decompose into tiny parts of plastic and, thus, become part of the food chain instead of plankton.

PVC – even though health problems stemming from the production process have been solved to a large degree nowadays, problems still exist in cases of fire (dioxins) and the heavy use of plasticizers.

Plasticizers with a hormonal effect, like the phthalates group, which are used in several types of plastics, and mainly in PVC. Bisphenol A, whose use in sensitive applications such as babies’ bottles is now being increasingly restricted.

All this is not new, but the agglomerated impact and a presentation of the potential results on the environment and on health certainly encourage reflection.

And this reflection leads to the question of why the plastics industry does not work more intensively to eliminate these shadowy aspects, the more so as there exist comprehensive and commercially available industrial solutions. PVC and Bisphenol A can be replaced by other plastics in critical applications. And also for phthalates there exist commercially available green plasticizers without hormonal effects. Strategies to avoid waste could help to reduce ingress into the seas. Bio-based plasticizers could be tailored in regard to their biodegradability in the seas. In many cases bio-based solutions are available to brighten up a lot of these shadowy areas.

Why do parts of the plastic industry stick to these old solutions? The reaction to this question should not be excuses, or ‘white-washing’, but an innovative boost in the plastics industry to increase the benefits for consumers as well as for the European industry!

by Michael Carus nova-Institut Hürth, Germany

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In this regard the book disappoints in its last chapter ‘Awakening’, which addresses the consumer rather than the industry. Innovative solutions are barely presented. Instead, a description is outlined of a family that tries to live without plastics. Certainly, this is an interesting concept, but it is no comprehensive solution-focused approach for the future – one that will belong to, and be developed by, green chemicals and the plastics industry.

Order now!

Book-Review Bookstore

A new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc.

Degradable Plastics The degradable plastic industry has been on the verge of commercial success for decades.

However, demand growth was limited because most degradable plastics were too expensive, were unavailable in large enough quantities or had performance drawbacks that limited them to niche markets. This situation began to change in the early 2000s, as interest in environmentally friendly products gained strength, boosted by the efforts of major users like Wal-Mart. At the same time, the availability of biodegradable plastics increased significantly due to expansions by key producers. These and other trends are presented in Degradable Plastics, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industry market research firm.

The full report (202 pages, published 08/2010) is available through the bioplastics MAGAZINE bookstore at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/books.

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for US-$ 4,800 (+ VAT where applicable) order at www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/books, by phone +49 2161 664864 or by e-mail books@bioplasticsmagazine.com

Hans-Josef Endres, Andrea Siebert-Raths

n.

“Thank you Ja at you went to th s ou It is obvi this work. on s great length d biopolymers You have liste ard of. This he en ev I haven‘t very helpful to be ill w rt po re the biopolymer all involved in ark world.“ A reader‘s rem

Engineering Biopolymers

Markets, Manufacturing, Properties and Applications 660 pages, hard cover.

278 coloured pictures, 70 tables Prepub-Discount ! (see * below)

Author: Jan Th. J. Ravenstijn, MSc The state of the art on Bioplastics, January 2010

Hans-Josef Endres, Andrea Siebert-Raths

The report ‘The state-of-the-art on Bioplastics 2010‘ describes the revolutionary growth of bio-based monomers, polymers, and plastics and changes in performance and variety for the entire global plastics market in the first decades of this century.

Technische Biopolymere

Rahmenbedingungen, Marktsituation, Herstellung, Aufbau und Eigenschaften 628 Seiten, Hardcover

Trends, issues, technologies, products, markets, manufacturers, investment plans, performances, needs, expectations, and new opportunities are reviewed and discussed.

This includes the assimilation of the agricultural industry with the polymer industry to a new value chain. Today, bio-based thermosets are larger than bio-based thermoplastics, while also the volume of bio-based durable materials exceeds the volume of bio-based biodegradable plastics.

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(Special prices for research and non-profit organisations upon request).

This book is unique in its focus on market-relevant bio/renewable materials. It is based on comprehensive research projects, during which these materials were systematically analyzed and characterized. For the first time the interested reader will find comparable data not only for biogenic polymers and biological macromolecules such as proteins, but also for engineering materials.

The reader will also find valuable information regarding microstructure, manufacturing, and processing-, application-, and recycling properties of biopolymers

Rainer Höfer (Editor) Sustainable Solutions for Modern Economies

ISBN: 978-1-84755-905-0 Copyright: 2009 / Format: Hardcover / 497 pages

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Bestellen Sie das deutschsprachige Buch für EUR 299,00.

*buy the new english version from us for € 249.00 for a limited time, instead of EUR 299.00

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or by e-mail books@bioplasticsmagazine.com

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Cover Story

Cereplast Launches New Symbol to Represent Bioplastics

C

ereplast, Inc., from El Segundo, California, USA, a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable plastics, announced on April 21st a new symbol to represent ‘bioplastics’. The designer of the new symbol is Laura Howard, a graphic design student at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA, who is the winner of Cereplast’s ‘Make Your Mark’ competition. Only US-based designers were allowed to enter proposals, however the global Internet community was invited to vote. Michael Thielen, publisher of this magazine acted as one of the judges who helped decide the final winner from a shortlist.

The goal of the ‘Make Your Mark’ contest was to discover a new symbol that will help consumers to identify products and packaging made from bioplastics. Bioplastics in terms of the ‘Make Your Mark’ contest are plastics made from renewable resources including potatoes, corn, tapioca, sugar and algae – and plastics that are biodegradable and compostable.

Laura Howard, a design student from the University of Louisville, created the winning bioplastics symbol. The 29 year-old student was awarded $25,000 for her design that will be used as a new icon for bioplastics. The simple design of the new symbol enables it to be easily identifiable on products when printed, and/or when embossed on a clear plastic bottle, for example, as it was created to be both single color or colorless.

left to right: Laura Howard (winner) Ryan Ford (2nd runner-up), Nicole Cardi, and Silas Pandori (1st runner-up) all photos: Cereplast

bioplastics MAGAZINE asked Laura how she came to this particular design. She said that she wanted to create a comparably simple symbol that shows both parts of the message: This is a plastic material (symbolized by the hexagon) and this is ‘bio….’ (symbolized by the two leaves of a plant).

The ‘Make Your Mark’ design competition, which was modeled after the 1970 contest that produced the globally recognized recycling symbol we see on recycled and recyclable products today, received over 1500 design entries and 4.5 million public votes which determined the top 200 designs. The renowned panel of judges narrowed the top 200 down to three contenders and, after a multi-tiered judging process, selected the winning symbol. The judges included Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of

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Cover Story

the recycling symbol and Karim Rashid, worldclass industrial designer, among others.

“We are excited to congratulate Laura Howard for designing a symbol that has the potential to become a revolutionary logo representing the next generation of plastics – plastics that protect and preserve our environment and are made from renewable resources. The new bioplastic symbol will be used in a similar fashion to the recycling symbol as it will be stamped on products, and it will serve as an identifying mark of bioplastic materials and products made thereof,” said Frederic Scheer, Chairman and CEO of Cereplast. “The excess of Petroleum-based plastics can have a devastating impact on our environment. Approximately 300 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year. At these quantities, we could wrap the entire planet several times over. Bioplastics offer a more respectful option for our environment, and we believe that this new symbol will help provide consumers with the tools they need to make more environmentally intelligent purchasing decisions.”

“Cereplast’s bioplastic symbol could likely gain traction much faster than the recycling symbol I designed, as communication in today’s digital landscape runs at lightning speed compared to forty years ago,” said Dr. Gary Anderson, creator of the recycling symbol and member of the judging panel. “I am honored to be a part of this historic competition that has produced a symbol that will represent the environmental benefits of bioplastics.”

Cereplast intends to announce the ‘rules of use’ for the Symbol no later than October 2011.

The winning symbol was unveiled on Earth Day Eve, April 21, 2011, at a gala event held in Los Angeles, California. The event was attended by local politicians, dignitaries, key figures from the ‘green’ movement and members of the bioplastic industry. www.cereplast.com

S

hortly after the introduction of the new symbol, questions arose from different sources within the bioplastics industry as to whether the new symbol would be Cereplast’s new company logo. The initial communication about ‘Make your Mark’ had led to the assumption the symbol was meant to live in the public domain like the recycling symbol. To shed light to a potential misunderstanding bioplastics MAGAZINE spoke with Nicole Cardi, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Cereplast about the purpose of the new symbol.

In terms of usage of the symbol, Nicole said, Cereplast is still working out the details. The way the symbol is used at this time is mainly to promote it, its existence and its meaning. As a matter of fact, the symbol is its own trademark – independent of the company logo which is currently the standalone wordmark, ‘Cereplast®’. To clarify further, although Cereplast does not intend to necessarily use the standalone wordmark permanently, the old ‘corn-icon’ logo will not be used moving forward. “Together with our designers, our team is currently working on usage guidelines for the symbol,” Nicole explained, “for us and ultimately for the bioplastics industry.” The manner in which Cereplast is using the new bioplastics symbol now is just a first ‘click’ on getting it out and spreading the word, “to have people see it and look at it and learn what it represents,” and, as Nicole put it, “it is definitely not the final way it will be.”

The new symbol is intended to promote bioplastics and help consumers easily identify products made from bioplastic material. Cereplast is committed to educating consumers, and this new icon is a vehicle to help achieve that goal. The symbol will be available to manufacturers of bioplastics, as well as to companies working with bioplastic materials. “We are in the process of developing proposed usage guidelines, and creating a 90-day public forum for people and companies to comment on the symbol, its implementation, and its use”, said Nicole, “afterwards, we will determine the final usage and start rolling out the symbol to the industry.”

A key difference between the new bioplastic icon and the recycling symbol is that the new icon will not be a part of the public domain. Nicole: ”We feel it is important to regulate its use, ensuring that use of the symbol serves as an identifying mark of bioplastic materials and products truly made from bioplastics.”

Regulation of the symbol will be key to ongoing consumer confidence. Allowing anyone to use the symbol through the public domain would be a detriment to the bioplastics industry. - MT

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Beauty & Healthcare

Cosmetic Packaging from Italy by Marie-Laure Viellard LEOPLAST Arignano, Italy

L

eoplast Srl. is a plastics converter and packaging producer from Arignano in the North-Italian Piedmont area, a rather agricultural region.

For more than 30 years Leoplast has been active in the field of injection moulding for the cosmetics sector, using mainly SAN, ABS, and PMMA.

In 2004 the company decided to enter the world of bioplastics processing.

At a time of economic difficulties for agriculture, biobased plastics offered opportunities in new markets. Agricultural surpluses could be sent to processing plants where agricultural waste could be turned into raw materials to replace those currently in use, such as oil. The industrial use of annually renewable resources which use photosynthesis, thus taking CO2 out of the atmosphere, means that resources could be used locally and CO2 can also be further reduced, creating new regional markets.

* Note: Leoplast produces only the packaging. The packaged products shown on the photographs are for illustration purposes only

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World demand for sustainable packaging is widely projected to continue increasing. This demand is driven by single-use packaging that creates global problems for the environment. From plastic bags blowing in the wind to the huge floating garbage patches in the oceans, packaging awareness is growing everywhere.

Switching to sustainable production processes means that sustainability in the packaging industry remains a formidable strategic challenge. The challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the dependency on oil is driving its search for alternatives.

The cosmetics industry, and Leoplast in particular, is sending out a clear signal that it is prepared to use innovative packaging concepts that restrict the use of fossil resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Packaging plays a significant role in carbon balance and environmental labelling, so more and more businesses are now looking for new packaging solutions.

Leoplast has been a pioneer in the industrialization of bioplastics packaging, and began with the world’s first PLA lipstick in 2007. Eventually they became a specialists in bioplastics expertise for decorative cosmetics cases, and so Leoplast completed their portfolio with compact cases for pressed powder, blusher, compact foundation, bronzer, eyeshadow, a jar with sifter for free powders or with a lid for cream, mascara cap and stem…

Under its special VegetalPlastic® label Leoplast gathered all the bioplastics raw materials that can be used in the cosmetics sector which, like the food sector, has to comply with very strict quality standards. Leoplast processes 100% of its production in Europe and includes renewable energy in its industrial process. One of the most famous clients, L’Oréal, gave its technical approval of cellulose based cases.

The ECOCERT GREENLIFE organization has approved VegetalPlastic cases for packaging natural and organic products. This quality agreement is meeting consumer demand and responds to the standards of rigorous quality for luxury brands.

Earlier this year Leoplast presented a new type of packaging that combines bioplastics and cardboard, illustrating sustainability better than with its standard bioplastics range that looks like more standard plastics.

Cardboard packaging is a powerful message that brand owners can make about their products. Almost everybody instantly recognizes paper and plant fibres as being biodegradable and sustainable. Nothing extra needs to be said: the package speaks for itself.

Raw materials for the new ‘compostable make up*’line are cardboard bases and caps and a 100% vegetal plastics twisting mechanism (these can be made from NatureWorke Ingeo™ PLA or cellulose based Biograde® from FKUR).

This is a unique combination for a zero waste solution, using raw materials made from vegetal and renewable origins. In addition, the cardboard components are lightweight and a large print area is available in 4 colours.

Leoplast’s message is that bioplastics and bio-based composite materials are not a cure-all but they are a step in the right direction in terms of reducing our reliance on fossil resources. If in the short-to-medium term it does become possible to convert residual materials and organic waste then there will be unlimited possibilities for using the resultant new materials. www.leoplastgroup.com

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Top-Talk Photo Danone, headquartered in Paris, France, is the world’s leading producer by volume of fresh dairy products, selling a total of 5.1 million tonnes in 2009. Just recently Danone GmbH from Germany launched their famous fermented dairy product Activia in new PLA cups (see page 32).

Photos: Benita Zabel (2), Philipp Thielen (1)

During interpack bioplastics MAGAZINE spoke with Rainer Barthel, Head of R&D Packaging Central Europe.

bM: Mr. Barthel, the new PLA yoghurt cup for Activia is not the first approach of Danone into bioplastics. A couple of years ago, you launched a product in bioplastics packaging in Germany. What was that all about?

RB: The product also was a yoghurt, which was newly introduced, called ‘Jahreszeit’ (German for ‘season’). It was a new product launch in 1998 and it was packaged in a PLA cup too.

bM: And why did it disappear again ?

RB: I think in those days it simply was too early for this kind of concept.

The concept was quite complex and the consumers did not fully perceive the advantages and the necessity. And in addition it was a new product launch. Today with our firm conviction we decided to convert Activia, which is one of our biggest and most important products in Germany, to a PLA cup. From a technical point of view the PLA packaging concept itself worked perfectly well during the whole period and the project was not stopped because of the packaging concept, but because the new product never achieved significant volumes.

bM: Why is Danone so strongly engaged in using a bioplastics packaging material?

RB: It is one of our goals to contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gases. We think that we, as a large company, have to continue to do so on our way to the future. Over the last three years we had a close look at our value chain in order to identify the screws that we can turn to reduce the greenhouse gases, and the biggest screws for us are indeed logistics, production and packaging. During the process of determining the CO2 emissions we saw that the contribution made by the packaging, surprisingly, was in the region of 15 to 20 per cent. Even I had thought it was a lot less, so this is indeed a significant factor that we can influence.

www.danone.com

bM: What were the reasons for deciding to convert the packaging of exactly the product Activia to a cup made exactly of PLA exactly at this point in time?

RB: Activia, as it is one of our biggest and most important brands in the German market, we want to set an example – express our commitment - not with a niche product but with one of our flagship products. This is a first step for us, further steps will follow. Why PLA? Because it is a good material to convert thermoformed containers to ones made from renewable resources. And ‘exactly now’ was a decision that was made a year and a half ago. During this time we worked hard on the project to make sure that Activia ends up at our consumer’s table in a perfect quality. And PLA is a good material for this purpose.

bM: Is Activia available in other countries – and in PLA - as well?

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Top-Talk

Danone Reduces Carbon Footprint RB: Activia is available in 68 countries around the world.

The fermented yoghurt helps regulate your digestion and in Germany it is market leader of all fruit yoghurts. With the PLA cups we did a first step here in Germany. By the way, Stonyfield Farm yoghurt is a Danone product too, and in the USA it has been available in PLA cups for a few months already.

bM: What is for you, as the brand owner Danone, more important: the renewable resources or the biodegradability?

