bioplastics MAGAZINE 05-2012

05 | 2012

ISSN 1862-5258

September / October

Basics

bioplastics

magazine

Vol. 7

Plastics from CO2 | 44

Highlights Fibers / Textiles | 16 Polyurethanes / Elastomers | 34 Cover-Story Textile bio-based materials design challenge | 16 1 countries

... is read in 9

FKuR plastics - made by nature!® Hot Deal: ‚Take five‘ in one film!

• Monofilm • Transparent • Tough • Breathable • 70% biobased

New PLA-Compounds for high toughness!

FKuR Kunststoff GmbH Siemensring 79 D - 47877 Willich Phone: +49 2154 92 51-0 Fax: +49 2154 92 51-51 sales@fkur.com

Office Scandinavia Polymerfront AB Cedar Park, TX 78613 | USA Getå Gunnarstorp 1 616 90 Åby • Sweden bjarne.hogstrom@sales.fkur.com

www.fkur.com

Editorial

dear readers Are plastics made from CO2 to be considered as bioplastics? Not necessarily, I would say. If these plastics are in fact biodegradable they would fall under our definition of bioplastics (see our revised and extended ‘Glossary 3.0’ on page 50ff). And if such plastics are made from CO2 that comes, via combustion or other chemical processes, from fossil based raw materials, we should at least avoid calling call them biobased. Nevertheless, I believe that the use of such CO2 to make plastics (or other useful products) and so prevent, or at least delay, the CO2 from entering the atmosphere, is a good approach in the sense of our overall objectives. It will certainly require further evaluation and even standardisation until CO2 based plastics can/will be defined as a new (bio-) plastic class or category.

Plastics produced from CO2, definitely one of the major topics in this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE, is accompanied by further highlights. In several articles we report about biobased polyurethanes and elastomers and we present some articles about fibres and textile applications.

In this issue we also present the five finalists for the 7th Bioplastics Award. The number of entries was not as large as in previous years, however I doubt that the innovative power of this industry is flagging. So we kindly ask all of you to keep your eyes open and report interesting innovations that have a significant market relevance whenever you see them. The 8th Bioplastics Award is definitely coming. The 7th ‘Bioplastics Oskar’ will be presented on November 6th in Berlin at the European Bioplastics Conference.

Follow us on twitter!

www.twitter.com/bioplasticsmag

Until then, we hope you enjoy reading bioplastics MAGAZINE

Sincerely yours

Be our friend on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine

Michael Thielen

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

3

4

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

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

Photo: iStockphoto.com/mumininan

Cover

A part of this print run is mailed to the readers wrapped in biodegradable envelopes sponsored and produced by Flexico Verpackungen Deutschland and Maropack

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.

September/October

bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 91 countries.

05|2012

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

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

This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (149 Euro for 6 issues).

bioplastics magazine

Tölkes Druck + Medien GmbH 47807 Krefeld, Germany Print run: 4,200 copies

Print

Elke Hoffmann, Caroline Motyka phone: +49(0)2161-6884467 fax: +49(0)2161 6884468 eh@bioplasticsmagazine.com

Media Adviser

Polymedia Publisher GmbH Dammer Str. 112 41066 Mönchengladbach, Germany phone: +49 (0)2161 6884469 +49 (0)2161 6884468 fax: info@bioplasticsmagazine.com www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

Head Office

Julia Hunold, Mark Speckenbach

Layout/Production

Dr. Michael Thielen (MT) Samuel Brangenberg (SB)

Publisher / Editorial

Imprint Content

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05 - 10 Application News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 - 22

Material News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 - 35

Suppliers Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 - 56

Event Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Companies in this issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Events 12 Will bioplastics benefit from Olympic boost?

Bioplastics Award 14 Bioplastics Award Shortlist

Fibres & Textiles 16 Textile bio-based materials design challenge

18 Bioplastics – to be walked all over

Materials

24 PBS production

26 From meat waste to bioplastics

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

36 A new compostable TPE

38 PPC polyol from CO2

40 Polyurethanes from orange peel and CO2

42 Renewable building blocks for polyurethanes

Basics

43 No ‘greenwashing‘ with bioplastics

44 Plastics made from CO2

48 Sustainable Plastic from CO2 Waste

Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/bioplastics-MAGAZINE/103745406344904

News

Metabolix to cooperate with Antibióticos

Bio-based acrylic acid

Metabolix, Inc. (Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA), announced end of July that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Antibióticos S.A. for production of Mirel™ biopolymer resin (PHA) at its manufacturing facility in Leon, Spain.

Presently, acrylic acid is produced by the oxidation of propylene derived from the refining of crude oil.

BASF (Ludwigshafen, Germany), Cargill (Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) and Novozymes (Copenhagen, Denmark) signed an agreement in mid-August to develop bio-based technologies to produce acrylic acid from renewable feedstocks.

Under the terms of the LOI, Metabolix will begin work immediately with Antibióticos to conduct a series of validation production runs to demonstrate fermentation and recovery of Mirel biopolymer resin on full productionscale equipment at Antibióticos. The companies plan to enter into a definitive contract manufacturing agreement for Mirel biopolymers based upon the validation production runs as well as completion of economic and engineering feasibility studies. Metabolix will own the Mirel biopolymer resin produced during the validation production runs.

“The cooperation combines BASF’s global market strength and innovation power with the excellent knowhow and competencies of Novozymes and Cargill who are global leaders in their respective industry segments.

Together we are uniquely positioned to more sustainably meet market and society needs”, said Michael Heinz, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE.

New milestone towards commercialization

“The agreement with Antibióticos represents a significant step forward in establishing a new supply chain for Mirel biopolymers to serve our customers worldwide and to continue product development in high value-added applications,” said Richard P. Eno, president and chief executive officer of Metabolix. “In addition, Antibióticos is located in the European Union near many of our targeted customers. We are impressed with the track record, technical expertise and facilities at Antibioticos, and believe their equipment is well-suited to the manufacturing process used to produce Mirel biopolymers at commercial scale.”

Novozymes and Cargill have collaborated on renewable acrylic acid technology since 2008. Both companies have worked to develop microorganisms that can efficiently convert renewable feedstock into 3-hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP), which is one possible chemical precursor to acrylic acid. BASF has now joined the collaboration to develop the process for conversion of 3-HP into acrylic acid. BASF is the world´s largest producer of acrylic acid and has substantial capabilities in its production and downstream processing. The company plans initially to use the bio-based acrylic acid to manufacture superabsorbent polymers.

“This agreement brings together our experience and technical capacity with Metabolix’s technology and processes in a way that supports the values and vision of both companies,” said Daniele Pucci Di Benisichi, president of Antibióticos. “The first step of our work with Metabolix will be to validate their technology in our facility. Then, we’ll look ahead to creating a contract manufacturing agreement. Antibióticos follows a very demanding and selective approach for new projects and partners, and we’re particularly pleased to be working with Metabolix to deepen our work in sustainable technologies and diversify our business portfolio.”

The three companies bring complementary knowledge to the project. Novozymes, the world-leader in industrial enzymes, has years of experience with developing technologies for bio-based production of chemicals used in plastics, ingredients, etc.. Cargill brings its global expertise in sourcing renewable feedstocks and largescale fermentation to this collaborative project.

Mirel biopolymers are based on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), biobased, uniquely biodegradable, and suitable for a wide range of product applications. Metabolix has previously demonstrated production of Mirel biopolymer resin at industrial scale. Metabolix is currently supplying Mirel biopolymer resin to customers from existing inventory of approximately 2,300 tonnes (5 million pounds). MT www.metabolix.com www.antibioticos-sa.com

Acrylic acid is a high-volume chemical that feeds into a broad range of products. One of the main applications is in the manufacture of superabsorbent polymers that can soak up large amounts of liquid and are used mainly in baby diapers and other hygiene products. Acrylic acid is also used in adhesive raw materials and coatings. The annual global market volume of acrylic acid is around 4.5 million tons with a value of $11 billion1 at the end of 2011. The market has been growing at a rate of 4 percent per year. MT www.basf.com. www.cargill.com www.novozymes.com.

1

Based on ICIS pricing

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

5

News BASF’s biodegradable plastic Ecovio® FS Paper took center stage in a pilot project involving disposable and biodegradable tableware during the ADAC Masters Weekend motorsport event (August 24 to 26) at the German race track Lausitzring. During the weekend, the Polster Catering company (Lichtenstein, Germany) only used cardboard trays and paper plates that were compostable. Cups will follow suit next season.

Photo: Lausitzring/BASF

Waste from the race

The disposable tableware, manufactured by Hosti (Pfedelbach, Germany), is made of paper that is coated with a thin layer of Ecovio FS Paper, a blend of partially biobased PBAT Ecoflex® FS and PLA. This creates disposable tableware made from more than 90% organic raw materials, the plastic coating consisting of more than 50% renewable raw materials, but 100% compostable. The tableware with this special plastic coating does not soak through and does not have to be incinerated – as is usually the case – after being used. Instead, it can be processed along with the organic waste in order to yield valuable compost. This high-quality soil is subsequently used again at the Lausitzring in order to upgrade the soil that has been stressed by the open-cast mining in that area. The Lausitzring is the first large-scale event location in Europe to introduce such a closed loop system, wich is part of the ‘Green Lausitzring’. This project is supporting and testing environmentally friendly technologies.

Using – collecting – composting

www.lausitzring.de www.kuvbb.de www.ecovio.de

The caterers collected the disposable tableware (charged with a € 1.00 deposit per item), together with the food residues, in likewise compostable trash bags and transported them to a nearby composting plant. The operators of the composting plant have set aside a dedicated area for composting the organic waste from the Lausitzring, where the degradation behavior can be precisely monitored and controlled. Consequently, this pilot project serves not only to underscore an active commitment to saving resources in the realm of motorsports but also to study the degradation behavior of large quantities of trays and plates that have been coated with Ecovio FS Paper. This study is being conducted by the Department of Waste Management and Material Flow of the University of Rostock in Germany.

Pilot project: compostable and disposable tableware at large-scale events Photo: EuroSpeedway Verwaltungs GmbH / Tino Hanf

6

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Numerous pilot projects have already enabled BASF to demonstrate that organic waste bags made of Ecovio FS degrade within a short period of time in industrial composting plants.

Ecovio is a plastic that meets the strict statutory stipulations of European standard EN 13432 for the biodegradability and compostability of packaging. The pilot experiment at the Lausitzring is the first of its kind to test how disposable tableware with an Ecovio FS Paper coating can be composted in large quantities. Together with its cooperation partners, BASF intends to expand this closed-loop concept for biodegradable disposable tableware along the entire value-added chain, so that it can be deployed at large-scale events in stadiums or at trade fairs, or else in (fast-food) restaurants, office complexes, hospitals or leisure & sports centers. MT

News

Bioplastics from Starbucks waste Starbucks Corporation, coffee giant headquartedered in Seattle, Washington, USA is trying to improve ways to handle their waste streams. One important step is the cooperation with biorefinery scientists to transform food waste from their stores into succinic acid, a key ingredient for making plastics and other useful products. This food waste could for example be the huge amount of stale bakery goods worldwide not only from Starbucks that might otherwise be wasted.

A research team led by Carol S. K. Lin, Ph.D reported about a project launched in cooperation with Starbucks that is concerned with sustainability and seeking a use for this kind of food waste, at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (19-23 August 2012, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.).

The idea took shape during a meeting last summer between representatives of the nonprofit organization called The Climate Group and Lin at her laboratory at the City University of Hong Kong. The Climate Group asked her about applying her special transformative technology to the wastes of one of its members — Starbucks Hong Kong. To help jump-start the research, Starbucks Hong Kong donated a portion of the proceeds from each purchase of its ‘Care for Our Planet Cookies’ gift set.

“We are developing a new kind of food biorefinery, and this concept could become very important in the future, as the world strives for greater sustainability,” Lin explained. “Using corn and other food crops for bio-based fuels and other products may not be sustainable in the long-run. Using waste food as the raw material in a biorefinery certainly would be an attractive alternative.”

(Photos below: Starbucks)

Lin described the food biorefinery process, which involves blending the baked goods with a mixture of fungi that excrete enzymes to break down carbohydrates in the food into simple sugars. The blend then goes into a fermenter, a vat where bacteria convert the sugars into succinic acid that can be used as one ingredient for the production of a number of bioplastics.

The method isn’t just for Starbucks and of course not limited to bakery waste — Lin has also successfully transformed food wastes from her university’s cafeteria and other mixed food wastes into useful substances with the technology.

Lin said that the process could become commercially viable on a much larger scale with additional funding from investors.

“In the meantime, our next step is to use funding we have from the Innovation and Technology Commission from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to scale up the process,” she said. “Also, other funding has been applied to test this idea in a pilot-scale plant in Germany.”

The scientists acknowledged support from the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITS/323/11) in Hong Kong, as well as a grant from the City University of Hong Kong (Project No. 7200248).

MT

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

7

News

Ingeo Biopolymer Stable in Landfills A peer-reviewed article appearing in the journal of Polymer Degradation and Stability concludes that Ingeo™ PLA is essentially stable in landfills with no statistically significant quantity of methane released. This conclusion was reached after a series of tests to ASTM D5526 and D5511 standards that simulated a century’s worth of landfill conditions.

“This research is the latest in a series of NatureWorks initiatives aimed at understanding and documenting the full sustainability picture of products made from Ingeo,” said Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO, NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnesota). “We work with a cradle-tocradle approach to zero waste. What this means in terms of landfill diversion, for example, is ideally that Ingeo foodservice ware would be composted (…), and that (other products made of) Ingeo resins and fibers would be mechanically or chemically recycled and not landfilled.

However, these systems are still emerging and developing.

The reality today is that a percentage of Ingeo products end up in landfills. And now we can say with certainty that the environmental impact of that landfilling, in terms of greenhouse gas release, is not significant.”