RB: Clearly the renewable resources and the reduction of the greenhouse gases. And we are quite precise when we say that from our point of view the composting of yoghurt cups does not bring us any ecological advantages. Any kind of collection, sorting, recycling (use- cascades) or recovery gives more added value ecologically than composting does. So for the time being, when the volumes of PLA cups or products in general are too small for recycling, we prefer to collect and incinerate our cups with energy recovery. We clearly would like also to encourage other producers of packaging to use PLA, so that as quickly as possible significant volumes get into the market and PLA-to-PLA recycling becomes ecologically and economically feasible.

bM: We are all aware of the price difference between PLA and in this case polystyrene. How do you handle the raw material cost issue? By the way what is the weight of one PLA cup?

RB: Of course we hope that our market introduction and what I just said will contribute to increasing the market volumes of PLA and thus bring the cost further down. In discussions about cost you often hear that PLA is three or four times as expensive as conventional plastics. As a matter of fact, this is wrong. A PLA cup as well as a cup made from PS weighs between 3.8 and 4 grams but we are working on a further reduction of the weight.

RB: Basically for three years our overall target in this respect is to reduce our overall CO2 emissions by 30% by the year 2012 (cf. 2008). All kind of projects are welcome to achieve this goal.

bM: How do you see the role of the political aspects and legislation in Germany, Europe and in general here?

RB: In Germany we have the packaging directive that offers some privileges for compostable packaging. This is not helping us as a brand owner really very much as we do not consider composting as an advantageous end of life option for our yoghurt cups. We as a brand owner would much more appreciate seeing new regulations that promote significantly more the use of renewable resources for materials.

bM: Last question: What is the future of bioplastics from your point of view?

RB: I’m convinced that bioplastics will see a further strong growth. What we see at interpack is proof of a significant development. This is being confirmed by what for example Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Henkel and many more are doing. We see that all big producers are aware that it is necessary to convert to such materials in order to shape our future. For me it is important that discussing packaging is only a part of it. The bigger topic from my point of view is renewable energy. It is more than converting a yoghurt cup from PS to PLA. It is rather to switch from materials made from fossil resources to materials made from sunlight and CO2 from the atmosphere.

bM: Thank you very much.

bM: What do you think, or do you have any experience, regarding whether consumers would be willing to pay a few cents more for a product when they know it is environmentally advantageous?

RB: As a matter of fact, we bear the additional cost ourselves. We did not and will not increase the price of the product due to the higher PLA material costs.

bM: Which priority does this whole topic have in the Danone group?

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Materials

New Compounds Open More Uses for PLA

T

eknor Apex Company from Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA have reported in early May of this year that new technology developed by the company has eliminated a property tradeoff that until now has limited use of PLA in injection molded semi-durable and durable applications requiring impact strength and heat stability, as well as in high-end disposable food service items such as cutlery, coffee lids, and containers for microwavable products, it was announced today by the company’s Bioplastics Division.

Compounding innovations by Teknor Apex have overcome an inverse relationship between heat distortion temperature (HDT) and Izod impact strength in PLA, creating a new series of compounds, Terraloy™ BP-34001, that provide up to two times the HDT and up to six times the impact strength of standard PLA resins. Previous work to enhance PLA performance beyond standard levels had generated resins with either higher HDT or greater impact strength— but not both in the same grade In comparison with previous enhanced-performance PLA resins, the new Terraloy compounds also exhibit 28 to 30% shorter cycle times in injection molding and incorporate 10 to 30% more renewable resource-based content. Nearly all of the new Terraloy compounds comply with FDA requirements for food-contact applications.

“Terraloy BP-34001 Series compounds dramatically improve the heat and impact resistance of PLA while largely retaining the environmental benefit of this polymer as a bioplastic,” said Edwin Tam, manager of new strategic initiatives. “These innovative formulations promise to expand the applicability of PLA, making possible new uses in higher-heat food service items as well as consumer goods.”

Samples of Terraloy BP-34001 PLA with enhanced thermal properties (bottom sample in photo) and standard PLA (top sample). At 140 ºC. Standard PLA exhibits considerable heat distortion while sample from Terraloy compound is largely unaffected.

In property tests, a typical grade in the new series, Terraloy BP-34001D, exhibits a heat distortion temperature (HDT-B @ 0.45 MPa or 66 psi) of 112 ºC and Izod impact strength of 135 J/m. By comparison, approximate values for standard PLA are 65 ºC and 33 J/m. The new compound complies with FDA 21 CFR requirements and has a renewable content of 78%.

The base polymers for Terraloy BP-34001 products are IngeoTM PLA resins supplied by NatureWorks LLC, noted Gregory J. Anderson, Teknor Apex technical manager.

“Teknor Apex built upon research by NatureWorks to develop higher-performance PLA compounds,” Anderson said. “By discovering alternative formulations and compounding techniques, we succeeded in eliminating a chronic property tradeoff between heat resistance and impact resistance, while improving processability and reducing the petrochemical content,” Anderson said. MT www.teknorapex.com

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interpack Review

Distinct Increase in Demand for Bioplastics at interpack Bioplastics were among the main attractions at this year‘s interpack trade fair, which took place from 12 to 18 May in Düsseldorf, Germany. The biggest packaging show in the world with 2700 exhibitors from 60 countries attracted about 166,000 visitors to the metropolis at the river Rhine. The bioplastics enterprises represented at the exhibition successfully demonstrated that for a wide spectrum of packaging bioplastics offer solutions that can decisively reduce environmental impact.

This was particularly well illustrated at the European Bioplastics stand, the focal point of interest of the bioplastics industry in Hall 9.

Andy Sweetman, chairman of the board of European Bioplastics, was enthusiastic: “If one compares the range of packaging solutions that can be offered today using bioplastics with the exhibits presented three years ago at the last interpack trade fair in 2008, one can really speak of a quantum leap forward.“ He continued that, in the meantime, the industry was in a position to supply customized, bioplastic solutions for an increasingly wide range of fresh and dry food products.

Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics, also drew a positive balance, “With the change-over to bioplastic packaging by a number of renowned companies, the threshold to the consumers has been crossed. This is an important step for the bioplastics sector and, in the medium term, will enable the industry to make a complete break-through.“ The announcements made by further highly reputed brandowners that they intend to supply the European market with products in bioplastic packaging reinforce his confidence that this point will soon be reached.

Whereas at the first ‘Innovationparc Bioplastics in Packaging’ during interpack 2005 the visitors were amazed “Wow, this is made from plants?” or “What is bioplastic?” the questions at interpack 2008 had already been different: “Does it really work?” or “Will these materials ever be competitive?” Well, at this interpack questions sounded rather like “Which bioplastics material is best for this application?” or “Where can I buy PHB?” …

Among the highlights at the booth of European Bioplastics during this interpack were definitely the presentation of the leading fermented yoghurt brand Danone Activia in an Ingeo™ PLA cup (see also p.14 and p.32) and the comprehensive programme of presentations at the stage of European Bioplastics. And – of course - celebration the 5th anniversary of bioplastics MAGAZINE.

In the last issue bioplastics MAGAZINE reported about most of the exhibitors of bioplastics related products and services. Here are some more small reports from interpack.

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interpack Review

Kaneka

BioBag

Kaneka Corporation of Osaka, Japan announced the brandname AONILEX of their bio-based and biodegradable PHBH (Polyhydroxybutyrate-hexanoate). The polyester is made from microorganisms fed with vegetable oils, the extraction process being solvent-free. The mechanical properties are comparable to polyolefins. According to Riichi Nishimura, the flexibility of the material can be ‘designed’ by the amount of hexanoate, so that more rigid or semi-rigid types will be available. This year a 1000 tonnes/year ‘market-development-plant’ will start production, Riichi Nishimura told bioplastics MAGAZINE.

BioBag International headquartered in Askim, Norway, is a world-leading company within development, production and marketing of biodegradable and compostable packaging and films. BioBag goes back to Polargruppen AS and was established in 1959. At interpack they presented their complete portfolio of MaterBi based products, highlighted by a new cling film and a recently introduced piping bag to decorate food.

www.kaneka.co.jp

Sezersan The Turkish company Sezersan of Konya presented BioTwist, a monofilm made of about 85% PLA and 15% starch. The film offers perfect deadfold quality, ideal to wrap candy and lollipops. In addition to its minimal (or missing) memory effect, it also features a good tear and puncture resistance, as General Director Refik Ulukan explained to bioplastics MAGAZINE. In addition to the mentioned properties BioTwist also features good heat sealability at 55-80°C making it also ideal for flow packs. www.sezersan.com.tr

Synprodo A company from Synbra Group bv, Synprodo of Wijchen, The Netherlands introduced Synterra® Poly Lactic Acid. By combining L and D lactides in polymerisation, Synterra PLA is available in PLLA and PDLA grades with different thermal, mechanical and processing properties.

Synterra is made fom Puralact® Lactide made from nonGMO feedstock. Therfore Synterra is a true GMO free product. Another well known product of the group is BioFoam, a PLA-particle foam. www.synterrapla.nl

www.biobag.no

Plantic and Kesko Plantic from Australia offer water soluble and compostable materials from amylose-rich cornstarch. The German company Kesko from Aachen was successful in creating a biological coating for Plantic films, offering an enhanced water vapour barrier. www.plantic.com.au www.kesko.de

Biostarch Biostarch, headquartered in Singapore, with offices in Australia and Switzerland offer cost effective, fully biodegradable, 100% compostable films based on starch meeting EN 13432 etc. The different grades are even water soluble at different temperatures. According to a spokesperson at interpack, the products are even home compostable and 100% GMO free, the corn for the starch coming from China. www.biostarch.com

Bioger Bioger Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Of Zhuhai, China is not only a leading company specialized in producing 100% biodegradable materials and facilities, but also the a ’Technology Transfer / Facility Service Provider‘. This means the company provides biobased and 100% biodegradable (EN 13432/ASTM 6400) and water soluble plastics and barrier films as well as the granulating- , film blowing and bagmaking machinery and technology assistance to process the materials. www.en13432.cn

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interpack Review

VTT

MedKonPack

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, based in Espoo is a globally networked multitechnological contract research organization. Concerning bio-based and biodegradable plastics, in Düsseldorf VTT showed some examples of their developments. One example are biobased barriers and hybrid materials with improved oxygen, water vapour and grease barrier properties for packaging applications.Very thin barrier layers can be achieved with VTT’s ALD process, which stands for Atomic Layer Deposition. For print products and also for packaging applications ‘see-through’ paper and cardboard was developed. A last example in this field of applications are bio-based adhesives. Different grades can be applied as hydrophobic hotmelt adhesives, water soluble hot melt adhesives water based dispersion adhesives based on starch / biopolymer products and more.

Based in Menzel Bourguiba, Tunisia, MedKonPack s.a.r.l. is a producer of flexible packaging for example plastic bags and sacks that started production in September 2010.

The products are EN 13432 (OK compost) certified and are made of e.g. TPS, PLA or PBAT using Chinese technology at Tunisian labour cost. The production capacity of the final project will be 25,000 tonnes/year.

www.vtt.fi

Xinfu Under the brandname Biosafe, Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd of Linan, P.R. China offers EN 13432 and ASTM 6400 certified fully biodegradable PBAT, PBSA (Polybutylene Succinic Adipate) and PBS resins. Biosafe can be blended with other biodegradable materials (such as PLA, PHA, PPC, etc.), starches, plant fibers and inorganic fillers to modify the properties to satisfy all kinds of manufacturing and cost requirements of biodegradable products.

www.medkonpack.com

Limagrain Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (LCI) based in Ennezat, France is the manufacturer of biolice, a material made from maize flour that is 100% biodegradable and 100% compostable. The broad range of applications comprises shopping bags, garbage bags, bags for garden waste, plant pots, agricultural films, industrial films and much more. A range of products that adds value to the agricultural produce of farmers and to the vitality of the environment. biolice is manufactured from maize flour using a unique process in the bioplastics sector. Nearly ten years of research were necessary to develop specific varieties that make up Limagrain biolice products. This innovation is based on a combination of cereal fractions and biodegradable polymers. biolice is an authentic product with surprising functionalities similar to those of plastic. It has a soft and silky touch without static electricity, has excellent mechanical strength, good optical properties … and the great smell of maize, not plastic. www.lci.limagrain.com

www.xinfuchina.com

Wentus Wentus Kunststoff GmbH of Höxter, Germany, manufacturer of flexible packaging showcased different bioplastics products. WENTERRA® biobags and biopackaging can be used for wastebags and bin liners, for bio-packaging of flowers, herbs and salads or for fruit and vegetables. The new biobased laminates WENTOFLEX® are made from compostable films using environmentally friendly inks and glues. The barrier properties are similar to those of standard films such as PET/PE or OPA/PE. Special multilayer barrierfilms WENTOPRO® round off the portfolio shown in Düsseldorf. www.wentus.de

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(all photos courtesy European Bioplastics)

Report

End of Life for PLA Egg-Carton

I

n a study performed by JBA (the Japan Bioindustry Association) different end-of-life options based on the ecological and economical profile of food containers made from biomass-based plastics (BP) were investigated. It was found that conversion into so-called Refused Paper and Plastic Fuel (RPF) could be one of the most ‘realistic’ recycling treatments.

The following end-of-life or recovery options respectively were studied and compared: RPF, Reused Paper and Plastic Fuel (RPF is a high quality solid fuel using non-reclaimable used paper and plastic waste as raw materials, in high demand from the steel, paper, lime and many other industries as an alternative to fossil fuels such as coal, coke and oil) Mechanical Recycling (consisting of collecting, grinding, cleaning and reprocessing in an extrusion process into pellets)

Chemical Recycling, i.e. converting the material back into its monomers or oligomers with subsequent repolymerization Biological Recycling - here composting in an industrial composting plant Thermal Recycling, i.e. incineration with energy recovery, also sometimes referred to as Waste-to-Energy

Experimental Scheme End-of-Life options of biomass-based containers for chickens’ eggs (Fig 1) thermoformed from Ingeo™ PLA sheet (NatureWorks) were examined. Between 200 and 300 containers per day, each for 10 eggs from one of the major Japanese retailers were collected by consumers in specified boxes put near the entrance of the store.

The experiment was carried out between October 1, 2007 and March 31, 2010 and was financially supported by MAFF, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery, of the Japanese Government.

Recovery The recovery rate of used PLA egg containers during the experiment was about 9.9% in one of the stores located in an area working keenly on environmental conservation, whereas only 2.9% was observed in another store in an area not very much encouraging recycling of plastic products.

Chemical Recycling For another fraction of the collected PLA egg containers chemical recycling was performed. Here the PLA is converted into lactide oligomers by hydration induced by super heated steam and then to repolymerized into PLA. This PLA was again molded to the same egg containers, and again thermal recycling was applied after the second use.

Biological Recycling The bio-recycling i.e. composting was also tried to a third fraction of the collected containers. .

Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel And finally the RPF (Refuse Paper & Plastic Fuel) was also tried.

Results For all recycling processes Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) were determined.

GHG and LCC for the PLA containers from the cultivation of the biomass resources through to the final waste-toenergy incineration for the different recycling options were estimated. Hereby all transports to and within Japan were taken into account. GHG and LCC estimates for each option were compared.

Mechanical and chemical recycling showed a better ecological performance whereas their LCCs were approximately double compared to thermal recycling, RPF or biological recycling. In other words, although the GHGs of RPF and composting are slightly higher than those of mechanical or chemical recycling, their LCCs are almost the same as with thermal recyling. As a conclusion, RPF or composting can be ‘cost-effective’ ecological end-of-life scenarios. In Japan however, where biological recycling or composting is not widely developed in or near the large cities, RPF can be one of the more feasible options for the PLA containers after use. In the experiment. Further quantitative analysis, including effects of recovery of the containers made from oilbased PET, has been also been carried out.

For some of the used PLA egg containers mechanical recycling was applied. As the remelting and thermoforming process allows converting without hygiene problems the recycled material was used again to make food containers.

These products were again used in the stores, and after the second use, were incinerated with energy recovery (thermal recycling).

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By Kazushi, Ohshima JBA, Japan Bioindustry Association Tokyo, Japan

www.jba.or.jp

Mechanical Recycling

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Thermoset

Full System Ahead: The Rise of Bio-Based Thermoset

B

io-based resins have finally made it out of the lab and on to the factory floor, as technological improvements and changing macroeconomic dynamics are building a compelling business case.

We live in a fast-changing world, where the pressures of a growing population, climate change and the exhaustion of natural resources are bringing a new urgency to the need to build sustainability criteria into business decisions. The result has been the emergence of a ‘bio-based economy’ – an economic model based on the use of feedstock that is grown on the land rather than extracted from under it, whether for fuel or materials.

In the composites world this means replacing the petroleum-based resins that we have been using for decades with new formulations made from renewable, bio-based feedstock. These materials may not have caught the public’s imagination in the same way as biofuels, for example, but their development is no less significant for the long term future of the planet. And with industry value chains increasingly waking up to the need to take sustainability matters seriously, both from a regulatory and end user standpoint, their impact could be profound.