Verbruggen added that several months ago Ingeo was the first biopolymer to receive tandem certifications for sustainable agricultural practices in growing feedstock.

“NatureWorks is looking at sustainability from a 360-degree perspective – from sustainable agriculture to facilitating sustainable end-of-life scenarios for Ingeo bioplastic and fiber.”

Conditions in landfills can vary considerably by geography, management practices, and age of waste. As a result, researchers Jeffery J. Kolstad, Erwin T.H. Vink and Bruno De Wilde, and Lies Debeer of Belgium-based Organic Waste Systems performed two different series of tests spanning a broad spectrum of conditions. The first was at 21˚ C (69.8˚ F) for 390 days at three moisture levels. The first series did not show any statistically significant generation of biogas, so the team decided to push the stress tests to a higher and more aggressive level and instituted a series of high solids anaerobic digestion tests. Today, some landfills are actively managed to act as ‘bioreactors’ to intentionally promote microbial degradation of the waste, with collection and utilization of the by-product gas. To capture this scenario, the second series of tests were designed to simulate high solids anaerobic digestion under optimal and significantly accelerated conditions and were performed at 35˚C (95˚ F) for 170 days. While there was ‘some’ biogas released in this aggressive series of tests, the amount released was not statistically significant according to the peer reviewed research paper. Both series of tests

were designed to represent an examination of what could happen under a range of significantly accelerated anaerobic landfill conditions and were roughly equivalent to 100 years of conditions in a biologically active landfill. MT www.natureworksllc.com www.ows.be

Info:

Download the complete 10-page study http://tinyurl.com/PLA-landfill

Biolice project launched in Brazil Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients (Ennezat, France) has just launched its industrial project to build a biolice bioplastic granules factory in Pato Branco, Brazil. These granules are made from corn flour and are biodegradable/ compostable, with the project being carried out in conjunction with the Guerra family, which is already working with Limagrain in corn seeds in Brazil.

This 2,000 m2 factory will start operating in a year’s time, with a production capacity of 8,000 tonnes of biolice.

The total amount invested has not been disclosed.

Damien Bourgarel, VP for the Cereal Ingredients Division: “It is a great pleasure for me to lay the first stone of the bioplastic granules factory, which will play a part in forming a genuine waste composting chain in Pato Branco, with the Guerra family, which is leading the way in agri-business in Brazil. This partnership sees Limagrain providing the fruits of its research conducted over more than 10 years in biolice granules, which were first created in France, as well as its technical know-how and marketing methods. Alongside, the Guerra family will be providing its knowledge of the Brazilian market and access to a local production chain”.

He added that “Our aim for biolice is to become globally involved in biodegradable plastics. Like India and China, Brazil is a target country for the biolice biodegradable and compostable raw material”. MT www.limagrain.com

8

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

News

Environmental Communications Workshop False or misleading communication of environmental product properties is a widespread problem in the marketplace.

An almost fully biobased tailgate The German Fourmotors racing team, famous for its biodiesel driven Bioconcept Car (see for example bM 01/2007, 01/2010 and 01/2012), and now closely cooperating with IfBB (Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, Hanover University, Germany) have proudly announced the next step in their joint development. In early September, the first biobased vehicle tailgate was presented to representatives of the press on the German racetrack - the Hockenheim-Ring. The project is co-funded by FNR (the agency for renewable resources, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV)) The tailgate, which was already made from natural fibre reinforced petroleum-based resins, is now being produced from linen (flax fibres) and an epoxy resin made from renewable resources. “The amount of biobased components in the resin is currently at 45%, i.e. together with the natural fibers 75% in the composite, and we are constantly researching ways to increase this ratio with regard to the material performance,” says Professor Hans-Josef Endres of IfBB. For example the flax fibres are woven in a special twill-weave that allows the textile to be draped into the desired 3D-shapes. Currently still hand-laminated, as there are only a few parts needed for the racing car, IfBB is certainly also evaluating series production methods such as RTM and injection moulding of thermoplastic natural fiber reinforced biocomposites for the mass production of such parts.

Motorsports have always been a playground and cutting-edge for innovative developments that finally found their way into automotive series production. The testing conditions for automotive components are definitely much tougher than normal traffic conditions. “Ten rounds on the famous ’Nordschleife‘ at the Nürburgring can be compared to about 10,000 kilometres in everyday traffic,“ says Tom von Löwis, head of Fourmotors.

In line with its initiative for good environmental communication (see p. 43), European Bioplastics; the association for the European bioplastics industry; announce its 1st Workshop on Environmental Communication for bioplastics.

The workshop will take place on 5th November 2012 at the Maritim proArte Hotel in Berlin, Germany (one day prior to the annual European Bioplastics Conference).

Who should attend and what to expect Generally the workshop is open to everybody interested in the topic of environmental communication for bioplastics. However, the primary target group of this workshop are communications and marketing experts, brand managers and product designers of or interested in the bioplastics industry.

The half-day workshop, 9.30 am (registration from 9:00) to 2 pm, will cover a number of examples after an introduction regarding environmental communication rules in general and specific for bioplastics benchmark. In the second phase of the workshop, the participants will focus in smaller groups on assigned environmental communication cases. The workshop will end with the presentation and discussion of the developed solutions.

40 places are available, more details and registration via the website www.european-bioplastics.org/ecg.

Thus the biobased tailgate is just one of a multitude of automotive plastic applications that can be converted into biobased versions.

The team around IfBB and Fourmotors will continue their work. bioplastics MAGAZINE will report on the project in more detail in issue 01/2013. MT www.fourmotors.com www.ifbb-hannover.de

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

9

News

NatureWorks broadens portfolio Sulzer Chemtech (Winterthur, Switzerland) has shipped proprietary production equipment to NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA) facility in Blair, Nebraska that will enable NatureWorks to increase production of Ingeo™ PLA biopolymer and produce new, highperformance resins and lactides.

Nameplate production capacity will rise by 10,000 to 150,000 tonnes per annum. Commissioning is expected in the first quarter of 2013 with capacity increases and new products becoming available in the second quarter.

Both companies have been working on the project for more than a year. Each company has contributed to the project with NatureWorks bringing its operational experience and intellectual property in lactides processing, and Sulzer bringing its proprietary equipment and engineering design expertise in this field. NatureWorks owns patents to the new process, to which Sulzer has exclusive sublicensing rights worldwide. Technical and financial details, however, were not disclosed. 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

c i t e n tics g s a a l P M for • International Trade in Raw Materials, Machinery & Products Free of Charge • Daily News from the Industrial Sector and the Plastics Markets • Current Market Prices for Plastics.

• Buyer’s Guide for Plastics & Additives, Machinery & Equipment, Subcontractors and Services.

er.com lastick www.p

• Job Market for Specialists and Executive Staff in the Plastics Industry

sional Profes Fast • • te a d Up-to-

10

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

New polymer grades With the new technology, NatureWorks will be introducing new high-performance Ingeo PLA grades in the injection molding and fibers arenas. New injection molding grades Ingeo 3100HP and 3260HP are designed for use in medium and high flow nucleated formulations to provide an excellent balance of mechanical and thermal properties, while delivering up to 75% time savings over formulations based on current grades. Heat distortion temperatures (HDT/B @ 0.46 MPa) are expected to be 15°C higher than what is achievable today.

Fibers and nonwoven products made from the new Ingeo grades 6260D and 6100D will have reduced shrinkage and better dimensional stability. These improved features are expected to enable Ingeo use across a broader range of fiber and nonwoven applications and provide larger processing windows in fiber spinning and downstream conversion processes. NatureWorks also will assess new market and application opportunities for the technology in other processes, including thermoforming, film extrusion, blow molding and profile extrusion.

New lactide NatureWorks will be the world’s first and only company to offer commercial quantities of a high-purity, polymergrade lactide rich in the stereoisomer meso-lactide.

Identified as Ingeo M700 lactide, this unique, new commercial material will be used as an intermediate for copolymers, amorphous resins, grafted substrates, resin additives/modifiers, adhesives, coatings, elastomers, surfactants, thermosets and solvents.

Several producers have addressed the functionality requested by the market with what are described chemically as racemic lactides. “Compared to these, the high-purity Ingeo M700 will be easier to process and an overall cost effective alternative to racemic, Land D-lactides in a host of industrial applications,” said Dr. Manuel Natal, global segment leader for lactide derivatives at NatureWorks. MT www.natureworksllc.com www.sulzer.com

Polylactic Acid Uhde Inventa-Fischer has expanded its product portfolio to include the innovative stateof-the-art PLAneo ® process. The feedstock for our PLA process is lactic acid, which can be produced from local agricultural products containing starch or sugar.

The application range of PLA is similar to that of polymers based on fossil resources as its physical properties can be tailored to meet packaging, textile and other requirements.

Think. Invest. Earn.

Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH Holzhauser Strasse 157–159 13509 Berlin Germany Tel. +49 30 43 567 5 Fax +49 30 43 567 699 Uhde Inventa-Fischer AG Via Innovativa 31 7013 Domat/Ems Switzerland Tel. +41 81 632 63 11 Fax +41 81 632 74 03 marketing@uhde-inventa-fischer.com www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com

Uhde Inventa-Fischer

Events

Will bioplastics benefit from Olympic boost?

By Matthew Aylott Science Writer for the NNFCC Heslington, York, UK

D

r John Williams, Head of Materials at bioeconomy consultants NNFCC and adviser to the London Organising Committee to the Olympic Games (LOCOG) discusses the role of sustainable packaging at the Games and asks: “Where do we go from here?”

LOCOG wanted to devise a system for packaging that would help the organisers reduce waste to zero. If successful it would be the very first time an Olympic Games would deliver zero waste.

This was no small task considering more than 3,300 tonnes of food and food related packaging waste would be created during the games. Tackling this problem would require an entirely new approach to packaging and waste management.

NNFCC along with members of the Renewable Packaging Group and the wider waste and packaging industries worked with LOCOG to find a solution that was both economically viable and would help the organisers meet their ambitious environmental targets.

Following these discussions LOCOG decided to use recyclable packaging and where that wasn’t possible they would use EN 13432 certified compostable packaging. This would allow the majority of food packaging waste to be recycled or turned into compost.

New approach to packaging Making the vision a reality would be a challenge but if successful would have a huge impact on the future of packaging at events.

In February this year London Bio Packaging was appointed as non-sponsor food packaging suppliers to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The company develops finished products that provide recyclable or compostable alternatives to less sustainable packaging materials.

Compostable packaging was used because it helps to tackle one of the most challenging problems facing event organisers; how do you cut waste from difficult to recycle packaging streams like materials which become contaminated with food?

This was particularly problematic for the Olympics, with an estimated 40% of waste generated during the Games coming from food or contaminated packaging. Compostable packaging offers a natural solution to this problem as it can be mixed with organic waste and the two can be composted together.

12

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Events

Many of the compostable materials used at the Olympics – such as cutlery and cups – were manufactured by Italian bioplastics specialists Novamont. Their Managing Director Catia Bastioli said: “We need to take stock and show greater awareness regarding the issue of the ‘end-of-life’ of so many everyday products and, therefore, the waste we produce and dispose of.”

“We believe that bioplastics have a part to play in providing the solution to some aspects of this matter, thanks to the fact they can be sent for composting together with organic waste”, she added.

Novamont’s Mater-Bi® bioplastic is partly made from renewable raw materials and is versatile enough to produce a range of different materials – making it ideal for the Olympics.

This also lead to Olympic commercial partner McDonald’s appointing Novamont to make their cutlery, straws, cups, lids and containers.

“Many McDonald’s items were already compliant with the EN13432 compostability standards but did not have the certification. We obtained this by working alongside our suppliers for almost two years, with considerable investment in research and development,” explained McDonald’s environment consultant Helen McFarlane.

But making the materials recyclable or compostable is only half the challenge, making sure it finds its way to the right destination is just as important.

Disposal Organisers strategically positioned nearly 4,000 recycling, composting and residual waste bins in the busiest areas of footfall across all the Olympic venues. There were green bins for recyclable packaging, orange bins for compostables and smaller black bins for any residual waste – which would be used to generate energy rather than being landfilled.

All packaging materials were clearly labelled according to their composition to help visitors identify which bin they should be placed in and, while there was some evidence to suggest this wasn’t strictly adhered to, waste had generally ended up in the correct bin.

Paper was separated and recycled locally, while PET plastic was recycled by Coca Cola at its new £15 million Continuum Recycling plant in Lincolnshire, UK. Coca Cola aim to convert all PET disposed of in the Olympic Park into new bottles within six weeks.

Waste management company Countrystyle handled the compostable packaging, alongside venue food waste, at its in-vessel composting facility in Kent, UK. To ensure that the packaging would break down, samples were sent to the facility prior to the Games and successfully put through the composting process.

The time this process takes varies according to the material in question. According to Novamont Mater-Bi cutlery typically disintegrates within three months and biodegrades within six, whereas film can take as little as two to three weeks to break down.

Legacy The innovative use of compostable materials, such as bioplastics, at the Olympics has demonstrated proof of concept for their use at large scale events but the key will now be to maintain the momentum and build on the success of the Games, while recognising where things can be improved for future events.

NNFCC are now working with other organisations like the Government’s Waste & Resource Action Programme and the Renewable Energy Association’s Organics Recycling Group to share experiences from London 2012 and develop guidelines which can be applied to other events in the future.

This will help event organisers reduce waste and meet their environmental targets, like those recommended in the UK Government’s new hospitality and food services industry voluntary agreement. The agreement sets two targets by 2015: to reduce food and packaging waste by 5% and to recycle, compost or convert into energy via anaerobic digestion at least 70% of the remaining waste. Should this model be taken up more widely it would be a major boost to the bioplastics industry. www.nnfcc.co.uk

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

13

Bioplastics Award

bioplastics MAGAZINE is proud to present the five finalists for the 7th Bioplastics Award. Five judges from the academic world, the press and industry associations from America, Europa and Asia have reviewed the proposals so that we can now present details of the five most promising submissions.

The 7th Bioplastics Award recognises innovation, success and achievements by manufacturers, processors, brand owners or users of bioplastic materials. To be eligible for consideration in the awards scheme the proposed company, product, or service must have been developed or have been on the market during 2011 or 2012.

The following companies/products are shortlisted (without any ranking) and from these five finalists the winner will be announced during the 7th European Bioplastics Conference on November 6th, 2012 in Berlin, Germany.

Full Circle Design: Presentation and promotion system Clps [’klıps]

TAKATA AG: Bioplastic steering wheel and airbag showcase project

The flexible and modular presentation and promotion system Clps [’klıps] is variable and universally applicable at the point of sale, for sales campaigns, presentations, shop designs and fairs.

The proposed ‘showcase’ (German word is ‘Demonstrator’, is a complete real steering wheel system) was developed to present the possibilities and limits of using biobased plastics in such sensitive products like airbags and steering wheels. To achieve an integrated solution the available biopolymers were benchmarked according the requirements and the most promising materials were chosen. After this the components were tested according the specifications of the automotive industry to verify the material limits in steering wheels and airbags. Some of the components were already approved according to these specifications, others are underway. For certain applications the specifications of the automotive industry might have to be modified, without sacrificing the safety of course. But the haptic and optic requirements of the foam and plastic parts around the steering wheel could for example be slightly adapted in order to align biobased material properties to part specification.

The extruded profiles are made of grass fibre reinforced plastic (PP) with a content of natural fibres of about 70%.

They offer better mechanical properties than WPC. After use Full Circle Design offer to take them back and either refurbish them or recycle them in close cooperation with their raw material supplier. This supplier generates his energy in an own AD plant (biogasification) in kind of a biorefinery concept.

The textile is a woven PLA fabric, uncoated, optically brightened, flame-retardant and is being chemically recycled in cooperation with Galactic. In future a knitted PLA fabric (own development) will be used.

Thin pipes for fastening the PLA-textile to the frame are made of a biodegradable elastomer.

The whole concept is based on renewable raw materials and a full takeback and recycle system. www.fullcircledesign.de

Due to this project Takata illustrate their competence to develop biobased steering wheels and airbags and support their customers to define the technical limits of biopolymers. www.takata.com

14

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Bioplastics Award Green Dot Holdings, new compostable thermoplastic elastomer GDH-B1 is a new compostable thermoplastic elastomer, made from >50% renewable plant based ingredients (starch). The bioplastic meets ASTM D6400 and EN 13432 standards for compostability. The material has been found to biodegrade even in a home composting environment in a matter of months. GDH-B1 has been tested and verified

by NSF International to be free from phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), lead and cadmium, and meets child product safety standards in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

GDH-B1 offers a range of physical attributes comparable to petroleum based thermoplastic elastomers. The material is strong and pliable with an exquisite soft touch. The characteristics of the bioplastics provide excellent performance in fabrication and can be used with existing manufacturing equipment in the majority of plastic processing applications including, injection molding, profile extrusion, blow molding, blown film and lamination.

Green Dot’s soft plastic phone case, The BioCase™ is already successful on the market. Fort Collins, Colorado toymaker, BeginAgain Toys is also introducing Green Dot´s toxin free compostable elastomeric bioplastic to parents and children with two products, “Scented Scoops,” an imaginative ice cream play set and the Green Ring teether. The toys have received accolades for their creative design and sustainable materials.

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites: Biobased tailgate of a racing car The biobased tailgate of the ‘Bioconcept’-racing car is the first step to convert as many parts into biobased plastic parts as possible. The focus lies on the development of sustainable parts for the automobile industry as well as the change towards a ready-for-the-future mobility.

The tailgate, which was already made from natural fibre reinforced petroleum-based resins, is now being produced from linen (flax fibres) and an epoxy resin made from renewable resources. The amount of biobased components in the resin is currently at 45%, and IfBB is constantly researching ways to increase this ratio with regard to the material performance. The flax fibres are woven in a special twill-weave that allows the textile to be draped into the desired 3D-shapes. Currently still hand-laminated, as there are only a few parts needed for the racing car, IfBB is certainly also evaluating series production methods such as RTM and injection moulding of thermoplastic natural fiber reinforced biocomposites for the mass production of such parts.

Other components (existing, under development or planned) include doors, hood, underbody (diffusor,) frontend (diffusor), mirror cover caps, various technical boxes, tank cap, covering of steering column, lamp housings and more. www.ifbb-hannover.de

www.greendotpure.com

Livemold Trading: ‘bioline’ indestructible sandbox toys including a unique end-of-life concept The latest product line ‘bioline’ by Martin Fuchs GmbH comprises among other items, a series of ‘indestructible’ sandbox toys. The material is a (>70% biobased) blend from PLA and other components (made by Linotech, Waldenburg, Germany and Livemold, Breitungen, Germany), which makes the products 100% biodegradable. “Not exactly compostable,” as Martin Vollet, Technical Manager of Martin Fuchs points out.” But composting is not the targeted end of life. At least, these toys will never be found by archaeologists.” For the end of life, this toy manufacturer has a very special solution. They ask consumers to send back their old toys, rather than dispose them. Fuchs promise to recycle even the oldest and dirtiest toys. This is possible by applying a special 2-component injection molding technology. Here the post-consumer scrap is injected as a core material in a 2-layer structure. The outer layer is beautifully colored virgin material.

The use of plastics based on renewable raw materials in combination with taking back and further processing of the old toys is exemplary and helps to conserve resources of our environment. The use of the 2K-technology (monosandwich) plays a leading role in the processing of biopolymers. The biopolymer is in looks and feeling, in noise and sound behavior equivalent to normal plastics. www.spielstabil.de

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

15

Fibres & Textiles

Textile bio-based materials design challenge A new innovation platform for designers, researchers and users

T

he Biopro GmbH and the Cluster biopolymers (Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany) started, early in 2012, an innovative project called the ‘textile bio-based materials design challenge’ (tbdc). The challenge provides all participants with a platform for cooperation and knowledge exchange for a period of one year. The interaction between the many players along the value creation chain will enable the early assessment of the function and capabilities of bio-based materials for application on the textile market.

The objective of the challenge is to generate as many new project ideas as possible, which will then be implemented and driven forward in cooperation with suitable partners. Direct contact with potential partners will be possible through two partnering workshops as well as through an online partnering platform that will be up and running throughout the entire duration of the challenge.

More than 50 researchers, designers, producers and users active in the fibre and textile industries came to participate in the first workshop in July. The delegates used the interdisciplinary environment to develop project ideas, exchange information and experience, and to make new contacts.

Tina Kammer, CEO of InteriorPark, and Dr. Ralf Kindervater, CEO of Biopro Baden-Württemberg GmbH (both in Stuttgart, Germany), moderated the ‘material meets design’ workshop

16

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

programme. During the first half of the one-day meeting, speakers either presented concrete project ideas relating to sustainable textile products or gave talks designed to encourage ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking and the development of new project ideas.

During the second half of the meeting, participants used the tabletop exhibition to network with the speakers, to obtain more detailed information about project ideas that had been presented, and to identify potential common ground.

“I was particularly impressed with the enthusiasm for already existing bio-based materials shown by a number of designers during the course of the meeting,” commented Kindervater, pointing out that the projects that were presented have served as an inspiration for several new product scenarios that will go on to be further developed jointly.

Since the successful implementation of such projects always depends on financing, the final workshop session presented European and German funding programmes.

The next Workshop will take place on November the 8th in Denkendorf, near Stuttgart, Germany, and is open to all who are interested in textile bio-based materials. Please contact Esther Novosel through the tbdc website www.bio-pro.de/tbdc

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

AILABLE: CT LINE AV EXPAND U D O R P W NE IVES E™ ADDIT TER BIOADIMID 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

Fibres & Textiles

Artificial Turf (Photo Philipp Thielen)

Bioplastics – to be walked all over By Bas Krins Director R&D API Institute - Applied Polymer Innovations Emmen, The Netherlands

T

he API Institute (Emmen, The Netherlands) is an independent institute dedicated to research into high-end applications of polymers. In recent years investigations related to the use of bioplastics have become an increasing part of the portfolio. Among other projects API is currently developing products for which the biodegradation behaviour offers an advantage. This can be an advantage in the costs of the whole cycle from raw material to waste, or it can be an advantage in the end-use for the customer.

Temporary carpets At many trade fairs, exhibitions or other events (such as the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Conference) temporary carpets are used for a very limited period of time – a few days up to a few weeks maximum – after which they are dumped or incinerated. It would be a big advantage if the carpet could be made from plastics based on renewable resources. Such carpets from biobased plastics could be incinerated with energy recovery, thus delivering a carbon neutral source of renewable energy. Or, if made from biodegradable / compostable bioplastics, they could be composted afterwards instead.

This however means that the multifilaments for the carpet have to be produced from appropriate biobased and/or biodegradable plastics. Also the fabric has to be redesigned, and last but not least the secondary backing that sticks the fibre loops to the fabric has to comply with the intended end-of-life scenario.

18

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Fibres & Textiles

The API Institute is involved in a project that is developing such temporary exhibition carpets from PLA based bioplastics, thus exhibiting both advantages, - renewable resources and the biodegradability/compostability. Here one of the advantages – apart from green credentials – is the reduction of the costs after use. Both, incineration with energy recovery and composting are cheaper than dumping the carpet in a landfill. Nevertheless, the price of the carpet is an issue and a fundamental condition of the project is that the final carpet should have a price that is not much higher than using traditional carpets. Unfortunately green credentials alone are general not a sufficient encouragement for users to choose the environmentally friendly solution as the market for the organisation of exhibitions is very price competitive.

Artificial turf A somewhat comparable project is the development of a completely compostable artificial grass. At the moment the standard materials used are PE for the monofilaments (blades of grass), PP is used for the fabric and latex is used for the secondary backing in order to glue the monofilaments to the fabric. This system is very difficult to recycle, and in practice most of the artificial fields are burned after a period of use that can last up to 10 years. Recycling of the mats is sometimes carried out but it is an expensive procedure. Each soccer field produces up to 20 tonnes of plastic waste. In The Netherlands or Germany, for example, the number of soccer fields for amateurs using artificial grass instead of real grass is growing rapidly. In these countries with a high population density the fields are used quite intensively, and for that reason artificial grass is preferred. But this also means that the waste produced after the lifetime of the field is an increasing problem. The API Institute is developing, together with some industrial partners, a field that can be incinerated carbon-neutrally or that can be completely composted. In this case, there is probably no cost advantage for the investor of the artificial grass field. However the issue is that in The Netherlands most amateur fields for soccer are funded by local authorities and due to legislation these local authorities are forced to select a sustainable alternative if possible, although this alternative might be more expensive. For that reason there is a real market for these compostable artificial grass fields. The requirements for the grass mat are a real challenge. Their lifetime has to be about 10 years, and this means that the requirements regarding resilience behaviour are tough. Also the requirements regarding the degradation behaviour are difficult to meet: no biodegradation during 10 years outdoors, but subsequently a fast biodegradation under composting conditions. And the field has to fulfil the requirements from FIFA regarding ball rolling, ball bouncing,

sliding behaviour, and so on. Since the technical issues have now been solved, the PLA based artificial turf developed by API is expected to perform the FIFA test shortly and API will construct a test field.

Real grass nets From artificial grass to real grass. In many cases real grass turf is cultivated on nets. These nets are mostly produced from PP, which means that the customers will find this net under their turf many years after installation. Even if appreciated by some people for its protective effect against moles, there remains one big disadvantage. In case the user need to dig a hole in the garden or needs to scarify the lawn grass, the net will destroy the grass field.

API is now developing a net for turf lawns that supports the process of installing the turf, but since it is made from a bioplastics that will completely biodegrade in soil, it will disappear after a few months. Details about the resin however cannot be disclosed at this time, due to confidentiality agreements.

Final remarks In addition to the examples mentioned above the API Institute is working on a lot more projects related to bioplastics commissioned by customers. In all projects the polymers have to be selected and/or compounded in order to meet the requirements for their application. For this reason the API Institute is working closely together with suppliers of the bioplastics resins, and the Institute has a lot of experience in making the materials fit for these applications by compounding with other polymers or additives, and by optimizing the processing conditions of the bioplastics.

Acknowledgement The grants from the European Union, Provincie Drenthe, Gemeente Emmen, SenterNovem/Agentschap NL, Interreg and EDR are thankfully acknowledged. www.api-institute.com

(Photo iStock/EyeJoy) bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

19

Fibres & Textiles

Blended fabric with PLA

Photo courtesy Jiangsu Danmao Textile Co.

PLA/wool blend for clothing Jiangsu Danmao Textile Co., Ltd., an eco-conscious company with manufacturing facilities in Jiangsu Province, China, specializes in producing wool fabrics for high-end fashion. The company recently developed a new range of wool fabrics blended with Ingeo™ PLA fibers.

Ingeo fiber is an economic and lower-carbon-footprint alternative to polyester for blending with wool. The PLA/ wool fabric will be used for uniforms and informal and corporate wear. Jiangsu Danmao Textile Company has been investing in clean manufacturing technology for more than a decade and has made major investments in reducing water consumption and landfill waste. Its emphasis on being a leader in sustainable manufacturing led research and development personnel to explore alternatives to polyester. Ingeo met the firm’s criteria for performance, cost, and reduced carbon footprint.