Bio-based composite resins today Resins take many forms, but unsaturated polyester resins (UPR) are the most widely used in composites, making up more than of 80% of all thermoset resins (the rest being mainly epoxies, acrylics, imides, phenolics, and urethanes).

While the UPR market was hit by the recession in 2008-2009, it is currently growing at almost 10% per year and expected to reach $7.5 billion by 2015.

Today, the number of bio-based materials on the market still remains limited, however, with only a small number of industry innovation leaders pioneering the technology. Of

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these, DSM has made the biggest impact on the market to date, most notably at JEC 2010 when it launched Palapreg® ECO P55-01, a bio-based resin targeted, and suitable for manufacturing automotive vehicle body parts, including exterior panels.

For DSM, investing in bio-based resins is part of a wider corporate strategy of focusing on innovation that delivers environmental and social benefits as well as makes good business sense. Delivering on this promise, the company is also in the process of preparing a new bio-based LPA, or low profile additive, for use in SMC or BMC applications, which combined with Palapreg ECO will create the industry’s first full system bio-based resin, as well as the industry’s first, biobased artificial stone and is in the process of developing other bio-based resins with even higher bio-based compositions.

It’s a business decision that looks likely to pay off; perhaps, even, sooner rather than later. With crude oil prices inching towards the all-time highs recorded in 2008 and carbon footprint reduction becoming increasingly important for OEMs, DSM’s Wilfrid Gambade (Business Director Composite Resins Europe) believes that it is only a matter of time before bio-based resins start to make a meaningful impact on the top line.

“When we developed Palapreg ECO, it is fair to say we didn’t even have a bio-based strategy: it was just a great product that came from the R&D lab and which we believed in. We then started thinking about the marketing plan. We know our customers rank performance, functionality and security of supply incredibly importantly so we knew that any bio-based product we launched needed to deliver on these criteria as well if it was going to be taken seriously. I am proud to say Palapreg ECO does that, more than matching any conventionally-made resin in its market and customer feedback to date has been extremely encouraging as a result.”

Thermoset

www.dsm.com

This positive feedback has already led to Palapreg ECO, which boasts an industry-leading 55% bio-renewable composition, being tested for applications outside the auto industry, in fields as diverse as construction, infrastructure and other vertical segments.

The power of open innovation According to Gambade, DSM is a company that prides itself on its culture of open innovation to make sure that R&D investment is focused as much as possible on delivering value to customers.

“Getting the maximum possible return out of our R&D investment is crucial if we are to deliver value for money to our customers. Customers rely on us to deliver the innovations that generate differentiation and value for them in the real world – not just resins that look great in the lab - and the best way for us to achieve this is to make sure we have as good a dialogue with the market; our customers, OEMs, even end users, as possible. In terms of bio-based materials, we’re ahead of the curve but only because we strongly believe that, as a result of regulation, consumer demand and technological improvement, this will become an important mainstream business for us.

a supplier, we have struggled in the past to pass on price increases to our customers. The upshot of this is that, while we have taken every step at our end to make our operation run as efficiently as possible, we still find ourselves in the challenging position where we are struggling to make the case for reinvestment in R&D based on our current margins.”

All of which again points to the importance of ensuring that investment in innovation is as market-focused as possible.

“We would not be here today talking to our customers about our bio-based portfolio if it did not meet expectations in terms of performance and other criteria. The good thing is that our portfolio does deliver, and judging from the enthusiastic response we have received from our customers, we have every confidence that bio-based composite resins have a strong future: a future in which DSM will play a leading role.” - MT

Wilfried Gamnbade (Photos: DSM)

Innovation in a volatile market Gambade’s comments are increasingly pertinent when taken in the context of recent industry trends, which have been to focus on cost over innovation, a trend Gambade feels, has been exacerbated by the recent volatility in raw material costs.

“The raw material price volatility we have experienced in recent years has made it extremely difficult to achieve a fair price for innovation. This is in large part due to the fact, as

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Thermoset

The First Step to Sustainable Composites

by Tuula Mannermaa Technical Service Manager Ashland Finland

www.ashland.com

Unsaturated Polyester from Renewable Resources Going Green - The global rise in environmental awareness has encouraged the use of more renewable materials.

Composite materials represent one area that presents challenges - but also opportunities - for using sustainable materials. Market drivers such as sustainability programs, environmental health and safety requirements and ‘green’ building programs are creating an incentive to develop biobased composite products that also produce fewer emissions during different life-cycle phases.

One of the earliest notable efforts launched in 2003, when John Deere Corporation began producing side body panels for their equipment using Ashland’s Envirez™ polyester resins. These resins are formulated using renewable and/ or recyclable raw materials and support the manufacture of more sustainable composite products. Envirez polyester resins deliver reduced environmental impact, with lower carbon dioxide emissions and a diminished dependence on crude oil. These resins meet the same performance and processing requirements as petroleum-based UPR products and are commercially available in a wide variety of processes and applications within the building, marine and transportation markets.

Shift from Traditional Materials More have come to believe that relying solely only on petroleum-based materials is not a tenable practice. One area that is experiencing a shift from traditional materials is commercial and residential construction. Green building programs strive to provide an energy efficient environment, improve environmental quality for inhabitants and reduce impact on surroundings. Buildings receiving a ‘green’ designation are third-party certified through an established rating system. The rating systems most used are LEED

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Thermoset

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) in the U.S.; BREEAM (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) in the U.K.; DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) in Germany; and several other national systems. More information can be found through www.worldgbc.com pages, including links to national systems.

As an example, LEED was created in 1998 by the U.S. Green Building Council. Today, federal agencies, states and cities require public buildings to be LEED certified. Among the benefits from this program are responsible image, tax benefits, better occupancy rates and higher lease rates, employee wellness and productivity, and lower operating costs. Also investors get better value for the buildings.

Composites can become connected to LEED certification as products or materials made with rapidly renewable and/or recycled materials. These products, when used in building construction, fit in the Materials & Resources category for the program.

How to Make Polyester from Renewable Resources In the late 1990s, Ashland, in cooperation with the United Soybean Board and John Deere, began work to develop the first commercially viable bio-based resins. Ashland researchers created a polyester resin based, in part, on soybean oil and corn ethanol. This became the Envirez 1807 resin, which was first used to create sheet molding compounds (SMC). This enabled John Deere to realize its desire to have composite parts for tractors made from agriculture products. The resin also delivered the same performance as a 100% petroleumbased product. When Envirez 1807 resin was first introduced, it contained 18% renewably sourced materials.

Ashland continues to develop the Envirez resin range and has grown the product range to include several different applications in the building, marine and transportation

industries. Research continues to develop polyester resins having ever-increasing renewable content. Several new rawmaterial opportunities are also being explored. In Europe, Ashland has developed its Envirez resin product range to include eight different products for applications that include hand lay-up, spraying, pultrusion, solid surface, cast marble, infusion and continuous lamination. Bio content in these resins can vary from 13-22%.

Environmental Benefits of Using Resins from Renewable Resources In collaboration with the United Soybean Board, Ashland also supported a third-party life cycle assessment of the original Envirez 1807 resin and a comparable petrochemicalbased resin. The 2009 report, by Omni Tech International, showed Envirez 1807 resin consumes 4.0 MJ/kg (1720 BTUs/ lb) less energy during manufacture than a comparable 100% petrochemical resin. The calculation takes into account the energy consumed in manufacturing as well as by farming and processing soy and corn into oil and ethanol, respectively.

Thus, compared to the petrochemical resin, Envirez 1807 resin requires approximately 22 fewer barrels of crude oil to be extracted from the ground per standard (40,000 pound) batch. In addition, the study demonstrated the global warming potential impact for Envirez 1807 resin. When compared to the petrochemical resin, a standard batch of Envirez resin eliminates approximately 18,000 kilograms of CO2 from being released.

As the interest in moving to a more sustainable approach in manufacturing, building or any aspect of life increase, savvy manufacturers are adapting and delivering technologies to meet this demand. Composites represent just one aspect of this environment-focused movement. Š 2011, Ashland

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Chinaplas Review

Aaron, Overseas Sales Manager.

Shouzhou Hanfeng New Material Co., Ltd.

Chinaplas Review World’s Number Two Plastics Trade Fair Goes ‘Bio‘

Suzhou from Kunshang near Shanghai offer blends of PLA/ BPS/Starch for food containers (EN 13432/ASTM 6400), clamshells etc, and Starch/PP (70/30) for nonbiodegradable cups. www.biohanfeng.com

Chinaplas, held from 17-20 May in Guangzhou is now the number two plastics trade fair in the World with more than 80.000 visitors and more than 2200 exhibitors. And bioplastics played an important role with a dedicated pavilion for biobased and degradable plastics. bioplastics MAGAZINE was part of it as an exhibitor and here is our short report.

Dr. Su Xiao Hai, President

Shenzhen Green World Biodegradable Materials Co., Ltd. Green World from Shenzhen have developed a series of biobased and biodegradable materials, called PBM (Plant-based Biodegradable Materials, no further details disclosed). Different grades for injection moulding, film blowing, thermoforming and fibre reinforced are available. www.china-greenworld.com

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Chinaplas Review

Steven YS Wu, General Manager

Betty Ren, Ass. To Marketing Director

Kotaro Sagara, Deputy General Manager, PLA Group Leader

Guangzhou Bio-plus Materials Technology Co., Ltd.

Whuan Huali Biomaterial Co., Ltd.

Toray Industries, Inc.

Bio+ are located in Guangzhou and modify PLA to offer special grades e.g. for higher temperature resistance, for foam applications, blow moulding and much more.

Wuhan Huali (PSM) presented themselves under their new brandname Ecoplast. The Company from Wuhan is known for their starch based materials and blends with PP.

Toray from Tokyo, Japan showcased a PLA/PMMA blend from the material family Ecodear. This blend offers enhanced clarity and heat stability.

A PLA/ABS blend for sophisticated injection mouldings was also presented.

www.bio-plus.cn

www.psm.com.cn

www.toray.jp/plastics

Benjamin Pan, Director, Sales & Marketing

Brian Lee, General Manager

Myung-Ahn OK, Ph.D., Leader Green Pol Lab.

Suzhou HiPro Polymers Co., Ltd.

Cardia Bioplastics

SK Innovation

The company from Jiangsu produces polyamides. Among others the (partly and fully) biobased PA 6.10, PA 10.10 and PA 10.12.

Biogrande (Nanjing) PTY Ltd. with Cardia Bioplastics from Australia being their mother company, offer starch based materials for compostable (EN 13432/ASTM 6400) film and injection moulding applications as well as nondegradable so called biohybrids.

SK Innovation from Daejeon, South Korea presented GreenPol, a polyalkylene carbonate plastic material copolymerized from waste CO2 from SK’s petrochemical processes. GreenPol can meet most of the polyolefin characteristics with advantages in barrier functionality and disposal properties (esp. in a cleaner incineration process).

www.hipropolymers.com

www.biograde.com.cn www.cardiabioplastics.com

www.sk.com

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Chinaplas Review Review

Kevin Yang, General Manager

Yong Bae Yu, Deputy Senior Manager, Performance Resin Business Team

Shenzhen Esun Industrial Co., Ltd.

SK Chemicals

Shenzhen Esun, formerly known as Shenzhen Brightchina, is a producer of PLA, PCL and related products.

They are located in Shenzhen/Wuhan with subsidiaries in Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hungary. www.brightcn.net

SK Chemicals from Seoul, South Korea presented EcoZen, a modified and partly biobased (9-15%) PET with enhanced thermal properties to replace Polycarbonate. EcoZen is BPA-free. Other new products are EcoPlaN-Flex a flexible PLA film grade with enhanced flexibility (and thus reduced noise properties) and EcoPlaN-Duro for durable applications. www.skchemicals.com

Luke Zhong, Managing Director

Mark Wang, Sales Manager

Shenzhen Ecomann Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

MBM - Beijing Macrolink Biomaterial Co., Ltd.

Ecomann from Shenzhen is one of the world’s leading PHA producers.

Their products are EN 13432 and FDA certified, soil and marine degradation certification is in preparation. www.ecomann.com

MBM from Beijing presented three product lines. MBM T are starch based tailormade blends with different other polymers to achieve partly biobased materials. MBM-A are related masterbatches and the compostable products are marketed as MBM-C. www.mbm-bio.com

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Lu Lianfeng, General Manager

Bioger Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Bioger from Zhuhai presented themselves as a ’Technology Transfer / Facility Service Provider‘.

This means the company provides biobased and 100% biodegradable (EN 13432/ASTM 6400) and water soluble plastics and barrier films as well as the granulating- , film blowing and bag-making machinery and technology assistance to process the materials. www.en13432.cn

Ella, Icy, Shin and Sylvia of Xinfu.

Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd Under the brandname Biosafe, Xinfu from Linan offers EN 13432 and ASTM 6400 certified fully biodegradable PBAT, PBSA and PBS resins. “At present, only BASF and Xinfu are manufacturing PBAT in the World,” a spokesperson said to Chinaplas organizer Adsale. www.xinfuchina.com

Chinaplas Review

Kin Wong, Senior Marketing Director

Tsuyoshi Takeda, Core Technology Development Department

Robin Loh, Business Development Manager

KINGFA SCI. & TECH. CO., LTD

Teijin Chemicals Ltd

PolyOne Shenzhen Co., Ltd

Teijin from Matsuzama-City, Japan known for their Biofront heat resistant PLA presented (partly) biobased Polycarbonate (PC) at Chinaplas. The Bisphenol-A free PC is made using monomers from starch or cellulose and features a biobased content of >60 or even >70% for the more heat resistant grade. Another product presented at the show was a PLA/ ABS blend.

One of the news announced by PolyOne (at interpack as well as at Chinaplas) was cooperation with Dow Plastics Additives, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company to introduce OnCap BIO L masterbatches, the latest development in the field of bioplastics for manufacturers supporting the packaging marketplace with environmentally advanced solutions that also offer production efficiencies.

Kingfa from Guangzhou offer fully biodegradable and compostable plastics under the brand name Ecopond, and biobased plastics. The compostable materials are EN 13432, ASTM 6400 and Australian AS 4736 certified. www.ecopond.com.cn

www.teijinkasei.co.jp

www.polyone.com

Pauline Ning, Marketing & Communications Asia Pacific

Jungou Xo, Sales Engineer

Carman Au Yeung, Senior R&D Eingineer

NatureWorks LLC

Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co., Ltd. CP18.jpg

NHH Ngai Hing Hong Company Ltd.

No need to explain much about NatureWorks. At Chinaplas the biggest PLA producer in the World presented itself with a booth and presentations at the concurrent conference event ‘Green Plastics .

Our Goal . Our Future’ www.natureworksllc.com

Hisun from Taizhou City manufactures PLA from Cassava (a non-alimentary plant with 40% starch content from Thailand) and non-GMO corn (China) with an annual capacity of 5000 tonnes. In 2012 the capacity is to be increased to 30,000 tonnes per year.

NHH is a componder from Hong Kong and presented a range of 100% biodegradable compounds made from PLA and PLA plus e.g. PHA or PBS. www.nhh.com.hk

www.plaweb.com

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Applications

Danone and WWF Introduce Activia in PLA Cups

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anone, the world’s leading producer in volume of Fresh Dairy Products has switched to Ingeo™ PLA for its Activia yogurt in Germany. The new yogurt pack is the result of a close cooperation between Danone, WWFGermany and NatureWorks. The switch to the technologically innovative material will improve the product’s packaging carbon footprint by 25% and use 43% less fossil resources compared to the previous packaging made of Polystyrene. In addition in mid-term Danone is aiming at initiating a new closed material loop, i.e. PLA packaging shall be recycled into PLA. Danone is the first company to switch to environmentally friendly packaging for a leading yogurt product in Europe.

The cup was developed in close cooperation between Danone and WWF. All environment-relevant aspects were taken into consideration. This is also documented by the WWF logo on the packs and the slogan ‘partner for environmentally friendy packaging’. For WWF packaging made of PLA are definitely a seminal alternative: “Plastics made from renewable resources are a step towards our vision of a world without fossil oil. A material made from sunlight, CO2 and water is groundbreaking. In addition plastics score with exemplary recyclability”, said Eberhard Brandes, Executive Director of WWF Germany.

“Going forward, it is increasingly important for companies and brands to realize that the path ahead is one of technological investment, sustainable development and high quality in all aspects of product production – packaging included,” says Andreas Ostermayr, CEO Danone Germany and Switzerland.