The biopolymer also reduced the company’s exposure to sourcing non-renewable materials. www.danmaotex.com www.natureworksllc.com

20

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Jiaxing Runzhi Wenhua Chuangxiang Co Ltd is located in the Zhejiang province of China. The company recently developed a series of Ingeo™ PLA based products including underwear, camisoles, t-shirts, and infant’s wear, all of which are destined for the Chinese domestic market and sold under the YUSIRUN brand name.

The new fabric is a blend of Ingeo, Tencel, nylon, and spandex. The owner of the firm Mr. Shang Jia lead an indepth product development effort focused on utilization of renewable materials. The company wanted to offer products that would appeal to environmentally concerned Chinese consumers, have measurable environmental benefits, and look and feel great.

According to company officials, “The outstanding features of this garment collection include sensational touch, good drape, easy care, quick drying, excellent wicking performance, and low odor retention. These garments are comfortable and hypoallergenic.”

Website: www.yusirun.cn

Application News

Biodegradable toothbrush FRISETTA Kunststoff GmbH (based in Schönau, Germany) recently introduced their new monte-bianco NATURE, a toothbrush with a replaceable head for adults. The handle and head are made from plastic which is biodegradable according to EU 13432/EN and US ASTM D6400 standards, and has natural bristles.

The project was realized by a team from three companies, namely Frisetta Kunststoff, A. Schulman GmbH (Kerpen, Germany) and API S.P.A. (Mussolente, Italy) using API´s biodegradable thermoplastic polymer APINAT.

The packaging of this product is also in line with the green concept.

The plastic cover is made from biodegradable and compostable corn-starch based PLA. The back of the package consists of FSC-certified paperboard. The product is available in special bio shops in Europe.

For more than 60 years Friseatta have been producing

oral care products of a high quality at their location in the Southern Black Forest in Germany. The latest state-of-theart technology allows them to protect the environment whilst simultaneously producing technologically advanced and high quality products in their manufacturing process.

With this new product Frisetta follows a general environmentally-friendly approach. The warm water from the cooling system used for cooling the production machines is then used for heating the rooms in the building during the winter. The cooled water then flows back into the production system. In summer, the water is cooled in a deep, in-house well. The required electricity is derived from 100% renewable energy from their neighbour, the Schönau (EWS) electricity generating plant Frisetta´s target is the constant improvement of their products and product range. The innovations of the past few months that complete the monte-bianco range are only a beginning. They are currently working not only on product optimisation but also on more new developments. MT www.frisetta-kunststoff.de www.aschulman.com www.apinatbio.com

Green foam profiles NMC, headquartered in Eynatten, Belgium recently presented NOMAPACK® Green, the first packaging profile that is certified as biosourced, made using renewable materials and 100% recyclable.

With globalisation and easier transport, companies send their products all around the world. Fragile products need to be protected with reliable, lightweight, compact packaging.

In this field, practical criteria are no longer the only deciding factors, and today, the sustainable dimension of a product is becoming more and more important.

NMC decided to focus on renewable resources to create the Nomapack Green profile. The company has developed a process technology to produce profiles from renewable materials with similar properties to the traditional Nomapack profiles made from petroleum-based polyolefins; including foamability, excellent shock absorption and long-lasting mechanical properties. Nomapack Green is 100% recyclable.

The raw material for the production of Nomapack Green profile has been developed by polymer experts from NMC’s Research and Development unit. The so-called NMC NATUREFOAM™ is a polyethylene blend with more than 30% renewable raw materials. It has been tested by the Vinçotte International Institute, who certified it with one star for its level of non-fossil fuel materials (between 20 and 40% of its components come from renewable sources). The

availability of these components is not limited over time, so the production of Nomapack Green profiles is less dependent on the fluctuating price of petroleum-based raw materials. Last but not least, no genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are used in the composition of the Nomapack Green profile. The cultivation of these plant-based materials does not compete with food production and does not cause any problems of access to food for local residents.

With Nomapack Green, NMC is investing more than ever in the development of sustainable products. As a pioneer in this field, the company has not used chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) gases in the production of its products for over 20 years, putting it at the cutting edge of the synthetic foam industry. Over time, it has honed its choice of materials as well as its environmentally friendly manufacturing processes so that now a large proportion of its product range is recyclable. MT www.nmc.eu

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

21

(Photo: Iggesund)

Application News

Airline breakfast box The Swedish airline Malmö Aviation has recently launched new breakfast boxes made of Invercote Bio, a bioplasticscoated paperboard. The boxes save space on board, simplify handling and have a lower environmental impact than their plastic-based predecessors. In addition the bioplastic coated paperboard exhibits a very good structural stiffness compared to any pure plastics (or bioplastics) solution.

The environmental impact is reduced because some members of the Invercote family of paperboard are certified compostable. The new breakfast boxes are the result of a long development process focusing on both functionality and user friendliness. Instigators of the development were the catering company PickNick (Bromma, Sweden), the converters Omikron (Jönköping, Sweden) and Malmö Aviation’s then project leader Annika Melin.

The materials used in the boxes are the virgin fibre-based paperboards Invercote Bio from Iggesund Paperboard (Iggesund, Sweden). In a first step the box is made of Invercote Bio. In a later stage, the outer shell of the box will be made from conventional Invercote and a serving tray inside made of Invercote Bio to hold the fresh food. This tray will then be flow packed with a modified atmosphere to increase the food’s shelf life and help prevent fogging. The ingenious feature of Invercote Bio is that it is coated with bioplastic. Iggesund chose an extrusion coating version of a biobased Polyester by Novamont (Novara, Italy). This means that once the service is in full scale the tray will go into the same waste stream as the food scraps – they will all be sent directly to an anaerobic digestion plant to produce biogas without the need for prior sorting, just as PickNick has been doing with their food waste already in the past.

22

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

”The combination of paperboard and bioplastic which are certified compostable to European standards means that the new box functions well in today’s end-of-life systems and will continue to do so in future systems,” comments Jonas Adler, commercial manager of the Invercote Bio products from Iggesund.

“Because the new breakfast boxes are smaller than our current ones, we can load far more onto each serving trolley,” explains Malin Olin, inflight and lounge manager for Malmö Aviation. “That saves weight and space on board and helps the environment. The boxes also have two parts, making them easier to use.”

Omikron has been working with catering materials since the beginning of the 1980s. It was a natural choice for the company to work with Invercote and Invercote Bio. “This has been an exciting development project, not least because Malmö Aviation has consciously chosen to invest in both quality and the environment,” comments Tony Norén, CEO of the converters Omikron. “Being able to reduce the space required by half and also to greatly extend the food’s shelf life are interesting effects, while both the environmental and climate impact are also reduced.”

“Increasingly organisations and individuals are thinking about the ‘end-of-life’ issue of many products in everyday use, and therefore the creation and disposal of waste. We believe bioplastics can provide part of the solution to certain aspects of this issue as they can be composted together with organic waste,” said Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont. MT www.malmoaviation.se www.picknick.nu www.iggesund.com

Application News

New BPI certified hot cup President Packaging (Tainan City, Taiwan) has been offering PLA coated paper cups with great success for two years now. A new insulated hot cup from this company is Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) certified and warm to the touch, not hot, when filled with a hot beverage. The double-wall paper construction provides its own insulation and eliminates the need for an added outside sleeve for greater convenience and ease of use. The company reports that beverages stay warmer longer than in noninsulated paper hot cups. The leak barrier of the cups is provided by Ingeo™ PLA film from NatureWorks. Five sizes from 234 ml (8 oz.) to 709 ml (24 oz.) are available as are matching Ingeo lids. BPI certified products meet ASTM D6400 and are suitable for commercial/industrial composting facilities where they exist.

“Ingeo is a product that enables our company to innovate for our customers in environmentally responsible ways,” said Jimmy Liu, export manager, President Packaging. “The utilization of this PLA resin, also helps further our corporate social responsibility goals.”

“While PE lined cups are still the volume leader, an increasing number of coffee shops are moving to cups with higher quality and superior environmental credentials. These new cups add brand appeal and pull in business. Plus the excellent heat insulating properties and the rigidity when holding the cup gives the consumer the impression of a quality package for a quality product,” Jimmy said to bioplastics MAGAZINE. In addition, these cups that don’t need insulating sleeves eliminate the hassle of fitting sleeves to cups and reduces storage space requirements. MT www.ppi.com.tw www.natureworksllc.com

organized by

17. - 19.10.2013

Bioplastics in Packaging

Messe Düsseldorf, Germany

Bioplastics Business Breakfast

B

3

Call for Papers now open www.bioplastics-breakfast.com Contact: Dr. Michael Thielen (info@bioplastics-magazine.com)

PLA, an Innovative Bioplastic Injection Moulding of Bioplastics Subject to changes

At the World’s biggest trade show on plastics and rubber: K’2013 in Düsseldorf bioplastics will certainly play an important role again.

On three days during the show from Oct 17 - 19, 2013 (!) biopolastics MAGAZINE will host a Bioplastics Business Breakfast: From 8 am to 12 noon the delegates get the chance to listen and discuss highclass presentations and benefit from a unique networking opportunity.

The trade fair opens at 10 am.

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

23

Materials

PBS production The energy-saving, resource-efficient production of PBS using the 2-reactor process

U

hde Inventa-Fischer, based in Berlin, Germany and Domat/Ems, Switzerland, can look back on over 50 years of history serving the polymer industry. During this time more than 400 plants for the production of polyesters such as PET and PBT, as well as polyamides like PA 6 and PA 6.6, have been successfully built and commissioned worldwide. Years of experience and intensive research and development work have enabled the company to launch and successfully establish a multitude of innovative technologies and concepts on the market.

As well as technologies based on the processing of monomers obtained from fossil raw materials, Uhde Inventa-Fischer has greatly extended its commitment to the development of processes for producing biopolymers and has expanded its product portfolio to include the PLAneo® polylactic acid technology and the process for producing polybutylene succinate (PBS). The PBS here is purely aliphatic polyester created from the polycondensation of succinic acid and butanediol. PBS is usually produced in a two-stage process. In the first stage the succinic acid is esterified with an excess of butanediol with the water removed. The second stage comprises the polycondensation of the esterification product with the butanediol removed (see Figure 1).

Production of succinic acid and butanediol from renewable resources Even as recently as just a few years ago succinic acid was produced exclusively by petrochemical means. Due to the fact that succinic acid is found as an intermediate in the metabolic chain of a variety of organisms such as bacteria or yeast, however, the potential for biochemical production was identified early on and research into this aspect was promoted across the world. Today many companies are already producing succinic acid from renewable resources (see recent issues of bioplastics MAGAZINE). Furthermore, intensive research is being carried out on processes which enable the production of butanediol on the basis of renewable resources such as, for example, the hydrogenation of biobased succinic acid.

2-reactor technology – for the continuous production of ultra-high-quality PBS granulate While developing a continuous process for the production of PBS a series of important outline conditions had to be taken into consideration. Based on a variety of laboratory

Figure 1: 2-stage PBS production process 2 step reaction: A) Esterification of succinic acid with butanediol: O O

H

O

O

+2 H

O

H

H

H

O

O O

O

+ 2 H2O H

O

butanediol

succinc acid

O

O

bis-hydroxybutylenesuccinate

- approx. 170 – 200°C, mole ratio approx. ca. 1.1 – 2.0 BDO/SAC B) Polycondensation of bis-hydroxybutylenesuccinate

O bis-hydroxybutylenesuccinate - approx. 200 – 240°C - approx. 0.1 – 1 mbar

24

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

H H

O

O

O O

O

O

O

H

O

+(n-1)

H

O O

O O

n PBS

butanediol

H

H

Materials Table 1: Comparison of the properties of PBS with polypropylene and polyethylene

By Christopher Hess Vice President Research and Development

PBS

PP

PE (LDPE / HDPE)

Heat Distortion temperature (HDT-B)

°C

97

145

88 - 110

Melting temperature

°C

115 - 118

164

108 - 130

Glass transition temperature

°C

-32

+5

-120

Crystallization temperature

°C

75

120

80 - 104

Uhde Inventa-Fischer

Tensile strength at break

Berlin, Germany

Crystallinity

Elongation at break Density

MPa

57

44

35 - 39

%

700

800

400 - 650

%

35 - 45

56

49 - 69

g /cm³

1.26

0.90

0.92 - 0.95

Data source: Biodegradable Plastic, Product Data, SHOWA HIGHPOLYMER CO.. LTD., 2009

tests, the most important parameters for the PBS process, e.g. the mole ratio of succinic acid to butanediol, the optimum quantity, appropriate type and ideal catalyst feed point, were set out first. Moreover, the ideal residence times during the individual process stages as well as the required temperature and pressure conditions had to be defined.

The results that were achieved showed that the 2R process, which was developed and patented by Uhde Inventa-Fischer and includes both the ESPREE® and DISCAGE® reactors, was perfectly suited for the production of PBS. With this process the succinic acid can react and the polymer can be produced at very low temperatures and low thermal loads. High surface renewal rates mean that the chain can be quickly and gently built up to high molar masses (see Figure 2).

Following technical modifications to the 2-reactor pilot plant at Uhde Inventa-Fischer, PBS granulate is being successfully produced at a capacity of around 40 kg/h. The material produced is of a very high quality and therefore ideally suited for commercial use. This was borne out in a multitude of tests which demonstrated that the PBS granulate produced on the 2-reactor plant, or even compounds made from it, were perfect for processing in various applications.

Thanks to its high degree of flexibility, low energy and raw

Figure 2: 2-stage PBS production process

material consumption, and the low quantity of by-products formed, the 2R process is the ideal choice for producing costeffective, high-quality polyester. With the new continuous PBS technology Uhde Inventa-Fischer is gearing up its plans to establish other bio-based materials on the market.

Impressive material qualities are what make PBS stand out The thermal and mechanical properties of PBS are very similar to those of polyolefins such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) (see Table 1).