“With our partners, we have taken a first significant step in the packaging development of the future.” Please find more details of Danone’s environmental strategies in the Top-Talk

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interview on page 14f that bioplastics MAGAZINE conducted with Rainer Barthel, Head of R&D Packaging Central Europe of Danone, during interpack 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

In terms of the aggregate annual environmental benefit associated with the Activia pack switch, raw material supplier NatureWorks estimates fossil energy savings equivalent to the electricity consumed per month by 13,000 German homes, along with greenhouse gas savings equivalent to not driving a vehicle 19,000,000 km.

“The Activia packaging is an excellent example of international collaboration for a smarter consumer product and one we are proud to showcase as an international best practice example,” says NatureWorks’ CEO, Marc Verbruggen.

“NatureWorks worked closely with Danone and WWF, not only to supply the material solution, but also to rigorously address questions and provide data around the entire supply chain from field to product. Now we’re continuing our collaboration to create a new option for recovery of the package after use.”

Together, NatureWorks, Danone and WWF are working to achieve the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) for the new Activia packaging. The ISCC seal assures that the entire supply chain for the Ingeo raw materials meets rigorous social and environmental criteria.

The end result of the international product development collaboration between Danone, WWF and NatureWorks is a packaging option that is indistinguishable visually and performance-wise from its predecessor, while at the same time being better for the environment. www.danone.de www.wwf.de

Application News

Busy as a Bee Biobiene© (German for ‘bio-bee’) is an innovative range of packaging and foodware service products made entirely from biodegradable and compostable materials, such as co-polyester (PBAT) or PLA-PBATblends. From envelopes to microwavable plates and from packaging chips to party cups, all Biobiene items comply with stringent EN 13432 standards on biodegradability and compostability. So with no recovery obligations for manufacturer or vendor, disposal of Biobiene products is simple and sustainable – where a composting or biowaste disposal infrastructure is available.

FSP – Full Service Packaging, a small company from Hilden, Germany with a passion for sustainability has developed the Biobiene range in collaboration with like-minded manufacturers of bioplastics. The range continues to expand. Translucent air cushions in 25μm film quality were introduced in 2009 and green air-cushion sheeting in 2010, both global ‘firsts’ - MT www.fsp-online.com

Dutch flower bulbs wrapped in a pouch pack laminate featuring transparent NatureFlex™ NVS from Innovia Films

Flower Bulb Packaging Three Dutch exporters decided to pack their range of flower bulbs in Innovia Films’ transparent, compostable cellulosebased material, NatureFlex™ NVS. This pouch pack is a tri-part lamination construction of NatureFlex NVS to paper and PLA and was developed by Assenbased converters, Hapece Flexible Packaging. Managing Director of Hapece, Marius Draayer, commented “Our customers were looking for an attractive, quality pack which was eco-friendly, innovative and would ensure the contents were clearly visible.

From a converter’s point of view, the addition of NatureFlex™ NVS to this application has also ensured that the pack can stand upright due to the deadfold properties and stiffness it provides.”

The three Dutch exporters who have joined forces on this project are Florex, Kapiteyn and Mantel Holland. They have set up a sub-brand for this range ‘We Pack Nature’ which is underpinned by the old Dutch saying “A better environment begins at home”.

Biobiene© air cushions provide excellent protection for fragile goods in transit. Available in small, medium and large, they can be delivered ready inflated, or on rolls for inflation as needed.

“NatureFlex ticks many boxes for both converters and brandowners”, explained Alexander van ’t Riet, Innovia Films’ Global Sales & Marketing Director “It offers not only compostability from a renewable resource but also great technical performance.

Innovia Films is delighted to have worked closely with Hapece Flexible Packaging in developing this pack and enabling the We Pack Nature group to realise their objectives on this project.”

NatureFlex films are certified to meet the European EN13432, American ASTM D6400 and Australian AS4736 standards for compostable packaging. The wood-pulp is sourced from managed plantations from referenced suppliers operating Good Forestry principals (FSC or equivalent). NatureFlex films typically have a renewable biobased content of some 95% by weight of material according to ASTM D6866.

Biobiene© air-cushion sheeting is a versatile packaging aid, available in a range of standard lengths up to 5 meters, on large or small rolls.

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www.innoviafilms.com www.hapece.nl www.wepacknature.com

Application News

PLA Capsules for Athletic Apparel Track & Field from Brazil, entered the sporting goods arena in 1988 and established the mission of promoting and contributing to people´s health and well-being by offering the best sporting goods possible. Today, they deliver cutting edge products that are rooted on four core principles: product performance, fiber technology, fashionable design and environmental consciousness. To meet all of these pillars, Track & Field combined its retail know-how with an ecological and innovative NatureWorks Ingeo™ PLA packaging solution. Through this partnership the Track & Field Capsules were created.

The Track & Field Capsules are used to stock, showcase and transport the athletic apparel. The Capsules are based on the three R’s: Re-use – clients are encouraged to use the Capsules, when storing wet outfits after workout and can return the Capsules to the store; Reduce – Track & Field removed the previous non-ecological packaging of plastic garment sack and cardboard gift box and replaced with one Ingeo Capsule; Recycle – the Capsules are made from plants instead of oil which makes it annually renewable and leaves a smaller carbon footprint. www.tf.com.br

Blue Cat – Cat Litter Box Conventional cat-litter boxes use litter which absorbs fluids.

The problem here is that the litter can be used for just one time and after that it has to thrown away. This means that the customer has a lot of awkward work with it. He has to buy, to carry, to handle and to dispose of a big volume of litter.

With BLUE CAT the Austrian company Texocon e.U. of Dorf an der Pram, has started a new generation of products on the pet equipment market. The Blue Cat system uses PLA pearls with a special type of filler instead of conventional cat litter. The pearls do not absorb fluids. This characteristic means that Blue Cat litter can be used for a very long time. The Blue Cat concept makes sure that fluids flow away in a closed basin and so also avoids unpleasant odours.

The customer simply has to remove the cat dirt – this is the reason why there is just a little wastage of Blue Cat litter. The volume of litter used can be reduced by about 95 % compared to the conventional systems. The bio-waste from the litter tray can be composted.

Blue Cat reduces costs, makes handling much easier and saves time. Blue Cat takes care of the environment and does not create any dust in the customer’s home.

For the production of the PLA granules Texocon cooperated with Transfercenter für Kunststofftechnik (TCKT) in Wels, Austria and Schorm Gesellschaft m.b.H of St. Valentin, Austria. In an under-water granulating system the extruded PLA strands are shaped into their final form. Initially it was not easy to find the right geometry. In first tests, most of the cats did not accept the granules. But after correcting size and density even the most ‘fastidious‘ cats appreciated the new bedding. MT www.blue-cat.at

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Application News

PLA Filaments for RepRap 3D Printer

PLA and Flowers: Perfect Combination Taghleef Industries, together with Cibra and NatureWorks, has developed a new packaging solution for the flower industry made of PLA. Flower sleeves are traditionally made of BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) or other plastic films.

Even though BOPP has a good cost/performance ratio, it has two defects: A) it’s made from fossil fuel (oil) and B) it’s not biodegradable, nor it can be recycled easily unless properly separated from other materials.

Cibra, the Italian manufacturer of bag and sleeves machinery, has developed a new range of machines capable of processing both conventional plastics like PP or PE, as well as biopolymers like PLA. PLA flower sleeves can be totally transparent, or a combination of transparent and metalized films for a more eye-catching appeal.

Thanks to the advantages of PLA, the new generation of flower sleeves allows to achieve the same performance in terms of product presentation and protection, whilst contributing to a reduction in the CO2 emissions. Furthermore, both transparent and metalized PLA films offer multiple options in terms of end of life: recycling, incineration, land filling and composting. The last one in particular appears to be the most appropriate solution for this application, as it offers the possibility of disposing of the flowers or plants in the organic waste bin, without the need to separate these from the PLA wrap. Once composted, our bunch of flowers and its packaging will become a fertilizer to grow new plants. www.ti-films.com www.cibra.it

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Shenzhen Esun Industrial Co. Ltd. (formerly Shenzhen Brightchina) is a company producing environmental materials such as PLA or PCL. With their brand Esun they are targeting at global markets. One innovative example is PLA filaments to be used with a special 3D-Printer that can produce single plastic parts.

As early as 2008, Adrian Bowyer at the University of Bath, UK, developed the first RepRap 3D printer. Here a thermoplastic filament (e.g. ABS or PLA) is melted in a heated die with a very small diameter. The die is moved by a computer program in order to lay down a thin ‘line’ of thermoplastic melt to a surface. After cooling a next ‘layer’ of melt can be placed on top of the first and layer by layer a three-dimensional part is being ‘printed’ with plastic melt instead of ink. Thus RepRap is a desktop 3D printer capable of printing plastic objects. Since many parts of the RepRap are made from plastic and RepRap can print those parts, RepRap is a self-replicating machine - one that anyone can build given time and materials. It also means that - if you’ve got a RepRap - you can print lots of useful stuff, and you can print another RepRap for a friend. If this sounds too strange … for the very special idea behind RepRap visit their website.

Now, PLA is an ideal material for the RepRap process, for example due to its lower melting point compared to ABS, and the well-known environmental advantages. MT www.brightcn.net www.reprap.org

& J O I N T LY

P R E S E N T

THE SIXTH ANNUAL GLOBAL AWARD FOR DEVELOPERS, MANUFACTURERS AND USERS OF BIO-BASED PLASTICS.

Call for proposals Enter your own product, service or development, or nominate your favourite example from another organisation

Please let us know: and does rvice or development is se t, uc od pr e th at Wh 1. n an award development should wi or ce rvi se t, uc od pr is 2. Why you think th ganisation does oposed) company or or pr e th (or ur yo at Wh 3. ay also (approx 1 page) and m s rd wo 0 50 ed ce ex t d/or Your entry should no marketing brochures an t be s, ple m sa , hs ap gr oto The 5 nominees mus be supported with ph (cannot be sent back). ion tat en m cu do l ica techn 30 second videoclip prepared to provide a ded from

try form can be downloa More details and an en ine.de/award www.bioplasticsmagaz

The Bioplastics Award will be presented during the 6th European Bioplastics Conference November 22/23, 2011, Berlin, Germany

supported by

Applications Cremation urn made from Arboform (Photo: Alento AG)

Think Tank Advocates Renewable Plastic Reliable Injection Moulding Process for ‘Liquid Wood‘ Products

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ith a cremation urn made from the thermoplastic biomaterial ARBOFORM Alento AG of Widnau, Switzerland, has developed a product made from renewable plastic. The search for a reliable injection moulding process for biodegradable ‘liquid wood’ was undertaken in close cooperation with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH, of Schwaig, Germany.

During an intercompany meeting Herbert Perschl, Managing Associate and Founder of Alento AG presented a collection of his urns. “We developed an injection-moulded product from a wood material that we were able to market almost immediately. This is because undertakers are increasingly looking for urns made of environmentally friendly materials.”

Formulations for different material properties Perschl spread some Arboform granulate across the conference table. ”Because we make urns made of liquid wood with many different material properties and produced from different mixtures of raw materials, we are able to control the decomposition process. As an example we can point to cremation urns for burial at sea, which we can design in such a way that they disintegrate in the water within three days.”

The urns, which Alento sells throughout Europe, are currently available with a capacity of 4.5 litres. Compared with the usual urns made of natural materials, the Alento urn is dimensionally more stable and has a more attractive surface. In addition, it offers a patented, ash-proof lock mechanism based on a special sealing contour between lid and container and which does not use glue. If required, the company supplies a lid that makes it impossible to open a sealed Alento urn without destroying it.

By Thomas Brettnich Head of Technology Development Sumitomo (SHI) Demag Plastics Machinery GmbH Schwaig, Germany

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At present Alento produces around 5,000 urns made from Arboform each year and the trend is rising sharply. Manfred Zoss, who is responsible for sales and financial management, drew attention to the texture of an urn.

“Each urn is unique. We have achieved even more variety since we also succeeded in making white and reddish-brown urns.” In addition to a wide range of colours, there is a choice between smooth surfaces and surfaces with patterns or engravings. Herbert Perschl demonstrated by knocking on the material and trying to bend the edges. “Depending on the composition of the material, it may be more flexible, more robust or firmer and have a very high elongation at its breaking point.”

Applications Urs Kocher from MAPAG Maschinen AG, the Swiss representatives of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, with (l to r) Herbert Perschl and Manfred Zoss, of Alento AG, expect an attractive market for products made from the biomaterial Arboform (Photo: Sumitomo (SHI) Demag)

Perishability is the decisive criterion The thermoplastic material Arboform can also be used beneath fine wood veneers in cars as it meets the strict thermal requirements with regard to the maximum temperature variations in such applications.

The material is mainly produced from the lignin and cellulose wood components and therefore from fully renewable raw materials. The developer and producer of Arboform, Tecnaro GmbH of Ilsfeld, Germany, adds further natural fibres and natural additives to the lignin powders, in addition to cellulose. The mixture is then compressed into a pea-sized granulate.

Arboform, tougher than wood and mouldable into almost any shape, is practically an invitation to developers to think up some new application ideas. Herbert Perschl took a shoetree out of the cupboard. “This complex product ensures that a shoe retains its shape. At the same time it discharges moisture.” As the material is obtained from renewable sources, it is completely free of pollutants, bio-degradable, compostable and recyclable. For Alento this perishability is a decisive criterion. On decomposition and incineration the material only releases the volumes of CO2 that the plants in question absorbed from the atmosphere when they were growing. Thanks to its highly constant quality, based on the lignin in its matrix, Arboform also has an advantage over other thermoplastics made of renewable raw materials.

Close cooperation with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag When looking for a reliable injection moulding process for Arboform, Herbert Perschl contacted Sumitomo (SHI), especially as he has been very satisfied with machines from this manufacturer for the last 13 years. “We acquired our know-how in three years of close cooperation with Demag’s

specialist departments and developed it into our core competence.” Even today both companies still meet together to form teams when it comes to modifying or optimising the process for specific applications.

Arboform is injected into a mould at a pressure of 1,000 bar and a temperature of between 110 and 170°C. Because the material needs moisture in order to plasticise, which distinguishes it from other natural-fibre injection mould granulates, it does not need to be dried before processing, despite its hydrophilic character. Apart from this, the process uses approximately 30 % less energy than is needed by conventional plastics, as the temperature profile of the liquid wood is significantly lower.

During a walkabout Perschl stopped in front of a machine made by Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. “The main challenge was to be able to process natural fibres with standard injection moulding machines. The cooperation with Demag was outstanding and Demag designed a universal machine for all available materials on the market.” The injection profile, for example, has been adjusted by modifications to the speed and the pressure. The temperature profile has also been adapted and the ventilation improved. In addition, the characteristics specific to the material have been identified and have been taken into account when manufacturing the tools, as well as considering how the process is to be adapted to the proportion of fibres and the product being moulded. It is also vital to treat the material with care during melting in the plasticising cylinder of the injection moulding machine.

A worm geometry suitable for the requirements ensures a constant melt quality. “While the reject rate was at 80 % at the beginning of the project, it has now fallen to below 1 % and the development is by no means over,” Perschl continued. www.alento.ch www.sumitomo-shi-demag.eu

Alento developed the reliable injection moulding process for Arboform in three years, in close cooperation with Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. (Photo: Alento AG)

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Material

Smart Packaging: by Pornpun Theinsathid Country Manager Thailand and Vietnam, Purac Gerrit Gobius du Sart Specialist Polymer Technology, Innovation Center PLA, Purac

Y

ou are doing your weekly grocery shopping. Last item on the list: sausages. You walk over to the butcher’s isle, pick the nicest looking frankfurters and notice a number of labels on the packaging material. Who cares about the labels?

The sausages look good!

Upon closer inspection at home, you notice that one label says that the plastic material consists of polylactic acid (PLA).

Being a constant reader of bioplastics MAGAZINE you know the environmental advantages of PLA as to renewable resources and carbon footprint perfectly well.

Great, on to the next label. It says something about ‘smart packaging’ and ‘antimicrobial properties’. And indeed, the expiration date isn’t as close by as it used to be with those oldfashioned plastic films.

This kind of ‘active packaging’ is no science fiction, but a hot topic in the food packaging industry [1]. The importance of such protection against micro-organisms is underscored by the U.S. government’s regulatory stance on Listeria monocytogenes: zero tolerance. If even the lowest amount of this pathogen is found on a 25-g to 50-g sample of a cooked meat or poultry product, it has to be recalled. Active antibacterial wrapping could result in an extended shelf life for the product.

Figure 1. The use of antimicrobial packaging will result in longer shelf lives for meat products.

[1] Jamshidian, M. et al. Poly-Lactic Acid: Production, Applications, Nanocomposites, and Release Studies, Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 2010, 9, 552-571.

[2] Theinsathid, P. et al. Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy 2011, 5, 17-29.

[3] Theinsathid, P. et al. Development of innovative biobased active packaging against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium, Proceeding of EFFOST Conference - New Challenge in Food Preservation, 11st13rd November, 2009, Budapest, Hungary.

Research performed in the framework of the “Technopreneurship and Innovation Management” program, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand.

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An all too logical choice as an active ingredient in PLA, of course, is lactic acid. The antimicrobial function of lactic acid is well-recognized and applied in many food and feed products as demonstrated in tests in Purac laboratories (Fig 2). Furthermore, it has been shown in numerous studies that films consisting of a PLA-based matrix and antimicrobials such as lactic acid indeed show antimicrobial action.

One such study was dedicated to the suitability of environmentally friendly active packaging films, produced by melt extrusion. Lactic acid is well-known for its antimicrobial properties against L. monocytogenes and is already widely applied for meat preservation. As such, this natural antimicrobial was incorporated at three different concentrations into PLA resin. The films were then tested for their antimicrobial activity against L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella Typhimurium using the ASTM E2149-01 method under dynamic contact conditions.

Inhibition of L. monocytogenes and S. Typhimurium by the antimicrobial films was clearly observed using agar diffusion assay (Fig 3). Survival of the pathogens was studied by means of bacterial counts after contact times of 0, 6, and 24 h at 37°C. This type of antimicrobial packaging film was highly effective in reduction of 4 log units for L. monocytogenes with respect to the control.

Material

Smart Industry CFU/gram

The industrial realization of aforementioned smart packaging systems however is a challenge. In a recent study, experts in the biobased materials and food industries were interviewed to understand the needs and demands of the stakeholders in these fields [2]. Such market-lead studies are important now that the technology is up to the task.

The inquiries were made over the complete spectrum of stakeholders, ranging from researchers, politicians and government representatives to petroleum and biobased industry experts to retailers and meat packaging professionals.

Besides the need for a clear understanding of both local and global markets, the stakeholders indicated that they anticipate governmental policy and regulation to play an important role in the adoption of such new technologies in the food industry.

Technology transfer factors such as high licensing costs and patent barriers were also indicated to be large factors. In that respect, joint research projects are often a hurdle due to the time required to conclude negotiations between the different partners.

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

10 25 40 55 70 85 days at 5° C/41°F

Figure 2. The growth of L. monocytogenes in Frankfurter sausages is restricted after dipping in lactic acid (green curve) prior to packaging. The blue line represents the control sample.

CFU = Colonies Forming Unit

One barrier that was also mentioned is the limited amount of PLA manufacturers at present, particularly at the local level.

The availability of Purac’s lactides and the lactide partnership program will remove this barrier in the years to come; these partnerships will enable growth of the PLA supply chain, both locally and globally.

The development of biobased technologies in the smart packaging industry will be realized through multidimensional innovations. The adaptation of those innovations will however require new insights over the entire value chain. Fresh insights indeed. www.purac.com

Figure 3. Agar diffusion studies showing the effect of lactic acid-based antimicrobial films on the growth of Listeria and Salmonella. Colonies of either pathogen could not be viewed in the clear zone with antimicrobial film while such colonies were formed all over the control plates. Blue arrows indicate areas of bacterial growth.

Control

L. monocytogenes

S. Typhimurium

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Basics

Basics of PHA by Hans-Josef Endres Andrea Siebert-Raths University of Applied Sciences Hannover, Germany Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Department of Bioprocess Engineering

W

hen biopolymers are manufactured from genetically modified crops by direct fermentation, they polymerize during the fermentation process. Due to natural biosynthesis, no additional synthesizing step is required for polymerization. By contrast, the fermentative generation of monomers, such as PLA from lactic acid, requires man-made polymerization.

Within the biopolymer group generated by direct biosynthesis, the best known and by far most important examples are the socalled polyhydroxy fatty acids and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA).

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are polyesters that are intracellularly deposited by bacteria as energy storage or reserves. These polymers are formed mainly from saturated and unsaturated hydroxyalkanoic acids; thus the term polyhydroxyalkanoates. Their monomer building blocks can be branched or unbranched 3-hydroxyalkanoic acids or those with substituted side chains as well as 4- or 5-hydroxyalkanoic acids. PHAs are homo-, co- and terpolymers built from these various monomers. The variety of monomers, constitutional isomerism, wide range of molecular weights, as well as additional possibilities for manufacturing blends or chemically and/or physically modifying their microstructure create a potentially wide variety of biopolymers with different property profiles within this polymer family. In spite of the large number of theoretically possible PHAs, we can assume there will be a maximum of 10 industrially interesting different PHAs in the future [2, 3, 4].

From a chemist’s point of view, these PHAs are optically active, aliphatic polyesters with a structure illustrated in Fig. 1.

For R = CH3, the result is so-called polyhydroxybutyrate, also called polyhydroxybutyric acid (PHB). For R = C2H5, the result is polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV), for R = C3H7, polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH), and for R = C4H9, polyhydroxyoctanoate (PHO), etc. We also distinguish between homo- and copolymers in polyhydroxyalkanoates, see Fig. 2.

This article is an abridged extract -­ sections left out are marked (…) - from the new book ‘Engineering Biopolymers’

by H.-J. Endres and A. Siebert-Raths, Hanser Publishers, Germany [1]. The new book, as well as the German version of this book, is available via the bioplastics MAGAZINE bookstore (see p.9 or www.bioplasticsmagazine.com). Details about the material properties of commercially available PHA resins and other biopolymers can be found in the online Biopolymer-Database at http://biopolymer.materialdatacenter.com - MT

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The most prominent and best investigated representative of this biopolymer family is the homopolymer polyhydroxy butyrate. As a homopolymer, PHB from polyhydroxybutyric acid exhibits an absolutely linear isotactic structure and is highly crystalline (60−70%). Therefore, PHB is too brittle for many applications. If process parameters vary too widely, PHB’s relatively small difference between melting and decomposition temperature may also pose a problem. The small difference between these two temperatures can be attributed to the high melt temperature due to strong intermolecular interaction.

Unfavorable conditions during PHB processing, e.g., humidity too high, temperature too high, or dwell time in the machine too long, can cause polymer degradation in the final products, such as films, coatings, or fibers. Another problem for PHB is the progressive decrease of its mechanical properties, such as tensile strength, because of secondary crystallization and gradual loss of plasticizers over time.

In analogy with conventional polymers, these problems with pure PHBs can generally be eliminated by polymerization with comonomers.

The longer the side chain of the polymerized functional group is, the less crystalline and more ductile is the material, and the lower is its melting temperature because of the reduction in intermolecular

Basics

interaction caused by side chains.

The first PHA used for, among other things, a shampoo bottle from Wella, was ICI’s PHB/PHV copolymer with the brand name Biopol (Fig. 3), which is no longer available. ICI has transferred the corresponding rights to Zeneca. From Zeneca, they passed first to Monsanto and now belong to Metabolix.

PHAs can generally be processed well by injection molding, are insoluble in water, yet biologically degradable and biocompatible.

Moreover, they exhibit good barrier properties against oxygen and, compared to other biopolymers, a slightly higher barrier effect against water vapor. Therefore, these PHAs are a promising group of materials for future development. Their molecular structure is variable, with the resulting range of property profiles, and there is a wide range of feedstock available for the production of these biopolymers. Beyond that, PHAs also represent an interesting source for smaller molecules or chemicals such as hydroxy acids or hydroxy alkanoles.

R

In-vitro PHA synthesis can also be performed in cell-free systems by isolating the key enzymes. This method has the advantage that no by-products of cellular metabolism need to be removed. Pure polymers can be obtained, and monomers can be specifically polymerized that are not metabolized naturally.

On the other hand, the disadvantages include limited stability, relatively high enzyme costs, as well as the use of relatively expensive substrates. Thus this approach is typically used for research purposes.

On an industrially scale the much more important method to produce PHA is bacterial fermentation, which is discussed in more detail in the following.

Various microorganisms can be used to produce PHAs (a comprehensive table of microorganisms can be found in the book [1]). Over all, more than 300 different microorganisms are known that generate PHAs as natural energy reserves [2, 5, 6].

C

Figure 1: General structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)

a

b

CH3

O

CH3

O

H 3C

CH3

O

O O

O

O

O

O

O

CH3

O

O

O

c

CH3

O

O

O

O

O

O

O

Synthesis in genetically modified plants

Because the last two methods are (still) industrially irrelevant, they will be described only briefly in the following. With the aid of genetic engineering, PHA synthesis genes can be transmitted into useful crops. Transgenic crops yield PHA contents up to 10% of plant dry weight. However, to ensure economically viable and competitive PHA production, these PHA contents would have to be doubled and plant growth and yields would have to be significantly increased. Also, the plant preparation processes for PHA production and the monomer composition have to be further optimized [3].

CH2

n

Bacterial fermentation

Enzymatic catalysis in cell-free systems

CH

O

Manufacturing Process In principle, three different approaches for the biotechnological production of PHA are known:

O

O

O

O

CH3

CH3

CH3

O

a) poly(β-)hydroxybutyric acid (butanoic acid) b) copolyester from β hydroxybutyric acid and β-hydroxyvalerate acid (pentanoic acid) c) homopolyester from β hydroxyoctanoic acid Figure 2: Polyhydroxy β-alkanoate

O

O CH3

O

CH2

O

n

CH3

Figure 3: PHBHV copolymer

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Basics

Figure 4: Electron microscopic image of microorganisms containing PHA (© Metabolix)

A lack of carbon or energy will cause the degradation of the PHA storage polymers. The choice of microorganisms for industrial applications depends on the microorganism’s stability and biological safety, its PHA production rates, PHA extractability, the molecular weight of the agglomerated PHA, as well as the spectrum of useable carbon sources. The maximum known production rate lies in the range of 5 g per liter fermenter volume and hour.

In general, two different types of microorganism can be used to generate PHB. One type produces PHB continuously, the other type only when basic growth supporting substances are depleted while there is still an oversupply from a carbon source available, i.e., discontinuously. The following process steps can be distinguished in bacteria fermentation:

a) Continuous synthesis (e.g., alcaligenes latus): 1) Inoculation, i.e., multiplication and growth of the production organism and parallel PHA synthesis by continuously synthesizing microorganisms 2) Isolation/production of the biopolymer, i.e., separation from biomass and purification 3) Compounding and granulation b) Discontinuous synthesis (e.g., alcaligenes eutrophus): 1) Inoculation, i.e., multiplication and growth of the production organism 2) PHA synthesis under altered fermentation conditions 3) Isolation/production of the biopolymer, i.e., separation from biomass and purification 4) Compounding and granulation References [1] Endres, H.-J., Siebert-Raths, A., Engineering Biopolymers, MArkets, Manufacturing and Applications, Carl Hanser Verlag, München, 2011 [2] Hocking, P., et al. Enzymatic Degradability of Poly(beta-Hydroxybutyrate) as a Function of Tacticity. Macromolecular Raprid Communication. Jg. 15 , 2003, H. 6, S. 447 – 452.

[3] Wolf, O. (Ed.), et al. Techno-economic Feasibility of Largescale Production of Biobased Polymers in Europe. Brüssel : s.n., 2005. Technical Report EUR 22103 EN. [4]76. Kaplan, D. L. Biopolymers from renewable resources. Berlin : Springer-Verlag, 1998.

[5] Doi, Y. et.al.:. Environmental life cycle comparison of polyhydroxyalkanoates produced from renewable carbon resources by bacterial fermentation. 11/2002.

[6] Stevens, E. S. Green plastics. An introduction to the new science of biodegradable plastics.

Princeton : s.n., 2002.

[7] Smith, R. Biodegradable polymers for industrial applications. Boca Raton Fl : CRC Press LLC, 2005.

[8] Fakirov, S. und Bhattacharyya, D. Handbook of engineering biopolymers. Homopolymers, blends, and composites. Cincinnati : s.n., 2007.

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For PHAs, much as with PLA, inoculation is the first step of the bacterial fermentation process. Here, the bacteria required for the subsequent metabolization process multiply and grow in an aqueous medium enriched with a balanced nutrition supply (C, N, P, S, O, Mg, Fe) and air under optimum physical conditions. In the next step, the actual PHA synthesis begins under conditions not conducive to growth and multiplication (e.g., phosphate limitation) and a relative oversupply of C. The PHAs are usually stored in intracellular inclusion bodies and can account for up to 90% of dry cellular weight. Their molecular weight generally ranges from 100,000−500,000 g/mol. However, molecular weights of considerably more than 1,000,000 g/mol are obtained under special conditions (ultra-high molecular weight PHAs). The complete fermentation process typically takes approx. two days [7, 8].

Glucose and sugar-containing substrates, e.g., molasses, lactose, cellulose, starch, and whey hydrolysates, serve as nutrient sources for intracellular PHA generation. Other sources such as alcohols (e.g., methanol or glycerol), alkanes (hexane or dodecane), vegetable oils, or organic acids are also suitable nutrient sources.

The enzymes involved in the fermentation process are quite unspecific.

Thus, a tailored substrate supply allows for the production of a wide variety of short (4−5 × C) or medium chain-length monomers (6−16 × C); PHA copolymers or, in the future, PHA terpolymers, can also be

Basics

generated. For example, hydroxyvaleric acid can be incorporated by breeding the cells on glycose with additions of, e.g., propionic, methylpropionic, or valeric acid. A variety of copolymers can be generated by varying the fermentation conditions and the substrate supply. Other than with chemical (or man-made) synthesis, biosynthesis does not require catalysts or other auxiliary substances for polymerization. Thus, the microbial polyesters present in the cells are characterized by extremely high purity.

Often there is no spatial separation between the two processing steps of bacterial growth/ multiplication and actual PHA generation. Different fermenters are not required because the transition from bacterial growth to PHA generation is initiated by a change in nutrient supply and fermentation conditions in a single fermenter.

PHAs are usually manufactured in batch or fed-batch processes because optimum conditions for the individual process steps in the growth and production phases can be achieved most easily in batch processes. They provide higher intracellular PHA contents than continuous processes. On the other hand, the potential variation in product quality is a disadvantage of batch-wise manufacture.

In the next step, the polymer-containing microorganisms are isolated from the fermentation broth and the intracellular agglomerated PHAs are purified.

Classical mechanical separation techniques, such as centrifugation and filtration, are used in a first sub-step to separate the cells from the culture medium. In the second sub-step, the cells are destroyed and the raw polymer is isolated. PHA extraction can be carried out by various solvent extraction methods, but also by solvent-free, so called LF-methods. The solvents used are returned to the process in a closed circuit. Separation and lysis of bacterial cells and the subsequent separation of raw PHA essentially determine cost and quality of the final product and the ecology of the production method. (…)

Although solvent-free methods are fundamentally more ecological than methods using solvents, they do not achieve similarly high product purity. Here, a new development using genetically modified bacteria represents progress: after fermentation has taken place at 28°C, the cell membranes are lysed by a virus incorporated into the bacteria genome and activated only above 42°C. Subsequent to isolation, the PHAs are usually further purified and dried in vacuum processes.

Further research is required to determine beneficial uses for the cell residue and/or biomass accruing during PHA production. Some potential options include conversion to biogas, production of animal feed, using it as substrate for further PHA production, or catalytical enzyme production from the biomass protein content.

In a final step, PHA powder is extrusion-granulated for further processing to plastics on injection molding machines. Simultaneously, additives such plasticizers and nucleation agents can be incorporated for targeted improvement of processing properties.

Compared to other biopolymers, the price of PHAs (…) is relatively high. (…).

Initial manufacturers of various PHAs on a small scale include Biomer, Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, PHB Industrial Brazil S.A., Tianan Biologic Material Co., Ltd., and Kaneka Corporation.

Meredian Inc. is also working on the development of a PHA material (Nodax). The US biotech company Metabolix bought all the rights to ICI materials patents from Monsanto. Metabolix (or Telles, a joint venture formed by Metabolix and ADM) (… started a production plant of 50,000 tonnes/ year in Clinton, Iowa, USA in 2010 - MT). Another approach of Metabolix Inc. is the utilization of genetically engineered tobacco to produce polyhydroxyalkanoates. A number of companies in the Brazilian bioethanol industry (besides PHB Industrial SA) are interested in expanding their product range. Fermentative, sugarcane-based PHA generation offers a product with higher added value and synergy effects. Not only is sugar obtained as substrate, but incidental manufacturing byproduct, bagasse or cane-trash, can be used to provide processing energy for PHA production.