PBS can be easily processed on standard machinery into films, extrusions and injection-moulded parts. A major advantage of PBS, in addition to its good mechanical properties, is primarily its biodegradability, making it the ideal choice of material to be processed into films for use in agriculture, as well as into food packaging or biodegradable hygiene products. What‘s more, PBS is perfect for processing into compounds or blends with PLA, among other materials.

The properties of PLA materials can be customized and modified, for example if greater elasticity is required. www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com

ESPREE® Reactor

DISCAGE® HV Reactor PBS

Succinc acid + Butanediol

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

25

Materials

From meat waste to bioplastics By Martin Koller Institute of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering Graz University of Technology Graz, Austria

T

he 36 month ANIMPOL project (‘Biotechnological conversion of carbon-containing wastes for ecoefficient production of high added value products’) funded by the EU was launched in 2010.

ANIMPOL is developing a sound industrial process for the conversion of lipid-rich animal waste from the meat processing industry as a contribution to the production of biodiesel. The saturated biodiesel fractions which negatively affect biodiesel’s properties as fuel are separated and finally used as feedstock for the biotechnological production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a versatile group of biopolymers for production of bioplastics. The remaining unsaturated biodiesel represents an excellent 2nd generation biofuel.

The significance of the project is obvious considering the high amounts of available ANIMPOL-relevant waste in Europe (500,000 tonnes of animal waste and about 50,000 tonnes of saturated biodiesel fraction). The principle idea of the project is visualized in Fig. 1.

Background PHAs are a well-known family of polyesters accumulated by micro-organisms in nature as an energy reserve. The right photograph in Fig. 1 shows bacterial cells containing PHA inclusions. The diverse desired properties of PHAs are accessible from renewable resources by the biosynthetic action of selected prokaryotes and this opens the door for replacing petrolbased thermoplastics, elastomers, or latexes (see Fig. 2) with these bio-inspired alternatives.

Alternative Raw Materials

Fig. 1: The ANIMPOL process: From slaughterhouse waste to PHA

The need for alternative materials, because of the finite sources of fossil reserves, is obvious and generally undisputed. In order to become a competitive alternative on the market, the price of a biopolymer for a certain application must be in the same range as the competing ‘traditional’ plastic. Hence, the costs of PHAs have to be reduced considerably despite the current unstable price of crude mineral oil.

Project Philosophy and Schematic The utilization of various renewable feed stocks for production of biochemicals, bioplastics or biofuels, and so coming into competition with food production, is frequently discussed. As an alternative solution, diverse waste streams exist which currently constitute severe disposal problems for the industrial branches concerned, and at the same time do not interfere with the nutrition chain. The utilization of these waste streams is a viable strategy to overcome a potential ethical conflict; it can be considered as the most promising approach in making PHAs economically more competitive. The ANIMPOL project aims at the value-added conversion of waste from

26

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Materials slaughterhouses, the animal waste rendering industry, and biodiesel production. Lipids from slaughterhouse waste are converted to fatty acid methylesters (FAMEs, biodiesel). FAMEs consisting of saturated fatty acids, generally constitute a fuel that has an elevated cold filter plugging point (CFPP) which can be disadvantageous in blends that exceed 20% by vol. FAMEs. In ANIMPOL, these saturated fractions are biotechnologically converted towards PHA biopolymers. As a by-product of the transesterification of lipids to FAMEs, crude glycerol phase (CGP) accrues in high quantities. CGP is also available as a carbon source for the production of catalytically active biomass and the production of low molecular mass PHA. This brings together waste producers from the animal processing industry with meat and bone meal (MBM) producers (rendering industry), the bio-fuel industry and polymer processing companies.

This synergism results in value creation for all players.

The basic scheme is illustrated in Fig. 3, whereas Fig. 4 provides a rough estimation for the available amounts of raw materials in Europe and the amounts of PHA biopolyesters that are theoretically accessible therefrom.

Major Objectives of ANIMPOL The project activities are based on a total of 13 main pillars: 1. Design of an integrated industrial process for microbial mediated, cost-efficient production of biodegradable PHA biopolyesters, by starting from waste from slaughterhouses, rendering industry, and biodiesel production. These wastes are upgraded to renewable raw materials. After the end of the project, data should be available for designing a pilot scale production plant.

2. Improvement of the quality of biodiesel by removal of its saturated fraction.

3. Assessment of the raw materials (lipids from animal waste, saturated biodiesel fraction, surplus glycerol from biodiesel production) for the fermentation process by selected microbial strains accumulating structurally diversified PHAs. 4. For improvement of microbial growth and quality, and the amount of the PHA produced, appropriate strains are studied, including recombinant gene expression or host cell genome modification. Microbial growth and the PHA production phase are established to be scaled-up for optimized production of structurally predefined PHAs. Protocols for controlled PHA production are developed aiming at reproducible product quality.

6. Development of an environmentally safe, inexpensive and efficient downstream process for recovery and purification of PHAs.

Figure 2: Highly elastic medium-chain length PHA latex produced by a Pseudomonas strain on animal-derived biodiesel.

(Picture: M. Koller, TU Graz)

ANIMAL Rendering Industry

Slaughterhouses

MBM

Biodiesel Industry (Transesterification)

Lipids

(Meat and Bone Meal) Carbon and Nitrogen source for microbial growth

CPG (Crude Glycerol Phase)

Biodiesel (Fatty Acid Alkyl Esters)

Carbon source for - Microbial growth - Low molecular mass PHA accumulation

Biotechnological Production of PHAs Polymer Industry

Saturated fraction Carbon source for PHA production

Unsaturated: Biodiesel High Quality

Figure 3: Application of different waste streams from diverse industrial branches to be utilized for biopolymer production in the ANIMPOL project

Animal Waste Lipids 500.000 t/y

Grude Glycerol 265.000 metric tons/year

Catalytically ActiveBiomass (0.4-0.5g/g)

PHA 120.000 t (0.3g/g)

Biodiesel

Saturated Fraction 50.000 t/year

Unsaturated Fraction

PHA 35.000 t (0.7g/g)

Excellent 2nd generation Biofuel!

Figure 4: Available raw materials for the ANIMPOL process and potentially accessible quantities of PHA biopolyesters

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

27

Materials 7. Chemical, structural, biological, physical and mechanical characterization of the PHAs that are produced..

The Project Team

8. Preparation of blends and composites of PHAs with selected polymeric materials including synthetic analogues of PHA, inorganic and/or organic fillers such as nanofillers.

The organic fillers also include renewable agro-waste (lignocelluloses, polysaccharides and surplus crops), either directly or after appropriate physical or chemical modification.

Industry

9. Engineering design of PHA production and extraction unit operations combined with the analysis of the cost efficiency of the industrial process as found in the down-stream processing of slaughterhouses, rendering and biodiesel factories.

Academic partners

10. A key factor for the success of the project, i.e. its cost efficiency for industrial scale production of PHAs, is assessed in terms of the costs of raw materials, chemicals and energy required for the production of PHAs and its blends.

11.

Assessment of eco-compatibility with evaluation of biodegradability under different environmental conditions of the obtained PHA formulations, as well as of some selected prototype items based on relevant blends and composites. Validation of the eco-compatibility of selected items is assessed by means of LCA and ecotoxicity tests.

12. Assessment of the biocompatibility of some selected PHA formulations and relevant items processed by means of in vitro cell toxicity and genotoxicity tests in respect of their potential value-added applications in food, packaging and biomedical fields.

13. The utilization of novel bioplastics, as attainable by means of environmentally sound processes based on waste from renewable resources as the raw material, for environmentally friendly plastic materials, meeting the EC directive 62/94 and the subsequent national regulations, constitutes the ultimate goal of the project.

Reistenhofer

Austrian meat converter

Argent Energy

Large biodiesel producer (UK)

Termoplast

Producer of plastic packaging materials

Argus Umweltbiotechnologie

German company, responsible for Downstream Processing

Graz University of Technology (Dr. Koller)

Coordinator and expert on biotechnology

Graz University of Technology (Prof. Narodoslawsky)

Process engineering and Life Cycle Assessment

Graz University of Technology Prof. Schnitzer

Cleaner Production Studies

University of Padua (Prof. Casella)

Support in the field of microbiology and genetic engineering

University of Zagreb (Prof. Horvat)

Mathematical modelling of bioprocesses

University of Graz (Prof. Mittelbach)

Optimized conversion of animal lipids to biodiesel

University of Pisa (Prof. Chiellini)

Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation

National Institute of Chemistry (Dr. Kr탑an, Ljubljana)

Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation

Polish Academy of Science (Prof. Kowalczuk)

Special tasks in PHA characterization and composite preparation

University of Pisa

Tests for biodegradability and ecotoxicity of the novel materials

Advisory Board KRKA (Slovenia) Novamont (Italy) Chemtex Italia (Gruppo Mossi e Ghisolfi, Italy) Eksportera USB (Lithuania)

Conclusion and Outlook From the already available data from the ANIMPOL project, it is obvious that important progress has been achieved in terms of combining the environmental benefit of future-oriented bio-polyesters with the economic viability of their production.

This should finally facilitate the decision of responsible policymakers from waste-generating industrial sectors and from the polymer industry to break new ground in sustainable production.

In future, PHA production from animal-derived waste should be integrated into existing process lines of biodiesel companies, where the raw material directly accrues. This can be considered as a viable strategy to minimize production costs by taking profit of synergistic effects. www.animpol.tugraz.at

28

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Info: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUnaZDCT7jA

Material News www.biowerkstoff-kongress.de www.bio-based.eu

6

th

Int. Congress 2013 on Industrial Biotechnology and Bio-based Plastics & Composites April 10th – 11th 2013, Maternushaus, Cologne, Germany

Highlights from the world wide leading countries in bio-based economy: USA & Germany

Organiser

Partner

ARBEIT UMWELT

S T I F T U N G

UND

DER IG BERGBAU, CHEMIE, ENERGIE

www.nova-institute.eu

www.arbeit-umwelt.de www.kunststoffland-nrw.de

Conference on

CO2

WW W.C O2-c

Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Chemistry and Polymers

hemistry .eu

10th – 11th October 2012, Haus der Technik, Essen (Germany)

Partners

Institute

for Ecology and Innovation

www.nova-institute.eu

www.hdt-essen.de

www.co2-chemistry.eu www.clib2021.de 30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Yparex B.V. (Enschede, The Netherlands) recently announced that it is the first supplier in the packaging industry to develop and commercialize an adhesive tie layer for multilayer packaging films that is to a great extent bio-based. This tie-layer resin is derived from 95% annually renewable resources and is fully recyclable, yet it meets the same performance specifications as non-renewable petroleum-based polymers of the same family. Being asked about the chemistry of the adhesive resin, Wouter van den Berg, General Manager of Yparex told bioplastics MAGAZINE, that it is a maleic anhydride(MAH)-modified and functionalized polyolefin compound, where the polyolefin is biobased. More details cannot be disclosed here, but van den Berg is open to all kind if direct inquiries.

Yparex’s response to the need for more sustainable and environmentally friendly packaging was to develop a biobased version of the company’s popular Yparex® brand adhesive tie-layer resin for multilayer barrier-packaging producers. Adhesive tie layers are special polymers used in very-popular multilayer films that bond together dissimilar resins that otherwise would not adhere to each other. The new extrusion grade is suitable for blown or cast multilayer film structures that use common barrier resins like polyamide (PA) and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH). The new polymer is the first of what the company hopes will become a growing family of bio-based ‘green’ tie layer grades. Since the plant-based resin behaves exactly as the same grade of petroleum-derived resin does, it is a perfect drop in solution for packaging manufacturers looking to lower their carbon footprint and offer their customers a more sustainable product. MT www.yparex.com.

CO2 as chemical feedstock – a challenge for sustainable chemistry

Organiser

Bio-based tie layer

www.kunststoffland-nrw.de

www.arbeit-umwelt.de

Material News

New PLA/ABS blend

By Kotaro Sagara R&C Green Innovation Business Planning Dept.

Toray introduces High Plant Content Grade ECODEAR

Toray Industries, Inc. Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan

T

oray Industries, Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan) recently announced that it has developed a high plant content grade of the environmentally friendly biomass-based resin ECODEAR , which contains 50% or more polylactic acid (PLA) made from plant derived starch. Toray will start selling the material in September this year for office automation equipment and electronic products that need to comply with EPEAT, the environmental rating tool for electronic products in the U.S.

and rather inferior to these materials in durability, heat resistance and strength over a long period. On the other hand, ABS resins have a wide range of applications including home electronics, office automation equipment, automobile and toys and are highly versatile given its well-balanced properties of high mouldability, durability, heat resistance and strength. Toray developed an alloy resin combining these two materials to offer Ecodear , which is an environmentally friendly and high-utility resin material.

Toray’s Ecodear is a biomass-based resin polymer alloy that combines PLA with ABS to give sufficient mouldability and physical properties, as PLA alone would have inadequate mouldability, durability, heat resistance and strength for certain applications. The use of PLA in Ecodear until now was limited to 30% to give the material the required physical properties, but the new development enabled to increase the content of PLA to 50% or more. This has resulted in further improving Ecodear’s potential to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases including CO2.

In recent years it has become an important issue to increase the content ratio of PLA resin while maintaining sufficient physical properties. Towards that end, a method has been proposed to add talc, a mineral used for reinforcement, to crystalize PLA to improve the physical properties of the material when increasing the portion of PLA resin. This method, however, is not productive and far from practical, as it requires moulding at the temperatures of 90°C or higher for crystallization.