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Politics

The Bioplastics Situation in Thailand Committed to Become a Regional Hub

by Siraprapha R, Wantanee C*, Vichian S, and Supachai L Strategic Innovation Programme in Bioplastics Thailand’s National Innovation Agency *Programme corresponding author

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S

ince 2006 the Thai Government has declared the bioplastics industry as one of Thailand’s strategic industries for which the Government vowed to push forward and promote sustainable growth and development. Thailand’s emerging bioplastics industry has tremendous potential as the nation benefits from a number of comparative advantages. Thailand is rich in biomass resources and has abundant raw materials which can be used as feedstock for bioplastics production, in particular, cassava. In fact, Thailand is one of the world’s leading producers of cassava and sugar cane with annual production of over 30 and 80 million tons, respectively. Such plentiful biomass resources translate into higher availability hence stability of raw materials for the bioplastics industry.

From the production standpoint, Thailand already has a well established plastics industry, with over 3,000 manufacturers already producing a wide range of plastic products for overseas and domestic customers. At present, Thailand is a top-three plastic exporter in ASEAN and one of the largest plastic resin producers in the world.

The bioplastics sector can easily take advantage of these existing capabilities, networks and resources in order to develop and grow.

Additionally, Thailand also has a strong research base to support the bioplastics industry. The country has a number of scientists and experts in research institutes,

Politics

academia and industry who are developing various technologies and knowhow across the entire bioplastics production chain. Leveraging on the basis of existing R&D capacity, Thailand continues to build up additional qualified experts across the nation to support the bioplastics industry. In this regard, the government sector, leading by Thailand’s National Innovation Agency (NIA), has already set up special funding schemes dedicated to bioplastics R&D and innovation projects. Through active international alliances, Thai scientists and experts also work with their counterparts at renowned institutions from around the world to create innovation which serves the needs from the production sector as well as the market.

NIA’s recommendations have pushed the Thai Government to accelerate the bioplastics industry. As a manifestation of the Thai Government’s commitment to set up strong foundations and facilitate continuous expansion of the bioplastics industry in Thailand, the ‘National Roadmap for the Development of the Bioplastics Industry’ was drawn up and subsequently approved by the Thai Cabinet in July 2008. The Cabinet also allocated an initial budget of 1.8 billion Baht (€ 41 million or US$ 60 million) to support the implementation of the National Roadmap, which focused on four core strategies directed to strengthen the Thai bioplastics industry with a view to become a regional hub in this field.

The four core strategies are: 1) creating sufficient supply of agricultural raw materials as bioplastics feedstock; 2) developing new technologies to serve the needs of Thai bioplastics industry; 3) building new and innovative business in bioplastics; and 4) establishing a robust supportive infrastructure for the Thai bioplastics industry.

Moreover, the Thai Cabinet recently approved additional supportive measures to boost investments in the bioplastics industry in Thailand. These include a public-private (30:70) co-investment in construction of pilot bioplastic resin production facilities having production capacity of 1,000-10,000 tons per year, which are aimed to be operable by 2013. In this respect, the Thai Government has pledged to grant 300 million Baht (€ 6.8 million or US$ 10 million) for the pilot plant construction (2011-2013) whereas the rest of the investment will come from the local private sector. 

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Politics In addition to the pilot plant construction, the supportive measures for 2011-2015 to enhance commercial investments in the local bioplastics industry will target five areas, namely: 1) biomass availability (applying export parity price for sugar cane and cassava chip/starch) 2) bioplastic R&D 3) standardization system 4) business and investment privileges; and 5) market promotion and environment management.

The total of 600 million Baht (€ 13.6 million or US$ 20 million) has been committed by the Thai Government to support the implementation of the supportive measures in these five areas.

Having put in place the national policies specifically designed to induce the development of the local bioplastics industry, Thailand set out on a new path to become a regional hub for bioplastics. Since the implementation of the National Roadmap, various support programs, initiatives and infrastructure have been put in place to further enhance the capacity of the Thai bioplastics industry. These developments have enabled the local bioplastics industry to make enormous progress in the past several years. New compounding technology and products have been developed and commercialized, such as a polymer compound from a blend of PBAT and PLA using calcium carbonate as a filler which is suitable for producing film packaging, bioplastic packaging for dried organic fruits, bioplastic lunch box which can withstand high temperature, etc. On the whole, it is expected that development of the local bioplastics industry in accordance with the National Roadmap and its supportive measures will result in economic value of over 6.2 billion Baht (€ 144 million or US$ 204 million) for the country.

Also, from environmental and waste management perspectives a number of pilot projects have been initiated and successfully carried out. Most recent examples include the following projects: In view of Thailand’s continuing problems with landfills, NIA and its partners recently launched a pilot project in which bioplastic bags are distributed to residents of pilot municipalities for collecting household organic waste, which is then converted into organic material. During the initial stage this project targeted tourist destination areas, such as the Kra-dung-nga district and Samet Island, where there is an urgent need to reduce the plastic waste buildup in the area.

Another good example is the potential application of bioplastics as nursery planting bags.

These planting bags would be compostable within one year and hence leave no plastic waste in the soil.

Moreover, Thailand currently offers various forms of incentives specially designed to create an investment-friendly atmosphere for the bioplastics industry, such as a tax incentive program offered by Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI) which features corporate income tax exemption up to 8 years and an additional 50% reduction of corporate income tax for 5 years.

Without any doubt, the Thai Government is firmly committed to promote the Thai bioplastics industry and will provide required assistance and supports to ensure sustainable growth and development of this industry in years to come. Taking into consideration Thailand’s comparative advantage in raw materials and its strengths in R&D and production capabilities, coupled with favourable government policies and the adoption of the National Roadmap which provides a clear direction for the local industry, Thailand is well positioned to become a new bioplastics hub in Asia and to serve as a focal point for international cooperation in bioplastics in the region. www.nia.or.th

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BIOADIMIDETM IN BIOPLASTICS. EXPANDING THE PERFORMANCE OF BIO-POLYESTER.

VAILABLE: UCT LINE A D O R P W EXPAND E N ADDITIVES ™ E TER ID IM D BIOA IO-POLYES B F O E C N MA THE PERFO

BioAdimide™ additives are specially suited to improve the hydrolysis resistance and the processing stability of bio-based polyester, specifically polylactide (PLA), and to expand its range of applications. Currently, there are two BioAdimide™ grades available. The BioAdimide™ 100 grade improves the hydrolytic stability up to seven times that of an unstabilized grade, thereby helping to increase the service life of the polymer. In addition to providing hydrolytic stability, BioAdimide™ 500 XT acts as a chain extender that can increase the melt viscosity of an extruded PLA 20 to 30 percent compared to an unstabilized grade, allowing for consistent and easier processing. The two grades can also be combined, offering both hydrolysis stabilization and improved processing, for an even broader range of applications.

Focusing on performance for the plastics industries.

Whatever requirements move your world: We will move them with you. www.rheinchemie.com

Personality

bM: Dear Mr. Sweetman, when and where were you born?

AS: I was born in Hampton, SouthWest London in the UK in 1965.

bM: Where do you live today and since when?

AS: Since 1997 I live up in Cumbria in the Lake District in the north of the UK.

bM: What is your education?

Andy Sweetman

AS: My background – strangely, given that I work in packaging – is modern languages, so I have a degree in French and Spanish. But then I moved into packaging, so I have a diploma in Packaging Technology as well.

bM: What is your professional function today?

AS: I have a rather long job title, but I’m Business Development and Sustainability Manager at Innovia Films, so I look to develop our relationships with brand owners and also heading up our work on sustainability aspects. In addition I’m the Chairman of European Bioplastics.

bM: How did you ‘come to’ bioplastics?

AS: Completely by Accident. First of all I came into the packaging industry by accident, then over time I came to work on products that had renewability characteristics and that had the potential to be compostable.

bM: What do you consider more important: ‘biobased’ or ‘biodegradable’?

AS: (laughs) Brilliant question. I think we are not there today, but I’m sure we’ll come to the situation where the applications will decide which is more important. I think biobased content is hugely important from a sustainability point of view going forward. And I think in the right applications biodegradability, compostability and anaerobic digestion compatibility will be extremely important. But the application will decide.

bM: So where does the compostability bring added value …?

AS: Obviously, from the beginning we had a lot of mulch films, biobags for organic waste etc.. My own particular area is flexible packaging … Now by the time we have recycled all materials that are practical to recycle, food waste and flexible packaging are the only things left in our residual waste bin.

So when the packaging waste is organically compatible to the food waste, you have all sorts of opportunities. So I see flexibles as a very interesting area in this regard.

bM: What is your biggest achievement (in terms of bioplastics) so far?

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AS: I think it’s what we are seeing here at the interpack stand (of European Bioplastics) … We have packs that, to all intents and purposes, look identical to conventional packaging and yet they are bioderived and compostable. So – the first interpack I attended in ‘bio’ (2005) we were showing concepts. Last interpack (2008) we showed the beginning of packages, but they weren’t very developed. Today we are talking really high specification developed bioplastics materials. And I like to think that we were part of making that happen.

bM: What are your biggest challenges for the future?

AS: In our entire industry we need to improve our communication around the issue of sustainable sourcing.

We all as an industry need to address this more effectively, more clearly, more simply. So that people don’t fall into the trap of this very simplistic “food versus biomaterials versus biofuels” argument. We need to be able to simply, concisely and understandably get our message across as to the benefits.

bM: What is your family status?

AS: I’m married to Fiona and we have three children.

bM: What is your favourite movie?

AS: Oh, good question, it’s a movie called ‘Betty Blue’ – actually it’s a French movie that was very popular when I was studying languages. The original title is ‘37.2° le Matin’. A quick warning though: It’ll take you through every possible emotion!

bM: What is your favourite book?

AS: I don’t really have one, but I must admit that I enjoyed reading ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

bM: What is your favourite (or your next) vacation location?

AS: I’m ready for the beach. It’s been a long year so far, with all the preparations for interpack. A beach on a far away island, please.

bM: What do you eat for breakfast on a Sunday?

AS: This is going to sound as if I were a sandal wearing hippie, but it’s Granola, kind of a crunchy cereal…

bM: What is your ‘slogan’?

AS: I like the image of a jigsaw puzzle. Each of us is a piece. If we want bioplastics to become something more mainstream, rather than just a nice concept, then we all have a part to play, we all bring a part of a jigsaw puzzle. It’s not a slogan, it’s an image.

bM: Thank you very much. MT

Opinion

Level Playing Field for Bio-based Chemistry and Materials Policy paper on Bio-based Economy in the EU by

O

ver the last ten years numerous studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of bio-based products1: The production of bio-based chemicals and materials can create ten thousands of new green jobs (Bio 2010, Carrez 2010)2, increase resource efficiency and make a considerable contribution to climate protection and innovation. Despite these benefits the investment in industrial biotechnology and biorefineries in Europe remains low. The political and economic framework in the EU does not support the industrial material use of biomass – this is in contrast to bioenergy and especially biofuels, which has expanded rapidly in the EU over the last ten years. The European ‘Innovation Union’ needs to establish a level playing field for bio-based chemistry and materials in order for the EU to realize the potential of greening its process industries.

The final version of the policy paper was submitted to the EU Commission and to the public consultation on the ‘bio-based economy for Europe: state of play and future potential’. The policy paper is supported by 85 stakeholders from different associations, agencies, public authorities, foundations, companies, universities, institutes and research centers from all over Europe. Further supporters are welcome and should contact Michael Carus.

Making the best out of limited biomass!

Michael Carus, nova-Institute, Hürth, Germany)

The impacts of using biomass as an energy source or a material source are quite different. The analysis of recent studies on the macroeconomic effects of the non-food uses of biomass show that the potential benefits of the material use in terms of employment and value added are significantly higher than those arising from the use of biomass for energy. Material uses can directly support 5 to 10 times more employment and 4 to 9 times the value added compared with energy uses. These comparisons relate to the same raw material or the same farmed area, respectively. This is due to the significantly more complex and longer supply chains arising from material uses. (Carus 2010) This is even true for traditional applications of wood: Using wood for particle boards or pulp & paper supports greater employment and value added compared to the production of energy pellets (Pöyry Forest 2006).

High resource efficiency in the use of renewable resources can only be achieved with bio-based materials (higher input – output efficiency than biofuels) and strengthened through ‘cascading utilization’. This starts with single or multiple uses (recycling economy) followed by energy use at the end of life. Material use first, then energy – you only burn it once!

Dirk Carrez, Clever Consult, Meise/Belgium

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Most LCA studies show that the material use of biomass delivers GHG mitigation at least equal to first-generation biofuels (each based on the same acreage). Most deliver higher benefits and the best are significantly higher than the benefits of second-generation biofuels (Patel 2008, Carus

Opinion

2010). The environmental assessment will be even more favourable to material uses if the effects of longer-term carbon storage and the potential of cascading utilization are included. Also economies of scale in production and the technical optimization of processes will further improve the carbon balance. There is still a huge potential for innovation – involving thousands of SMEs and multinational companies.

While there are numerous options for the provision of renewable energy such as solar and wind energy, hydropower and geothermal energy, the situation in the supply of raw materials to industry is precarious. The material use of biomass is a key technology to secure the supply of industrial raw materials, and its importance increases continuously. The use of biomass for material use is as essential as their use in food – if the oil price reaches new record levels. Especially the chemical industry depends on carbonbased materials in the production of organic compounds, and biomass is the only renewable source of carbon.

Harald Kaeb, narocon, Berlin

EU: Low investment in biorefineries and industrial biotechnology Currently, there is only a low investment in biorefineries and industrial biotechnology in Europe – compared to America and Asia. For investment, companies need: Secure sustainable renewable raw material supply for reasonable prices.

Binding political framework for supporting the bio-based economy: Which political instruments and what kind of political environment will be established in a long lasting manner? Bio-based materials are in competition for feedstock with energy. In contrast to bioenergy and biofuels, there is currently no similar European policy framework to support bio-based materials. Bioenergy and biofuels not only receive high support in R&D, pilot and demonstration plants, but also receive strong ongoing support during commercial production (quotas, tax incentives, green electricity regulations and more). Without comparable support bio-based materials will suffer from underinvestment from the private sectors. The recent policy leads to a market distortion regarding feedstock availability and costs.

Jan Ravenstijn, biopolymer consultant, The Netherlands

Even biorefineries that are producing energy and materials will not be able to truly overcome this problem. If the energy market is more attractive because of related incentives and support, biorefinery development will be disproportionately on energy as the main output – without realizing the huge potential of bio-based materials.

Market distortion – Competition for biomass for energy versus industrial material use In several EU member states there is in addition to the European biofuel quota of 5.75% by 2010 a considerable support for bioenergy3, but almost no support for the industrial material use. With the existing political framework it is much more attractive to use biomass for energy – a misallocation of biomass in terms of resource efficiency? Already today we see competition between both sectors in Europe. High subsidies for energy crops lead to high biomass and land prices that make industrial material use unattractive. In Germany for example the financial support of bioenergy is between 20% (biodiesel) to 80% (bioethanol, small biogas) of the turnover.

Establishing a high-volume bio-based economy, including biobased chemistry, bio-based plastics and composites, lubricants and others, feedstock shortages can be foreseen. 

Joachim Venus, ATB, Potsdam-Bornim, Germany

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Opinion A new political-economic framework is needed to rebalance the financial support for energy and industrial material use of biomass.

This new framework should be linked for all applications to climate protection, resource efficiency, employment and innovation. Principle of equal treatment and product parity!

Risks of the existing policy framework With the existing policy framework, Europe will not be able to realize the huge potential of the bio-based economy – probably in contrast to Asia and the US. The region, which is balancing and optimising the support between energy and material use first, will have the best starting point to high added value, green jobs and bringing innovation to the market.

Another risk is to drive out the existing wood pulp & paper and board industry from Europe. European high-level wood industry will switch to low-level energy pellet industry with the lowest added value and employment.

In the last decade, the share of biomass used for material use has already decreased compared to bioenergy as a result of the existing framework in several member states. This unbalanced support could lead to less innovation, less resource efficiency, less climate protection, less investment and fewer jobs.

New policy – Principle of equal treatment In principle, the applied policy on bioenergy and especially biofuels was appropriate and a success story. But the global framework changed, biomass is now more limited than several years ago and new technologies have been developed. For the future we need a new policy to be able to use the potential of biomass most efficiently and most productively.

1 Bio-based products – chemicals and materials (pre-norm CEN/BT/WG 209: ‘biobased product = product wholly or partly bio-based (=’derived from biomass’)’) include all kind of bio-based chemicals, bio-based plastics and additives – biodegradable and durable, bio-composites like wood plastics composites and natural fibres reinforced plastics and insulation material, and also the traditional products of the timber industry. Bio-based products are used in construction & insulation, packaging, automotive and consumer goods.

From a technical point of view almost all industrial materials made from fossil resources could be substituted by their bio-based counterparts.

2 The complete policy paper including a list of all quoted references can downloaded from http://www.nova-institut.de/download/Policy-paper 3 The EU has targeted that 20% of energy should be renewably sourced by 2020. This will direct member states to increased support for bioenergy.

The European Union needs a new agricultural raw material policy to rebalance the support of bioenergy and biofuels versus industrial material use. This means to search, screen, develop and evaluate (new) political instruments, which could secure access to sustainable renewable feedstock, well balanced between bioenergy and bio-based products. (LMI 2011) This new framework should cover all industrial applications and should be based on climate protection, resource efficiency, employment (‘green jobs’) and innovation. A higher focus should be put on resource efficiency and climate protection regarding the use of land and the biomass flow. ‘Cascading utilization’ (the sequential utilization of biogenic raw materials for material and energy uses) could be one option for future support (LMI 2011). Priority should be given to using biomass for biobased materials, followed by recycling and later its use for biofuel and bioenergy.

For a new policy and new strategies, a comprehensive study is urgently needed to get sufficient, adequate, detailed and solid data about the industrial material use of biomass in the EU, incl. a periodic update. (See side note 2: Only very limited data on industrial material use of biomass in the EU)

Instruments that could provide a level playing field for bio-based products Currently, mainly necessary, but weak instruments like R&D support, standardization and information tools are discussed for bio-based

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bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

chemistry and materials – whereas bioenergy receives a strong ongoing support during commercial production via quotas, tax incentives, green electricity regulations and more.

Bio-based chemicals and materials will only thrive, if strong instruments are implemented in a new political framework to rebalance the support of energy and material use. Bio-based products need at least a level playing field in order to get started.

During the last ten years no political instruments have been developed to support bio-based chemistry and materials during commercial production. This is strongly needed.

The list in the appendix is a summary of instruments that have been discussed in different workshops over the last years and that could be theoretically implemented – the most important will be to realize a binding political framework to support the bio-based economy in a long lasting manner.

Outlook The new policy framework for the EU has to be coordinated by European Commission, European Parliament, member states and regions – incl. all involved sectors like agricultural, enterprise, energy, environment and R&D – to find the most efficient instruments to support the industrial material use until a level playing field with bioenergy, esp. biofuels is reached. To identify the most efficient instruments, extensive consultations of stakeholders from the wide field of industrial material use of biomass, from SMEs to multinational companies, is required.

The same political discussions are taking place in North America and Asia, since the phenomena of a non-level playing field for both sectors is a worldwide phenomena occurring over the last 10 – 20 years. Now, with visibly limited biomass resources the most efficient use of land and biomass is a crucial challenge. The region in the world which will optimize and balance the support of the use of biomass for energy and material first, will profit from a considerable growth, investments, green jobs, innovation, increased resource efficiency and additional climate protection. Let Europe be the region to profit!

Limited biomass should be used most efficiently: Do more value added and create more employment – with less biomass: Bio-based Products. www.bio-based.eu/policy www.nova-institut.eu www.cleverconsult.eu www.narocon.com www.atb-potsdam.de

Register now!

22/23 November 2011 Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin Conference contact: conference@european-bioplastics.org +49 .30 28 48 23 50

✆

www.conference.european-bioplastics.org bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

55

Basics

Glossary In bioplastics MAGAZINE again and again the same expressions appear that some of our readers might (not yet) be familiar with. This glossary shall help with these terms and shall help avoid repeated explanations such as ‘PLA (Polylactide)‘ in various articles.

Readers who would like to suggest better or other explanations to be added to the list, please contact the editor. [*: bM ... refers to more comprehensive article previously published in bioplastics MAGAZINE)

Bioplastics (as defined by European Bioplastics e.V.) is a term used to define two different kinds of plastics:

Blend | Mixture of plastics, polymer alloy of at least two microscopically dispersed and molecularly distributed base polymers.

a. Plastics based on renewable resources (the focus is the origin of the raw material used)

Carbon neutral | Carbon neutral describes a process that has a negligible impact on total atmospheric CO2 levels. For example, carbon neutrality means that any CO2 released when a plant decomposes or is burnt is offset by an equal amount of CO2 absorbed by the plant through photosynthesis when it is growing.

b. à Biodegradable and compostable plastics according to EN13432 or similar standards (the focus is the compostability of the final product; biodegradable and compostable plastics can be based on renewable (biobased) and/or non-renewable (fossil) resources).

Bioplastics may be - based on renewable resources and biodegradable; - based on renewable resources but not be biodegradable; and - based on fossil resources and biodegradable.

Amylopectin | Polymeric branched starch molecule with very high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose). [bM 05/2009 p42]

Amyloseacetat | Linear polymeric glucosechains are called à amylose. If this compound is treated with ethan acid one product is amylacetat. The hydroxyl group is connected with the organic acid fragment.

Amylose | Polymeric non-branched starch molecule with high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose). [bM 05/2009 p42] Biodegradable Plastics | Biodegradable Plastics are plastics that are completely assimilated by the à microorganisms present a defined environment as food for their energy.

The carbon of the plastic must completely be converted into CO2 during the microbial process. For an official definition, please refer to the standards e.g. ISO or in Europe: EN 14995 Plastics- Evaluation of compostability - Test scheme and specifications. [bM 02/2006 p34, bM 01/2007 p38]]

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Cellophane | Clear film on the basis of à cellulose.

Cellulose | Polymeric molecule with very high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is à Glucose), industrial production from wood or cotton, to manufacture paper, plastics and fibres.

Compost | A soil conditioning material of decomposing organic matter which provides nutrients and enhances soil structure. [bM 06/2008, 02/2009]

Compostable Plastics | Plastics that are biodegradable under ‘composting’ conditions: specified humidity, temperature, à microorganisms and timefame. Several national and international standards exist for clearer definitions, for example EN 14995 Plastics Evaluation of compostability - Test scheme and specifications. [bM 02/2006, bM 01/2007] Composting | A solid waste management technique that uses natural process to convert organic materials to CO2, water and humus through the action of à microorganisms. [bM 03/2007] Copolymer | Plastic composed of different monomers.

Cradle-to-Gate | Describes the system boundaries of an environmental àLife Cycle Assessment (LCA) which covers all activities from the ‘cradle’ (i.e., the extraction of raw materials, agricultural activities and forestry) up to the factory gate

Cradle-to-Cradle | (sometimes abbreviated as C2C): Is an expression which communicates the concept of a closed-cycle economy, in which waste is used as raw material (‘waste equals food’). Cradle-to-Cradle is not a term that is typically used in àLCA studies.

Cradle-to-Grave | Describes the system boundaries of a full àLife Cycle Assessment from manufacture (‘cradle’) to use phase and disposal phase (‘grave’).

Fermentation | Biochemical reactions controlled by à microorganisms or enyzmes (e.g. the transformation of sugar into lactic acid).

Gelatine | Translucent brittle solid substance, colorless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless and odorless, extracted from the collagen inside animals‘ connective tissue.

Glucose | Monosaccharide (or simple sugar).

G. is the most important carbohydrate (sugar) in biology. G. is formed by photosynthesis or hydrolyse of many carbohydrates e. g. starch.

Humus | In agriculture, ‘humus’ is often used simply to mean mature à compost, or natural compost extracted from a forest or other spontaneous source for use to amend soil.

Hydrophilic | Property: ‘water-friendly’, soluble in water or other polar solvents (e.g. used in conjunction with a plastic which is not waterresistant and weatherproof or that absorbs water such as Polyamide (PA).

Hydrophobic | Property: ‘water-resistant’, not soluble in water (e.g. a plastic which is waterresistant and weatherproof, or that does not absorb any water such as Polethylene (PE) or Polypropylene (PP).

LCA | Life Cycle Assessment (sometimes also referred to as life cycle analysis, ecobalance, and àcradle-to-grave analysis) is the investigation and valuation of the environmental impacts of a given product or service caused. [bM 01/2009]

Microorganism | Living organisms of microscopic size, such as bacteria, funghi or yeast.

PCL | Polycaprolactone, a synthetic (fossil based), biodegradable bioplastic, e.g. used as a blend component.

PHA | Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. The most common type of PHA is à PHB. PHB | Polyhydroxyl buteric acid (better poly3-hydroxybutyrate), is a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a polymer belonging to the polyesters class. PHB is produced by micro-organisms apparently in response to conditions of physiological stress. The polymer is primarily a product of carbon assimilation (from glucose

Basics or starch) and is employed by micro-organisms as a form of energy storage molecule to be metabolized when other common energy sources are not available. PHB has properties similar to those of PP, however it is stiffer and more brittle.

PLA | Polylactide or Polylactic Acid (PLA) is a biodegradable, thermoplastic, aliphatic polyester from lactic acid. Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation. Bacterial fermentation is used to produce lactic acid from corn starch, cane sugar or other sources.

However, lactic acid cannot be directly polymerized to a useful product, because each polymerization reaction generates one molecule of water, the presence of which degrades the forming polymer chain to the point that only very low molecular weights are observed.

Instead, lactic acid is oligomerized and then catalytically dimerized to make the cyclic lactide monomer. Although dimerization also generates water, it can be separated prior to polymerization. PLA of high molecular weight is produced from the lactide monomer by ring-opening polymerization using a catalyst.

This mechanism does not generate additional water, and hence, a wide range of molecular weights are accessible. [bM 01/2009]

Starch propionate and starch butyrate | Starch propionate and starch butyrate can be synthesised by treating the à starch with propane or butanic acid. The product structure is still based on à starch. Every based à glucose fragment is connected with a propionate or butyrate ester group. The product is more hydrophobic than à starch.

Sustainable | An attempt to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future.

One of the most often cited definitions of sustainability is the one created by the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

The Brundtland Commission defined sustainable development as development that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainability relates to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment).

• International Trade in Raw Materials, Machinery & Products Free of Charge • Daily News from the Industrial Sector and the Plastics Markets

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Starch-ester | One characteristic of every starch-chain is a free hydroxyl group. When every hydroxyl group is connect with ethan acid one product is starch-ester with different chemical properties.

Yard Waste | Grass clippings, leaves, trimmings, garden residue.

c i t e n cs i t g s a a l M for P

Sorbitol | Sugar alcohol, obtained by reduction of glucose changing the aldehyde group to an additional hydroxyl group. S. is used as a plasticiser for bioplastics based on starch.

Starch (-derivate) | Starch (-derivates) are based on the chemical structure of à starch.

The chemical structure can be changed by introducing new functional groups without changing the à starch polymer. The product has different chemical qualities. Mostly the hydrophilic character is not the same.

Thermoplastics | Plastics which soften or melt when heated and solidify when cooled (solid at room temperature).

magnetic_148,5x105.ai 175.00 lpi 45.00° 15.00° 14.03.2009 75.00° 0.00° 14.03.2009 10:13:31 10:13:31 Prozess CyanProzess MagentaProzess GelbProzess Schwarz

Saccharins or carbohydrates | Saccharins or carbohydrates are name for the sugar-family.

Saccharins are monomer or polymer sugar units. For example, there are known mono-, di- and polysaccharose. à glucose is a monosaccarin. They are important for the diet and produced biology in plants.

Starch | Natural polymer (carbohydrate) consisting of à amylose and à amylopectin, gained from maize, potatoes, wheat, tapioca etc. When glucose is connected to polymerchains in definite way the result (product) is called starch. Each molecule is based on 300 -12000-glucose units. Depending on the connection, there are two types à amylose and à amylopectin known. [bM 05/2009]

Sustainability | (as defined by European Bioplastics e.V.) has three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. This has been known as “the triple bottom line of sustainability”. This means that sustainable development involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic prosperity, environmental protection and social equity. In other words, businesses have to expand their responsibility to include these environmental and social dimensions. Sustainability is about making products useful to markets and, at the same time, having societal benefits and lower environmental impact than the alternatives currently available. It also implies a commitment to continuous improvement that should result in a further reduction of the environmental footprint of today’s products, processes and raw materials used.

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Event Calendar

Event Calendar June 27-29, 2011 bioplastek An Interactive Forum on Bioplastics Today and Tomorrow The Waldorf-Astoria, New York City, USA www.bioplastek.com

July 6-7, 2011 4th International Conference Sustainable Materials, Polymers & Composites The Studio, Birmingham www.ecocomp-conference.com

new: Sept. 2011 Bioplastik: Verpackung der Zukunft?

Empa, St. Gallen, Saal C 3.11 www.empa.ch

Sept. 25-29, 2011 8th European Congress of Chemical Engineering and 1st European Congress of Applied Biotechnology Berlin, Germany www.dechema.de

Sept. 26-28, 2011 6th annual Biopolymers Symposium 2011 Learn how to reach 200+ bioplastics leaders Denver, Colorado www.biopolymersummit.com

You can meet us!

Please contact us in advance by e-mail.

Oct. 17-19, 2011 GPEC 2011 (SPE’s Global Plastics Environmental Conference) The Atlanta Peachtree Westin Hotel, Atlanta, GA, USA www.4spe.org

Nov. 22-23, 2011 6th European Bioplastics Conference Maritim proArte Hotel, Berlin, Germany www.european-bioplastics.org

Dec. 13-14, 2011 4. WPC Kongress Maritim Hotel Köln, Germany www.wpc-kongress.de

Feb. 20-22, 2012 Innovation Takes Root 2012 Omni ChampionsGate Resort in Orlando, Florida, USA. www.innovationtakesroot.com

April 1-5, 2012 NPE 2012 Orange County Convention Center · Orlando, Florida USA www.npe.org

Oct. 2-4, 2012 BioPlastics – The Re-Invention of Plastics Caesars Palace Hotel, Las Vegas, USA www.InnoPlastSolutions.com

Bilder: Werzalit, Kosche

Vierter Deutscher WPC-Kongress 13. und 14. Dezember 2011, Maritim Hotel, Köln

Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) sind thermoplastisch verarbeitbare Werkstoffe aus Holz und Kunststoff für die Branchen Bau, Möbel, Automobil, Konsumgüter, Verpackung und weitere. Mit einer Produktionsmenge von 170.000 t/Jahr sind WPC die wichtigsten und erfolgreichsten neuen Biowerkstoffe in Europa. ¢ Branchen und Anwendungen ¢ Marktsituation und Trends ¢ Verarbeitungsverfahren und Materialeigenschaften ¢ Forschung und Entwicklung ¢ WPC-Innovationspreis Praxisorientiert für Entwickler, Produzenten, Handel und Anwender.

Sponsor

Veranstalter

Vierter Deutscher WPC-Kongress (13. und 14. Dezember 2011, Maritim Hotel, Köln)

Bereits zum vierten Mal führt die nova-Institut GmbH am 13. und 14. Dezember 2011 den Deutschen WPC-Kongress durch.

Veranstaltungsort ist der große Saal im Kölner Maritim Hotel. Eine große Ausstellung, die Verleihung eines Innovationspreises für Produkt-, Technologie- und Verfahrensinnovation und begleitende Verbandsaktivitäten bilden den Rahmen dieser größten europäischen WPC-Veranstaltung.

Der Kongress greift vorrangig Themen der deutschsprachigen WPC-Branche auf, doch die Referenten, Aussteller und Teilnehmer sind international – alle Vorträge werden simultan übersetzt. Im Jahr 2009 besuchten 300 Teilnehmer den „Dritten Deutschen WPC-Kongress“ und machten ihn so zum größten Branchentreffpunkt zum Thema WPC in Europa.

Vorläufiges Programm

Referenten führender Unternehmen und Forschungseinrichtungen berichten über ihre neuesten Materialentwicklungen im Spritzguss, bei Fenster- und Fassadenelementen, Möbeln, bei Design und dem Einsatz von Biokunststoffen. Aktuelle Informationen zu Qualitätsstandards und neuen Märkten runden das Programm ab.

WPC-Innovationspreis

Auf dem Vierten Deutschen WPC-Kongress am 13. und 14. Dezember im Kölner Maritim Hotel wird zum 3. mal ein Innovationspreis für bereits realisierte oder kurz vor der Markteinführung stehende Produkt-, Verfahrens- oder Technologieinnovationen verliehen.