ABS

PLA

2 µm

Toray aimed to achieve the level of mouldability and physical properties of the material containing 70% or more of ABS resins with the lowest possible content ratio of ABS polymer, and succeeded in evenly dispersing small amount of ABS resin in PLA resin by utilizing morphological control, which gives full command of control over molecular structure. This resulted in the realization of the high plant content grade of Ecodear that addresses PLA resin s existing weakness in mouldability and physicality with 30% less ABS resin content.

While PLA-based resins carry high expectations for expansion of its use in the future, they are less suitable for certain moulding processes compared with other materials

www.toray.com

PLA resin

Existing ECODEAR

Newly developed grade

Competing products by other companies

0

100

30

≥50

≥50

Tool temperature (degree Celsius)

40~80

40

40~60

40~60

≥90

Molding Time

Short

Long

Short

Short

Long

Charpy impact strength (kJ/m2)

10~20

2

≥10

≥10

≥10

Heat Deflection temperature HDT/B ( @ 0.45MPa)

95

57

≥80

>70

≥80

Content ratio of PLA resin (% by weight) Moldability

Features

General purpose ABS resin

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

31

Material News

High-performance and bio-based— the Vestamid Terra product family

Rayon fiber reinforced bio-PA high bio-content and a good reinforcement potential

E

vonik Industries (Essen, Germany) has developed and launched on the market a novel combination of biobased high-performance polyamides and bio-based high-performance fibers.

significantly improved carbon balance. As an example, CO2 savings for a viscose fiber system of PA1010 with a fiber content of 30% are 57% higher than for a 30% glass fiber reinforced PA66.

Reinforcing fibers, particularly chopped fiberglass, are often mixed into a plastic to improve its mechanical properties. But in the case of bio-based polymers this means that the biocontent is lowered1, reducing the ecological advantage. The use of natural fibers, on the other hand, has so far resulted in significant deterioration of reinforcing potential, and also an unpleasant odor in the end product. VESTAMID® Terra with rayon fibers retains the high bio-content — along with excellent reinforcing potential.

Additionally, viscose reinforcing fibers have a significantly lower density than mineral fibers: Depending on fiber content, bio-polyamides reinforced with viscose fibers offer a weight reduction of up to 10%, for the same reinforcing performance.

Two polyamide grades of the Vestamid Terra product family form the polymer matrix: Terra HS (PA 6.10) and Terra DS (PA 10.10). These polyamides are fully or partially obtained from the castor oil plant. Commercially available chopped rayon fibers form the reinforcing fiber substrate. Rayon is also known as man-made cellulose or technically as viscose fibers. These fibers are obtained entirely from wood residues (dissolving pulp), and are therefore also based on renewable raw materials. The overall bio-content is thus high, lying between 67 and 100%.

Compared with fiberglass reinforced systems, the combination of viscose fibers and polymer matrix offers a

32

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

“With this product development, we want to further support the unrestricted expansion of bio-based products in technically demanding applications for our customers,“ says Dr. Benjamin Brehmer, Business Manager Biopolymers at Evonik.

Evonik offers Vestamid Terra grades of varying fiber content, to satisfy a wide range of mechanical demands.

1: Editor’s note: This means that the biomass content of the compound is reduced, because glass fibres do not contain any biomass. Since glass fibres do not contain any carbon, the bio-based carbon content of the compound remains the same.

It is an ongoing discussion, which of these values are more important (see bM 03/2010) - MT

www.evonik.com

Material News

Growth in PLA bioplastics Production capacity of over 800,000 tonnes per annum expected by 2020

T

he nova-Institute (Hürth, Germany) recently published the first results of a multi-client market survey covering the international bioplastics market.

25 companies have developed production capacity at 30 sites worldwide of (currently) more than 180,000 tonnes per annum (t/a) of polylactic acid (PLA), which is one of the leading bio-based plastics. The largest producer, NatureWorks, has a capacity of 140,000 t/a. The other producers have a current capacity of between 1,500 and 10,000 t/a.

According to their own forecasts, existing PLA producers are planning considerable expansion of their capacity to reach around 800,000 t/a by 2020 (see diagram). There should be at least seven sites with a capacity of over 50,000 t/a by that time. A survey of lactic acid producers – the precursor of PLA – revealed that production capacity to meet concrete requests from customers (who cannot yet be named) could even rise to roughly 950,000 t/a.

Michael Carus, managing director of nova-Institute, reacted thus to the survey results: “For the very first time we have robust market data about worldwide PLA production capacity. These are considerably higher than in previous studies, which did not cover all producers. Forecasts of 800,000 or even 950,000 t/a by 2020 show that PLA is definitely a polymer for the future.”

The results are derived from the most comprehensive international market survey of bioplastics to date, which was carried out in conjunction with renowned international plastics experts. The ‘Market Study on Bio-based Polymers

Evolution of PLA production capacities worldwide 2011-2020 (source: nova-Institute) 900.000 800.000 700.000 t/a

600.000 500.000 400.000 300.000 200.000 100.000 0

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

and Plastics in the World’ will be published in January 2013 and contains, along with a 300-page report, access to the newly developed ‘Bioplastics Producer Database’. It is the methodology of this market survey that is so special, since it provides a comprehensive study of every producer of over 30 different bioplastics around the world. The data covering the capacity, production, uses and raw materials was collected through over 100 interviews with senior and top-level managers as well as questionnaires and a literature review. Alongside this market data, the report will contain analyses of future trends by renowned experts Jan Ravenstijn (bioplastics consultant, The Netherlands), Wolfgang Baltus (National Innovation Agency NIA, Thailand), Dirk Carrez (Clever Consult, Belgium), Harald Käb (narocon, Germany) and Michael Carus (nova-Institute, Germany). The report and database access will be available for €6,500 net from January.

A summer promotion that ended in September was extended for the readers of bioplastics MAGAZINE. Pre-order the study before October 31st from books@bioplasticsmagazine.com for €5,500 net and save €1,000 on the original price. www.nova-institute.eu

Info: Coordinated by nova-Institute, the multi-client survey has already been funded by more than 20 renowned companies and institutions, which have also overseen the project as part of the Advisory Board. Additional partners are more than welcome.

For €6,000 they receive not only the report and access to the “Bioplastics Producer Database” but can also sit on the Advisory Board. In-depth information about the survey programme and the partnership agreement, as well as the producer questionnaire, can be found at www.bio-based.eu/ market_study Bioplastics producers that submit a completed questionnaire will not only be easy to find by potential new business partners via the ‘Bioplastics Producer Database’ but will also receive free online access for a limited period of time.

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

33

Material News

JV for bio-based butadiene Versalis to partner with Genomatica and Novamont

V

www.eni.com www.genomatica.com www.novamont.com

ersalis (Milan, Italy), chemicals subsidiary of Eni (Rome, Italy) leader in the production of elastomers, together with Genomatica (San Diego, California, USA, a leading developer of process technology for renewable chemicals), and Novamont (Novara, Italy, a leader in biodegradable plastics and pioneer in third generation integrated biorefineries) are going to cooperate. On July 24 they signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic partnership to enable production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks. Butadiene is a raw material used in the production of rubber for tires, electrical appliances, footwear, plastics, asphalt modifiers, additives for lubricating oil, pipes, building components, and latex. The partnership, on the basis of which a joint venture will be established, will develop a comprehensive ‘end-to-end’ process for production of polymer-grade butadiene from biomass.

Versalis will hold a majority interest in the joint venture holding company and aims to be the first to build commercial plants using the process technology upon project success.

This unique and important agreement brings together the core competencies of all three companies. The partnership will leverage Genomatica’s proprietary technologies and intellectual property for producing butadiene, Versalis’ extensive expertise in catalysis process development and process engineering scale-up and market applications of butadiene derivatives, as well as Novamont’s experience in renewable feedstocks.

Under this agreement, Versalis will use Genomatica’s process technology for economically competitive and sustainable process technology aspect production of an important supplyconstrained chemical. The process technology aspect of the agreement is intended to be made available for future licensing in Europe, Africa and Asia.

Butadiene is a key intermediate for Versalis elastomers business. The raw material required to produce it, extracted from ‘C4’s (a mixture of molecules containing four carbon atoms) and produced by cracking plants, is increasingly subject to availability problems. Decreasing supplies and a lack of dedicated butadiene production facilities have resulted in significant long-term pressure on the price and volatility of the chemical, which in turn increases the price of butadiene-based products, including tires.

Concerns of scarcity in the butadiene market are compounded by growth forecasts within the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) where demand for automotive products made from butadiene, such as tires, is expected to increase.

exemplary picture 34

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Polyurethanes / Elastomers In this context, butadiene supplies from biomass become strategic to Versalis, because in times of C4 stream scarcity it can be freed from naphtha cracking processes. So the partnership represents a valuable opportunity to boost the supply of butadiene with the support of its know- how and the industrial system, and to expand its bio-based portfolio.

thereby improving environmental, economical and social sustainability,” said Catia Bastioli, CEO, Novamont. “And the ability for on-purpose production will make it easier to adjust supply to meet local market demand while staying close to a low volatility feedstock and reducing environmental footprint.”

“Genomatica’s process technology for on-purpose butadiene combined with our experience in downstream applications and our ability to rapidly scale and commercialize the process can expand our industry’s approach to C4 production, seizing a promising business opportunity in a market that is experiencing a critical time” said Daniele Ferrari, CEO of Versalis. “This partnership, which follows the establishment of Matrìca, the equal joint venture with Novamont for the production of monomers, intermediates and polymers from renewable sources, accelerates the entry of Versalis in that business by strengthening its leadership in elastomers, in line with the new strategy of focusing on products with high-added value.“

“Versalis and Novamont are ideal partners to join us in leading the development of process technology for the production of butadiene from renewable feedstocks,” said Christophe Schilling, Ph.D., CEO of Genomatica. “Together we can cover the entire value chain, and drive from innovation to commercialization, providing a comprehensive solution. This partnership is further validation of the ability of Genomatica’s technology platform to address multiple chemical market opportunities.”

“Together we will have a great opportunity to apply Novamont’s concept of third generation integrated biorefineries to a well-known chemical like butadiene, applying new biotechnological and chemical processes to local biomass for an innovative industry at local level,

The agreement between the three parties builds upon a series of recent key events including the June 2011 formation of Matrìca, a 50:50 joint venture in bio-based chemicals production between Versalis and Novamont; the announcement that Versalis plans to heavily invest in innovation and capitalize on Elastomers, and Genomatica’s successful production of pound quantities of bio-based butadiene in August 2011. MT

Bio meets plastics.

The specialists in plastic recycling systems.

An outstanding technology for recycling both bioplastics and conventional polymers

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

35

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

T

A new compostable TPE By Kevin Ireland Communications Manager Green Dot Holdings LLC Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, USA

hermoplastic elastomers present a unique challenge for safety and sustainability. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the health risks and disposal issues surrounding these materials. Elastomeric plastics often contain phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) and are difficult to be recycled in many communities. Several plastics producers have introduced bio-based plasticizers to avoid the disadvantages associated with traditional petroleum elastomers. Unfortunately, these materials only contain a small percentage of bio-based feedstocks and the materials still face the same end of life issues, most often ending up in a municipal landfill in many countries. The limited physical attributes of some of the new compostable bioplastics made them ill suited for durable goods. Now there’s a new solution for sustainable soft plastics that provides cradle to cradle integrity with no compromise in performance.

Green Dot, a new bioscience social enterprise headquartered in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, is introducing a new compostable elastomeric bioplastic GDH-B1 is a rubber-like material that’s soft, pliable and durable, It’s made from renewable plant based sources (starch). It’s been tested by NSF International to be free from phthalates, BPA, cadmium and lead. And GDH-B1 is the only soft plastic elastomer made in North America verified to meet U.S. (ASTM D6400) and E.U. (EN13432) standards for compostability.

Green Dot’s elastomeric bioplastic offers a range of physical attributes comparable to petroleum based thermoplastic elastomers. The material is strong and pliable with an exquisite soft touch. The characteristics of the bioplastic provide excellent performance in fabrication and can be used with existing manufacturing equipment in the majority of plastic processing applications including, injection molding, profile extrusion, blow molding, blown film and lamination. It has a lower melt temperature compared to petroleum based elastomers, reducing energy cost and shortening production cycle times and it provides excellent compatibility with other thermoplastic elastomers. The starch based material also offers superior printing and scenting compared to silicone, PLA and Hytrel™.

GDH-B1 is ideal for durable soft plastic products that are designed to last. When the useful life of these products has ended the material can be returned to nature in a composting environment. The new elastomer does not require an industrial composting environment to biodegrade. The bioplastic will biodegrade in a matter of months in a home composting environment as well. The enhanced compostability is an

36

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

attribute that is particularly important to North American consumers, who often do not have access to industrial composting facilities.

Under the leadership of Mark Remmert Green Dot’s CEO and a thirty year veteran of the plastic industry the company has adopted an innovative strategy to introduce its bioplastic. “We don’t just sell resin,” he explained. “We work with companies throughout the entire process of product development from design to mold building and manufacturing. Our team works with OEMs to guide them through this process. We feel that the most effective way demonstrate the physical and environmental attributes of this new to the world material is to place it directly in the hands of millions of consumers, and we’re doing just that, with stylish products that enable users to contribute while they consume.” Green Dot’s team includes an in house industrial designer and a creative consultant, internationally renowned fashion designer Elizabeth Rickard Shah.

PURALACT® Lactides for biobased PLA in demanding applications Foam | Film | Fiber | Molded parts

The companies initial product success is the market’s first compostable soft plastic phone case. The BioCase™ is designed and manufactured by Green Dot and is distributed by Nite Ize. Nearly 100,000 units have been shipped since the product’s introduction in December 2011.

Green Dot has also worked with Fort Collins, Colorado toy maker, BeginAgain Toys. BeginAgain is introducing Green Dot’s compostable, toxin-free bioplastic to parents and children with two products featuring GDH-B1, Scented Scoops’, an imaginative ice cream play set and the Green Ring teether. These toys have already received accolades for their creative design and sustainable materials. BeginAgain’s Chris Clemmer described GDH-B1 as “the most innovative eco-material we’ve ever had our hands on.”