Der Wettbewerb möchte auf neue, materialgerechte Anwendungen und Märkte für Wood Plastic Composites (WPC) aufmerksam machen. Die Sieger werden vom nova-Institut auf und nach dem Kongress einem breiten Publikumskreis bekannt gemacht.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter www.wpc-kongress.de und www.bio-based.eu Ansprechpartner: Dipl.-Geogr. Dominik Vogt, Tel.: +49 (0) 2233 48 – 1449, dominik.vogt@nova-institut.de bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6 nova-Institut GmbH | Chemiepark Knapsack | Industriestraße 300 | 50354 Hürth | www.nova-institut.de/nr

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Suppliers Guide 1. Raw Materials 10

20

30

40

Showa Denko Europe GmbH Konrad-Zuse-Platz 4 81829 Munich, Germany Tel.: +49 89 93996226 www.showa-denko.com support@sde.de

Jean-Pierre Le Flanchec 3 rue Scheffer 75116 Paris cedex, France Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 23 00 Fax: +33 (0)1 53 65 81 99 biosphere@biosphere.eu www.biosphere.eu

FKuR Kunststoff GmbH Siemensring 79 D - 47 877 Willich Tel. +49 2154 9251-0 Tel.: +49 2154 9251-51 sales@fkur.com www.fkur.com

Sukano AG Chaltenbodenstrasse 23 CH-8834 Schindellegi Tel. +41 44 787 57 77 Fax +41 44 787 57 78 www.sukano.com 3. Semi finished products 3.1 films

50

60

70

80

90

DuPont de Nemours International S.A. 2 chemin du Pavillon 1218 - Le Grand Saconnex Switzerland Tel.: +41 22 171 51 11 Fax: +41 22 580 22 45 plastics@dupont.com www.renewable.dupont.com www.plastics.dupont.com

Kingfa Sci. & Tech. Co., Ltd. Gaotang Industrial Zone, Tianhe, Guangzhou, P.R.China.

Tel: +86 (0)20 87215915 Fax: +86 (0)20 87037111 info@ecopond.com.cn www.ecopond.com.cn FLEX-262/162 Biodegradable Blown Film Resin!

100

110

120

130

Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd Tel.: +86 13809644115 www.xinfupharm.com johnleung@xinfupharm.com

160

170

1.5 PHA

Natur-Tec® - Northern Technologies 4201 Woodland Road Circle Pines, MN 55014 USA Tel. +1 763.225.6600 Fax +1 763.225.6645 info@natur-tec.com www.natur-tec.com

Division of A&O FilmPAC Ltd 7 Osier Way, Warrington Road GB-Olney/Bucks.

MK46 5FP Tel.: +44 1234 714 477 Fax: +44 1234 713 221 sales@aandofilmpac.com www.bioresins.eu

Transmare Compounding B.V. Ringweg 7, 6045 JL Roermond, The Netherlands Tel. +31 475 345 900 Fax +31 475 345 910 info@transmare.nl www.compounding.nl

Telles, Metabolix – ADM joint venture 650 Suffolk Street, Suite 100 Lowell, MA 01854 USA Tel. +1-97 85 13 18 00 Fax +1-97 85 13 18 86 www.mirelplastics.com

PURAC division Arkelsedijk 46, P.O. Box 21 4200 AA Gorinchem The Netherlands Tel.: +31 (0)183 695 695 Fax: +31 (0)183 695 604 www.purac.com PLA@purac.com

1.3 PLA

1.2 compounds 180

190

200

210

API S.p.A. Via Dante Alighieri, 27 36065 Mussolente (VI), Italy Telephone +39 0424 579711 www.apiplastic.com www.apinatbio.com

220

230

240

250

Cereplast Inc. Tel: +1 310-676-5000 / Fax: -5003 pravera@cereplast.com www.cereplast.com European distributor A.Schulman : Tel +49 (2273) 561 236 Gradient Green 1 Pantone 376c christophe_cario@de.aschulman.com 50c0m100y0k 141r198g63b #8dc63f

260

270

60

Huhtamaki Forchheim Sonja Haug Zweibrückenstraße 15-25 91301 Forchheim Tel. +49-9191 81203 Fax +49-9191 811203 www.huhtamaki-films.com

www.earthfirstpla.com www.sidaplax.com www.plasticsuppliers.com Sidaplax UK : +44 (1) 604 76 66 99 Sidaplax Belgium: +32 9 210 80 10 Plastic Suppliers: +1 866 378 4178

1.1 bio based monomers

140

150

Grace Biotech Corporation Tel: +886-3-598-6496 No. 91, Guangfu N. Rd., Hsinchu Industrial Park,Hukou Township, Hsinchu County 30351, Taiwan sales@grace-bio.com.tw www.grace-bio.com.tw

Gradient Green 2 Pantone 356c 95c0m100y27k 0r133g63b #00853f

bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

Shenzhen Brightchina Ind. Co;Ltd www.brightcn.net www.esun.en.alibaba.com bright@brightcn.net Tel: +86-755-2603 1978 1.4 starch-based bioplastics

Tianan Biologic No. 68 Dagang 6th Rd, Beilun, Ningbo, China, 315800 Tel. +86-57 48 68 62 50 2 Fax +86-57 48 68 77 98 0 enquiry@tianan-enmat.com www.tianan-enmat.com 2. Additives / Secondary raw materials

Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients ZAC „Les Portes de Riom“ - BP 173 63204 Riom Cedex - France Tel. +33 (0)4 73 67 17 00 Fax +33 (0)4 73 67 17 10 www.biolice.com

PSM Bioplastic NA Chicago, USA www.psmna.com +1-630-393-0012 Solid Green Gray Pantone 362c 70c0m100y9k 73r169g66b #49a942

Pantone Cool Gray 5c 0c0m0y29k 190r192g194b #bec0c2

The HallStar Company 120 S. Riverside Plaza, Ste. 1620 Chicago, IL 60606, USA +1 312 385 4494 dmarshall@hallstar.com www.hallstar.com/hallgreen

Rhein Chemie Rheinau GmbH Duesseldorfer Strasse 23-27 68219 Mannheim, Germany Light Gray Pantone Cool Gray 2c Phone: +49 (0)621-8907-233 0c0m0y10k 230r231g232b Fax: +49 (0)621-8907-8233 #e6e7e8 bioadimide.eu@rheinchemie.com www.bioadimide.com

Taghleef Industries SpA, Italy Via E. Fermi, 46 33058 San Giorgio di Nogaro (UD) Contact Frank Ernst Tel. +49 2402 7096989 Mobile +49 160 4756573 frank.ernst@ti-films.com www.ti-films.com 3.1.1 cellulose based films

INNOVIA FILMS LTD Wigton Cumbria CA7 9BG England Contact: Andy Sweetman Tel. +44 16973 41549 Fax +44 16973 41452 andy.sweetman@innoviafilms.com www.innoviafilms.com 4. Bioplastics products

alesco GmbH & Co. KG Schönthaler Str. 55-59 D-52379 Langerwehe Sales Germany: +49 2423 402 110 Sales Belgium: +32 9 2260 165 Sales Netherlands: +31 20 5037 710 info@alesco.net | www.alesco.net

Suppliers Guide 8. Ancillary equipment 9. Services Postbus 26 7480 AA Haaksbergen The Netherlands Tel.: +31 616 121 843 info@bio4pack.com www.bio4pack.com

Simply contact:

Tel.: +49 02351 67100-0 suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com

President Packaging Ind., Corp.

PLA Paper Hot Cup manufacture In Taiwan, www.ppi.com.tw Tel.: +886-6-570-4066 ext.5531 Fax: +886-6-570-4077 sales@ppi.com.tw 6. Equipment

Osterfelder Str. 3 46047 Oberhausen Tel.: +49 (0)2861 8598 1227 Fax: +49 (0)2861 8598 1424 thomas.wodke@umsicht.fhg.de www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de

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6.1 Machinery & Molds

Eco Cortec® 31 300 Beli Manastir Bele Bartoka 29 Croatia, MB: 1891782 Tel. +385 31 705 011 Fax +385 31 705 012 info@ecocortec.hr www.ecocortec.hr

Minima Technology Co., Ltd. Esmy Huang, Marketing Manager No.33. Yichang E. Rd., Taipin City, Taichung County 411, Taiwan (R.O.C.) Tel. +886(4)2277 6888 Fax +883(4)2277 6989 Mobil +886(0)982-829988 esmy@minima-tech.com Skype esmy325 www.minima-tech.com

NOVAMONT S.p.A. Via Fauser , 8 28100 Novara - ITALIA Fax +39.0321.699.601 Tel. +39.0321.699.611 www.novamont.com

WEI MON INDUSTRY CO., LTD. 2F, No.57, Singjhong Rd., Neihu District, Taipei City 114, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel. + 886 - 2 - 27953131 Fax + 886 - 2 - 27919966 sales@weimon.com.tw www.plandpaper.com

FAS Converting Machinery AB O Zinkgatan 1/ Box 1503 27100 Ystad, Sweden Tel.: +46 411 69260 www.fasconverting.com

nova-Institut GmbH Chemiepark Knapsack Industriestrasse 300 50354 Huerth, Germany Tel.: +49(0)2233-48-14 40 Fax: +49(0)2233-48-14 5

Polymedia Publisher GmbH Dammer Str. 112 41066 Mönchengladbach Germany Tel. +49 2161 664864 Fax +49 2161 631045 info@bioplasticsmagazine.com www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

10

39 mm

Cortec® Corporation 4119 White Bear Parkway St. Paul, MN 55110 Tel. +1 800.426.7832 Fax 651-429-1122 info@cortecvci.com www.cortecvci.com

20

30

39

Molds, Change Parts and Turnkey Solutions for the PET/Bioplastic Container Industry 284 Pinebush Road Cambridge Ontario Canada N1T 1Z6 Tel. +1 519 624 9720 Fax +1 519 624 9721 info@hallink.com www.hallink.com

Roll-o-Matic A/S Petersmindevej 23 5000 Odense C, Denmark Tel. + 45 66 11 16 18 Fax + 45 66 14 32 78 rom@roll-o-matic.com www.roll-o-matic.com

MANN+HUMMEL ProTec GmbH Stubenwald-Allee 9 64625 Bensheim, Deutschland Tel. +49 6251 77061 0 Fax +49 6251 77061 510 info@mh-protec.com www.mh-protec.com 6.2 Laboratory Equipment

MODA : Biodegradability Analyzer Saida FDS Incorporated 3-6-6 Sakae-cho, Yaizu, Shizuoka, Japan Tel : +81-90-6803-4041 info@saidagroup.jp www.saidagroup.jp

Bioplastics Consulting Tel. +49 2161 664864 info@polymediaconsult.com 10. Institutions 10.1 Associations

Sample Charge: 39mm x 6,00 € = 234,00 € per entry/per issue

Sample Charge for one year: 6 issues x 234,00 EUR = 1,404.00 € The entry in our Suppliers Guide is bookable for one year (6 issues) and extends automatically if it’s not canceled three month before expiry.

BPI - The Biodegradable Products Institute 331 West 57th Street, Suite 415 New York, NY 10019, USA Tel. +1-888-274-5646 info@bpiworld.org

www.facebook.com www.issuu.com www.twitter.com

European Bioplastics e.V. Marienstr. 19/20 10117 Berlin, Germany Tel. +49 30 284 82 350 Fax +49 30 284 84 359 info@european-bioplastics.org www.european-bioplastics.org

www.youtube.com

10.2 Universities

Michigan State University Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science Professor Ramani Narayan East Lansing MI 48824, USA Tel. +1 517 719 7163 narayan@msu.edu

7. Plant engineering

Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH Holzhauser Str. 157 - 159 13509 Berlin, Germany Tel. +49 (0)30 43567 5 Fax +49 (0)30 43567 699 sales.de@thyssenkrupp.com www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com

University of Applied Sciences Faculty II, Department of Bioprocess Engineering Heisterbergallee 12 30453 Hannover, Germany Tel. +49 (0)511-9296-2212 Fax +49 (0)511-9296-2210 hans-josef.endres@fh-hannover.de www.fakultaet2.fh-hannover.de

bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

61

Companies in this issue Company

Editorial

A&O Filmpac Alento

Advert

Company

60

narocon

53

NatureWorks

5, 13, 16, 22, 32, 36, 37

38

Editorial

Alesco

60

Natur-Tec

API

60

NHH Ngai Hing Hong

31

60

Ashland

26

NIA National Innovation Agency

46

ATB

53

nova-Institut

8, 52

Avantium

7

Novamont

Bayer

6

PepsiCo

15

Bio4Pack

61

PETnology/tecPET

5

19

PHB Industries Brazil

45

Bioger Biotechnology

19, 30

Plantic

19

Biomer

45

Plastic Suppliers 60

Plasticker

Biosphere

60

PolyOne Shenzhen

Biostarch

19

60 57 31

President Packaging

61

BPI

61

PSM

Braskem

21

PTT

6

33, 60

Cardia Bioplastics

29

Purac

40

CAT Catalytic Center

6

Ravenstijn Biopolymer Consultant

53

Cereplast

10

Cibra

36

Roll-o-Matic

Clever Consult

52

RWE

6

Coca-Cola

15

RWTH Aachen

6

1, 60

Cortec

61

Danone

3, 14, 18, 32

DSM

24

RheinChemie

60 49, 60 61

Saida

61

Schorm Gesellschaft

35

Sezersan

19

DuPont

60

Shenzen Green WorldGuangzhou Bio-plus

29

Eco Cortec

61

Shenzhen Ecomann

30

51

Shenzhen Esun

30, 36

60

Shouzhou Hanfeng New Material

29

Ecocert Greenlife

13

European Bioplastics

7, 18, 50

European Plastics News

37

55, 61

Showa Denko

FAS Converting FKuR

13

Florex

34

Fraunhofer UMSICHT

60

61

Sidaplax

2, 60

SK Chemicals

30

SK Innovation

29

Stonyfield

15

61

60

FSP - Full Service Packaging

34

Sukano

German Federal Environment Ministry

5

Sumitomo SHI Demag Plastics Mach.

38

60

Grace Bio

60

Suzhou HiPro

29

Hallink

61

Synbra

19

Hallstar

60

Synprodo

19

Hapece

34

Taghleef Industries

36

Henkel

15

TCKT Transfercenter f. Kunststofftechnik

35

Huhtamaki

Tecnaro

39

ICI

43

60

Teijin Chemicals

31

IK Plastics Packaging Industry Association

5

Teknor Apex

16

Innovia Films

34, 50

Telles

45

JBA Japan Bioindustry Association

22

Texocon

35

Kaneka

19, 45

Tianan Biologic

45

Kapiteyn

34

Toray Industries

29

Kesko

19

Track & Field

35

Kingfa Sci. & Tech.

31

Leoplast

12

Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients

20

17, 60

60

Transmare University of Appl.Sc.&A. Hanover

7, 42

61

University of Bath

36

34

USDA

5

Mapag Maschinen

39

VTT

20

MBM

30

Wei Mon

MedKonPack

20

Wella

43

Meridian

45

Wentus Kunststoff

20

Metabolix

43

Wuhan Huali (PSM)

29

61

WWF

32

60

Minima Technology

Zeijang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharmaceutical

20, 30

6

Zeijang Hisun

31

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical

45

Zeneca

43

Monsanto

43

Editorial Planner 2011 Month

Publ.-Date

Edit/Ad/Deadl. Editorial Focus (1)

Editorial Focus (2)

Basics

08.07.2011

End-of-Life Options

Stretch Blow Moulding

Bottles / Blow Moulding

Sep/Oct 04.10.2011

09.09.2011

Fibers / Textiles / Nonwovens Paper Coating

Algae

Nov/Dec 05.12.2011

11.11.2011

Films / Flexibles / Bags

Film-Blowing

bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/11] Vol. 6

Consumer Electronics

60

61

23, 61

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation

Jul/Aug 01.08.2011

60, 63

61

60

Mantel Holland

Michigan State University

13, 60

60

Uhde Inventa-Fischer

Mann + Hummel

62

59, 61 61, 64

BioBag

Bioresins.eu

Advert

33, 60 60

A real sign of sustainable development.

There is such a thing as genuinely sustainable development.

Since 1989, Novamont researchers have been working on an ambitious project that combines the chemical industry, agriculture and the environment: "Living Chemistry for Quality of Life". Its objective has been to create products with a low environmental impact. The result of Novamont's innovative research is the new bioplastic Mater-Bi 速.

Mater-Bi 速 is a family of materials, completely biodegradable and compostable which contain renewable raw materials such as starch and vegetable oil derivates. Mater-Bi 速 performs like traditional plastics but it saves energy, contributes to reducing the greenhouse effect and at the end of its life cycle, it closes the loop by changing into fertile humus. Everyone's dream has become a reality.

Mater-Bi速: certified biodegradable and compostable.

Living Chemistry for Quality of Life. www.novamont.com

Inventor of the year 2007