Green Dot serves both the plastics industry and styleconscious consumers who want to protect the Earth, not pollute it with enduring waste. Green Dot aspires to improve the environment in which we live, by building a more sustainable world with renewable bio-based resins and promoting their use through invention, creation and research so everyone can contribute to a more sustainable world. www.greendotpure.com

PLA homopolymers High heat resistance | High impact resistance Biobased | Recyclable | Biodegradable

purac.com/bioplastics bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

37

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

PPC Polyol from CO2

J

iangsu Jinlong-CAS Chemical Co., Ltd., a Chinese company focusing on the reuse of carbon dioxide emissions to create new chemical materials, has developed a highly efficient catalytic system and innovative technology to produce biodegradable aliphatic polypropylene carbonate polyol (PPC polyol) by copolymerizing CO2 with propylene oxide (PO). This kind of polyol, that has been proven to show a high reaction activity, may be widely used in the polyurethane (PU) industry.

PPC polyol could replace PTMEG (Polytetramethylene ether glycol) partially in superior artificial leather, that would exhibit good touch and feel properties and light weight quality – but also a certain toughness.

The company has developed the world’s first 10,000 tonnes per annum production line for PPC polyol. They own the intellectual property rights, including 15 Chinese patents concerning the catalyst preparation, polymerization technology, reaction (production) equipment etc.

PPC Thermoplastic Polyurethane (PPC-TPU)

The new polyol has also proven that it can be used to produce high adhesive strength coating materials (PU adhesive) and may be widely used in cast polyurethane (CPU) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomers.

PPC-TPU is a new kind of biodegradable polymer copolymerized from PPC polyol, BDO (1,4-butanediol) and MDI (Methylendiphenyldiisocyanat). It shows excellent biodegradability with the final level of biodegradation (ISO 14855) being higher than 90% after 130 days.

Polypropylene Carbonate Polyol

The physical properties of PPC-TPU are similar to traditional TPU. It shows excellent impact strength, tear resistance and low temperature performance, as well as excellent adhesion etc.

Polypropylene carbonate polyol (PPC polyol) is a kind of colourless or yellowish viscous liquid with a rather complex molecular structure and a molecular weight ranging from 2000 to 5000 Daltons. It is made with more than 30% by wt CO2. PPC polyol shows a better hydrolysis resistance compared to common polyester polyols, as well as physical and mechanical properties superior to polyether polyols.

CH3

CH3 HO

CH2 CH

The product can be used for example for the production of industrial packaging materials or as an impact modifier additive for engineering plastics.

O

[ CH CHO [m - 1[ 2

O C

CH3 O

CH

O CH2O

[n - 1 C

CH3 O

CH

CH2OH

Polypropylene Carbonate Polyol

Blown film line producing a PBS/PPC-TPU blend film

PPC polyol

38

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

PPC-TPU

Heat resistance sheet for hot drink and food package

Not all chemicals are created equalTM By Jingdong Zong Jiangsu Jinlong-CAS chemical CO., LTD Taixing, Jiangsu, China

Another advantageous property of PPC-TPU film is its relatively high barrier performance to O2 and water vapour compared to other bioplastics.

By blending with other biodegradable plastics such as PBS, PLA etc. PPC-TPU may improve the tear resistance of the compound. Jiangsu Jinlong-CAS successfully converted such blends into film that can be used for degradable mulch, shopping bags and waste bags, etc.

Other compounds Jiangsu Jinlong-CAS is also cooperating with a partner to develop other new compound materials made with PBS, PLA, natural fibres (such as rice husk, plant straw ) and inorganic ingredients. By now they have successfully developed new heat resistance blended materials (up to 100°C). These materials can be used for the positive pressure and vacuum assisted thermoforming processes and for injection moulding. The main fields of application are food packaging and industrial packaging. www.zhongkejinlong.com.cn

Myriant produces high performance, bio-based chemicals using renewable feedstocks that are not derived from food sources. Our commercial Succinic Acid plant starts up in 2012 and will be the world’s first of its kind and scale. We have proven economics that allow us to offer Succinic Acid with no green price premium.

Application examples

Material

WVTR g/m2/24h

OTR cm3/m2/d/atm

PPC-TPU

36

120

PBS

-

1200

PLA

325

550

PBAT

170

1400

Water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rate (OTR)

www.myriant.com

855.MYRIANT (697.4268) productinfo@myriant.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

39

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

Polyurethanes from orange peel and CO2 by Rolf M체lhaupt and Moritz B채hr Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) and Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany

T

he Freiburg Materials Research Center (FMF) of the University of Freiburg, jointly with Volkswagen, has developed novel families of 100% renewable resource based polyurethanes derived from natural terpene oils and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). In contrast to the conventional polyurethanes, neither hazardous isocyanate resins nor fossil resources are required. Produced by a great variety of plants as essential oils, terpenes are exclusively recovered from bio-wastes and do not compete with food production. Prominent terpene raw material for the production of non-isocyanate polyurethanes is the citrus oil limonene, obtained from orange peel as a waste product in the manufacturing of orange juice. Based upon limonene and the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide recovered from the exhausts of power plants and as a by-product of liquid air production, a very versatile and cost-effective molecular toolbox has been developed at FMF for tailoring rigid and flexible polyurethanes with diverse applications ranging from automotive parts to textiles, rubbers, foams, coatings, sealants, and adhesives.

Stimulated by the expected skyrocketing costs of crude oil and growing public awareness of global warming, the lean and clean production of renewable resource based plastics with a low carbon footprint has gained high priority [1]. Going well beyond the traditional scope of renewable polymers, bio-based intermediates supplied by biorefineries and the chemical fixation of carbon dioxide offer attractive opportunities for tailoring environmentally benign polyurethanes (PU). Conventional PU technology requires very strict health and safety precautions, owing to the severe health hazards upon exposure to toxic isocyanate monomers.

In contrast, non-isocyanate polyurethanes (NIPU) are formed without using hazardous isocyanate resins at any point in the

40

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

production process. Key NIPU intermediates are non-toxic polyfunctional cyclic carbonate monomers, which are readily produced by chemical conversion of epoxy resins with carbon dioxide [2, 3]. When cured with amines the cyclic carbonates undergo ring opening, thus forming poly(N-hydroxyethylurethanes). In contrast to the highly moisture-sensitive isocyanates, cyclic carbonate resins tolerate humidity and can be cured on wet substrates without foaming. Tedious drying of fillers is not required. NIPUs (Green PolyurethaneTM) based upon fossil resources and conventional epoxy resins are commercially available as zero VOC coatings with improved adhesion and better resistance to chemical degradation, corrosion, organic solvents, and wear [4, 5].

Most attempts towards the development of 100 % renewable resource based NIPU make use of epoxidized soybean and linseed oils, which are converted with carbon dioxide into the corresponding bio-based cyclic carbonate resins [6, 7, 8]. However, the ester groups of plant oil carbonates are partially cleaved during amine cure. These side reactions can cause undesirable emission problems and impair NIPU properties due to plasticization of the NIPU matrix. Therefore, at FMF an innovative generation of 100% renewable resource based NIPU has been produced from novel ester-fee cyclic carbonate resins derived from terpenes [9]. The limonenebased NIPU process is illustrated on the next page.

Terpenes represent highly unsaturated, ester-free, natural hydrocarbons. Typical members of the terpene family include limonene, camphene, vitamin A, steroids, carotenoids and natural rubber. More than 300 plants produce limonene. For example, orange peel contains up to 90 wt.-% of limonene, which is readily recovered on a commercial scale using the waste products from orange juice production. The colorless viscous oil limonene dioxide, produced by oxidation of

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

CO2 O H3C

CH3

C

C H3C

H3C

O

H3C

CH2

Limonene

O

O

O

C CH2

H3C

C

CH2 O

O C

+ H2N O

OH

H3C

O

O

C

Limonene dicarbonate

NH

C H3C

H2 C

O O

OH

C NH

NIPU limonene, is commercially used as component of epoxy resins. The FMF research has succeeded in reacting terpene oxides quantitatively with carbon dioxide, thus producing novel and cost-effective families of terpene carbonates.

This chemical carbon dioxide fixation is highly effective.

Around 34 wt-% carbon dioxide is incorporated into limonene dicarbonate! As a function of their stereoisomer compostion, limonene dicarbonates can be obtained as viscous liquid or white crystalline solid. The limonene dicarbonate reacts with a great variety of amines, producing multifunctional urethanes. Reaction with amines and amino-alcohols affords cycloaliphatic polyols useful as intermediates in conventional PU synthesis. As a chain extender of oligomeric polyamines and amino-alcohols limonene dicarbonate incorporates hard limonene segments into flexible curing agents. This approach has been used to produce new families of reactive prepolymers which can be functionalized in numerous ways. Upon curing with polyamines, e.g. using bio-based diamines or novel aminoamides derived from citric acid, 100% renewable and even 100% citrus-based NIPU are made available. In contrast to the rather soft soybean-oilbased NIPU, the mechanical properties of limonene-NIPU can be varied over a very wide range from highly rigid and stiff to rubbery and ultrasoft. Applications include casting resins, rubbers, thermoplastic elastomers, foams, coatings, sealants and adhesives. As illustrated using the example of limonene, this NIPU strategy can be applied to a very large variety of terpenes. Terpene carbonates are also attractive

as components and non-toxic solvents for numerous other applications, going well beyond the scope of bio-based NIPU. www.fmf.uni-freiburg.de

[1] R. Mülhaupt: “Green polymer chemistry and bio-based plastics – dreams and reality”, Macromol. Chem. Phys., accepted, in press [2] O. Figovsky, L. Shapovalov. F. Buslov: Ultraviolet and thermostable non-isocyanate polyurethane coatings“,Surface Coatings International Part B: Coatings Transactions 88, B1, 1-82 (2005) [3] B. Ochiai, S. Inoue, T. Endo: “One-Pot Non-Isocyanate Synthesis of Polyurethanes from Bisepoxide, Carbon Dioxide, and Diamine”, Journal of Polymer Science: Part A: Polymer Chemistry 43, 6613–6618 (2005) [4] www.hybridcoatingtech.com, accessed Sept. 08, 2012 [5] www.nanotechindustriesinc.com/GPU.php, accessed Sept. 08, 2012 [6] Ivan Javni, Doo Pyo Hong, Zoran S. Petrovi, Soy-Based Polyurethanes by Nonisocyanate Route, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 108, 3867–3875 (2008) [7] B. Tamami, S. Sohn, G. L. Wilkes: “Incorporation of carbon dioxide into soybean oil and subsequent preparation and studies of nonisocyanate polyurethane networks”, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 92, 883-891 (2004) [8] M. Bähr, R. Mülhaupt: “Linseed and soybean oil-based polyurethanes prepared via the non-isocyanate route and catalytic carbon dioxide conversion”, Green Chem. 14, 483–489 (2012) [9] M. Bähr, A. Bitto, R. Mülhaupt: “Cyclic limonene dicarbonate as a new monomer for non-isocyanate oligo- and polyurethanes (NIPU) based upon terpenes”, Green Chem., 14, 1447–1454 (2012)

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

41

Polyurethanes / Elastomers

Renewable Building Blocks for Polyurethanes

B

io-based succinic acid has emerged as one of the most competitive of the new bio-based chemicals. As a platform chemical, bio-based succinic acid has a wide range of applications, including in polyurethanes, coatings, adhesives and sealants, personal care, flavours and food.

based succinic acid with bio-based 1,4-BDO gives polyester polyols with even numbered carbons based on 100% renewable building blocks. Combining BioAmber’s biobased succinic acid with 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) gives a polyester polyol with an odd numbered alcohol.

BioAmber (Minneapolis, Minnesota) has demonstrated that bio-based succinic acid can be used as a replacement for petroleum-based adipic acid in polyester polyols, with equivalent performance and differentiated functionality.

Thermoplastic polyurethanes made using BioAmber bio-based succinic acid exhibit higher glass transition temperatures, equating to higher crystallinity, which can be a benefit in applications such as adhesives. Due to the higher density of ester groups, succinate polyesters also exhibit more hard-phase to soft-phase interaction than those with polybutylene adipate.

The options of odd and even pairings are expected to have significantly different physical properties, offering formulation flexibility over a range of properties. With both bio-based succinic acid and bio-based 1,4-BDO, BioAmber offers polyurethane manufacturers formulation flexibility with the highest levels of renewable carbon.

In addition to the differentiated performance benefits of succinate polyesters, bio-based succinic acid also offers a better carbon footprint. BioAmber’s bio-based succinic acid gives a 99% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and a 50% reduction in energy savings compared to petroleumbased adipic acid.

The bio-based succinic acid is also used as a building block for the large volume chemical intermediate 1,4-butanediol (BDO), which is both a monomer for polyols and a chain extender for polyurethane formulations. Combining bio-

42

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

The company has already scaled up its hydrogenation catalyst technology under license from DuPont and converted multi-ton quantities of bio-based succinic acid into 100% bio-based 1,4-butanediol (BDO), terahydrofuran (THF) and gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), using bio-based succinic acid from its commercial plant in Pomacle, France.

BioAmber is building industrial capacity for both bio-based succinic acid and bio-based 1,4-BDO in Sarnia, Canada and in Thailand, with its manufacturing partner, Mitsui & Co., to meet projected market demand for a new family of succinate polyurethanes with differentiated functionality and reduced carbon footprint. MT www.bio-amber.com

Basics

No ‘greenwashing‘ with bioplastics European Bioplastics publishes ‘Environmental Communications Guide‘ By Kristy-Barbara Lange Head of Communications European Bioplastics Berlin, Germany

T

he emotional debate about our future in the face of increasingly serious environmental problems has left its mark. The consumer is sensitized and willing to contribute his or her share.

The willingness to contribute to environmental protection goes along with an increasing demand for truthful, accurate and easy to verify information on products that claim a reduced impact on the environment. The demand for simple information is high, especially for complex products such as bioplastics and products made thereof. However, breaking down complex properties and expert language into easily understandable claims is a challenge – particularly in the face of international standards giving strict guidelines for environmental communication.

European Bioplastics has taken on this topic with the goal to strengthen accurate environmental communication within the bioplastics industry. The association just published its ‘Environmental Communications Guide’ (ECG), which was developed by an international ad hoc working group within the last six months.

Next to general guidelines for environmental communication the brochure offers recommendations regarding relevant claims for bioplastics such as biobased, biodegradable, compostable or CO2-neutral. Recommendations are illustrated by a number of examples.

Focusing on safeguarding good communication along the entire value chain of bioplastics, the ECG is intended to be a practical help to marketing and communications professionals striving to present the innovation of bioplastics correctly according to the status quo and without neglecting its ample untapped potential.

The Guide is available in English language (see info-box below).

Info:

Sample page from the ECG

In addition there will be a half-day ‘Environmental Communications Workshop’ in Berlin on Nov. 05. More info as well as the download of the Guide can be found at www.european-bioplastics.org/ecg

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

43

Basics

Plastics made from CO2 First plastics from CO2 coming onto the market and they can be biodegradable

C

arbon dioxide is one of the most discussed molecules in the popular press, due to its role as greenhouse gas (GHG) and the increase in temperature on our planet, a phenomenon known as global warming.

Carbon dioxide is generally regarded as an inert molecule, as it is the final product of any combustion process, either chemical or biological in cellular metabolism (an average human body emits daily about 0.9 kg of CO2). The abundance of CO2 prompted scientists to think of it as a useful raw material for the synthesis of chemicals and plastics rather than as a mere emission waste.

Traditionally CO2 has been used in numerous applications, such as in the preparation of carbonated soft drinks, as an acidity regulator in the food industry, in the industrial preparation of synthetic urea, in fire extinguishers and many others.

Today, as CO2 originating from energy production, transport and industrial production continues to accumulate in the atmosphere, scientists and technologists are looking more closely at different alternatives to reduce flue-gas emissions and are exploring the possibility of using CO2 as a direct feedstock for chemicals production, and first successful examples have already been achieved.

The carbon cycle on our planet is able to recycle the CO2 from the atmosphere back in the biosphere and it has maintained an almost constant level of CO2 concentration over the last hundred thousand years. The carbon cycle fixes approx. 200 gigatonnes of CO2 yearly while the anthropogenic CO2 accounts for about 7 gigatonnes per year (3-4% of the CO2 fixed in the carbon cycle). Even if this quantity looks small, we must bear in mind that this excess of CO2 has been accumulating year after year in the atmosphere, and in fact we know that CO2 concentration rose to almost 400 ppm from 280 ppm in the preindustrial era.

In recent years different processes have been patented and are currently used to recover CO2 from the flue-gases of coal, oil or natural gas, or from biomass power plants. The recovered CO2 can be either stored in natural caves, used for

44

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), or can be used as feedstock for the chemical industry. The availability of a high quantity of CO2 triggered different research projects worldwide that are aimed at finding a high added value use for what otherwise is a pollutant.

Plastics from CO2 When it comes to the question of CO2 and plastics there are many different strategies aiming at either obtaining plastics from molecules derived directly from CO2 or using CO2 in combination with monomers that could either be traditional fossil-based or bio-based chemicals. Moreover, the final plastics can be biodegradable or not, depending to their structures. Noteworthy among already existing CO2 derived plastics are polypropylene carbonate, polyethylene carbonate, polyurethanes (see also p. 38) and many promising others that are still in the laboratories.

Polypropylene carbonate Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) is the first remarkable example of a plastic that uses CO2 in its preparation. PPC is obtained through alternated polymerization of CO2 with PO (propylene oxide, C3H6O) (Fig. 1).

The production of PPC worldwide is rising and this trend is not expected to change.

Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) was first developed 40 years ago by Inoue, but is only now coming into its own.

PPC is 43% CO2 by mass, is biodegradable, shows high temperature stability, high elasticity and transparency, and a memory effect. These characteristics open up a wide range of applications for PPC, including countless uses as packaging film and foams, dispersions and softeners for brittle plastics. The North American companies Novomer and Empower Materials, the Norwegian firm Norner and SK Innovation from South Korea are some of those working to develop and produce PPC. Today PPC is a high quality plastic able to combine several advantages at the same time.

Basics

By Fabrizio Sibilla Achim Raschka Michael Carus nova-Institute, Hürth, Germany

Other big advantages of PPC are its thermoplastic behaviour similar to many existing plastics, its possibility to be combined with other polymers, and its use with fillers. Moreover, PPC does not require special tailor-made machines for its forming or extruding, hence this aspect contributes to make PPC a ‘ready to use’ alternative to many existing plastics.

PPC is also a good softener for bioplastics: many biobased plastics, e.g. PLA and PHA, are originally too brittle and can therefore only be used in conjunction with additives in many applications. Now a new option is available which can cover an extended range of material characteristics through combinations of PPC with PLA or PHA. This keeps the material biodegradable and translucent, and it can be processed without any trouble using normal machinery (see also p. 48). It must be pointed out that it is not easy to give an unambiguous classification to PPC, but it falls more into a grey area of definitions. As discussed above, it can be prepared either from CO2 recovered from flue gases and conventional propylene oxide, and in this case although not

O H3C propylene oxide

CO2 catalyst

Polyethylene carbonate and polyols Polypropylene carbonate is not the only plastic that recently came onto the market. Other remarkable examples are the production of polyethylene carbonate (PEC) and polyurethanes from CO2.

The company Novomer has a proprietary technology to obtain PEC from ethylene oxide and CO2, in a process similar to the production of PPC. PEC is 50% CO2 by mass and can be used in a number of applications to replace and improve traditional petroleum based plastics currently on the market.

PEC plastics exhibit excellent oxygen barrier properties that make it useful as a barrier layer for food packaging applications. PEC has a significantly improved environmental footprint compared to barrier resins ethylenevinyl alcohol (EVOH) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) which are used as barrier layers.

CH3

O O

PPC is also a biodegradable polymer that shows good compostability properties. These properties, when combined with the 43% or 100% ‘Recycled CO2’ can contribute to the development of a plastic industry that can aim at being sustainable in its three pillars (social, environmental, economy).

definable as ‘bio-based’ it may still be attractive for its 43% by wt. of recycled CO2 and its full biodegradability. It can in theory also be produced using CO2 recovered from biomass combustion, thus being classified as 43% biomass-based (25% biobased according to the bio-based definition ASTM D6866). As already mentioned above, if propylene oxide could be produced from the oxidation of bio-based propylene, then it can be declared 57% biomass-based or 100% bio-based if CO2 and propylene oxide are both bio-based. As more and more different plastics and chemicals in the future will be derived from recycled CO2 they will need a new classification and definition such as ‘recycled CO2’ in order not to bewilder the consumer.

C

O

Thinking further ahead, in a future when propylene oxide will be produced from methanol reformed from CO2, PPC will be available derived 100% from recycled CO2, therefore making it very attractive for the final consumer.

n

polypropylene carbonate

Fig. 1: Route to PPC from CO2 and propylene oxide

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

45

Basics

CO2 Photosynthesis

CO2 Artificial Photosynthesis

Metabolism

Industrial usage

Energy / Material Resources

Carbohydrates Fig. 2: The carbon cycle as occurring in nature (left) and the envisioned carbon cycle for the ‘CO2 Economy’ (right).

Bayer Material Science exhibited polyurethane blocks at ACHEMA, which were made from CO2 polyols. CO2 replaces some of the mineral oils used. Industrial manufacturing of foams for mattresses and insulating materials for fridges and buildings is due to start in 2015. Noteworthy is the fact that the CO2 used by Bayer Material Science is captured at a lignite-fired power plant, thus contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Implementing a CO2 economy These examples, combined with the strong research efforts of different corporations and national research programs, are disclosing a future where we will probably be able to implement a real ‘CO2 Economy’; where CO2 will be seen as a valuable raw material rather than a necessary evil of our fossil-fuel based modern life style.

Steps toward the implementation of such a vision are already in place. The concept of Artificial Photosynthesis (APS) is a remarkable example (Fig. 2).

This field of chemical production is aiming to use either CO2 recaptured from a fossil fuel combustion facility, or acquiring

Water oxidation by light energy

CO2 from the atmosphere together with water and sunlight to obtain what is often defined as ‘solar fuel’ - mainly methanol or methane. The word ‘fuel’ is used in a broad sense: it refers not only to fuel for transportation or electricity generation, but also to feedstocks for the chemicals and plastics industries.

However research is also focused on other chemicals, such as, for example, the direct formation of formic acid. Efforts are in place to mimic the natural photosynthesis to such an extent that even glucose or other fermentable carbohydrates are foreseen as possible products. Keeping this in mind, a vision where carbohydrates, generated by APS, will be used in subsequent biotechnological fermentation to obtain almost any desired chemicals or bio-plastics (such as PLA, PHB and others) can become reality in a future that is nearer than expected.

The Panasonic Corporation for example, released its first prototype of a working APS device (Fig. 3) that shows the same efficiency of photosynthetic plants and is able to produce formic acid from water, sunlight and CO2; formic acid is a bulk chemical that is required in many industrial processes.

CO2 reduction

Carbon dioxide water Oxygen Light source

46

Metal catalyst Nitride Semiconductor

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

Formic acid

Fig. 3: Panasonic scheme of its fully functioning artificial photosynthesis device (Courtesy of Panasonic Corporation).

We can conclude that artificial photosynthesis and modern chemistry will give us the chance to transform the chemicals and plastics industries into really sustainable industries in terms of raw materials supply and climate protection. The technological conversion from today´s chemistry to molecules and products obtained from CO2 ’that is itself recovered from flue-gases or even from the atmosphere’ is a real opportunity for our economies to create a new market and improve the quality of our environment. If this target is reached, mankind will be able to extend the high living standard reached by advanced economies to the whole world without the typical negative environmental spin-offs related to economic growth. www.bio-based.eu www.co2-chemistry.eu

Info: More info on what production of plastics from CO2 will be like tomorrow at Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Chemistry and Polymers, a conference organized by nova-Institute in Essen, Germany, 10-11th October 2012.

Register now!

6/7 November 2012 Maritim proArte Hotel Berlin Conference contact: conference@european-bioplastics.org +49 .30 28 48 23 50

c

www.conference.european-bioplastics.org bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

47

Basics

Sustainable Plastic from CO2 Waste By Robert Greiner Corporate Research and Technologies Siemens AG Erlangen, Germany Fig. 1: Vacuum cleaner cover

A

Fig. 2: Door-holder for refrigerators

s part of the project ‘CO2 as a polymer building block’, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, scientists from Siemens Corporate Technology, together with their project partners from BASF, the Technical University of Munich and the University of Hamburg, have been seeking an alternative for the standard plastics ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and PS (polystyrene). Both plastics are frequently used in consumer products. Compounds based on PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate) could be a competitive alternative to ABS. PHB is a polymer produced by micro-organisms as a form of energy storage molecule based on sugar (mostly cornstarch) or plant oils as renewable feedstock.

But PHB is a very brittle plastic and, unless modified, is unsuitable as a material for example for housings. A transparent alternative to PS could be compounds based on PLA.

For these two materials polypropylene carbonate (PPC) can be used as an impact modifier. PPC is an amorphous thermoplastic material and shows a glass transition temperature of around 30 °C. Thus it is very flexible at room temperature, and moreover it shows at least a partial miscibility with both bioplastics and therefore it is suitable for adjusting the ductility of PHB and PLA. PPC consists of around 43% by wt. of carbon dioxide obtained by removing CO2 from waste gases, e.g. from power plants. The copolymerization occurs with PO (propylene oxide) in the presence of appropriate catalysts. These catalysts are the key to a new CO2-chemistry which uses carbon dioxide as a valuable resource for base chemicals.

propylene oxide

48

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

catalyst

CH3

O O

H3C

CO2

C

O

O

n

polypropylene carbonate

Basics

Polypropylene carbonate is highly clear, biodegradable, stable under UV light and easy to process by injection moulding or extrusion.

The following new formulations were developed as green alternatives to ABS and PS (figures in weight percent): A) ABS alternative: ((PHB (70 %) + PPC (30 %)) + talc (10 %) + carbon black master batch (3 %) B) PS alternative: (PLA (70 + green pigment (0,25 %)

%)

+

PPC

(30

%))

In table 1 some properties of the new compounds are given in comparison to ABS and PS. In comparison with the standard materials the green compounds show an absolutely satisfactory property profile. With the recipe A merely the impact strength falls off noticeably compared to the ABS. With the recipe B the heat distortion temperature is below that of the PS but toughness is increased significantly.

In both green compounds there is a better ecological balance compared to ABS and PS. In recipe A the share of sustainable polymers is slightly above 70 % by wt. and in recipe B around 85 %.

80 kg of each compound were produced on a twin screw extruder in the Siemens technical centre. At the BSH company (Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH) the compounds were injection moulded on normal production ABS and PS

moulds. The green ABS alternative was used to manufacture covers for vacuum cleaners and, using the green replacement for PS, transparent door holders for refrigerators were produced. These products are shown in the figures 1 and 2 and demonstrate in an impressive manner that by means of a product-oriented material development many applications can be realized with sustainable compounds based on biopolymers from renewable sources and CO2-polymers. www.siemens.com

Table 1: Comparison of properties shrinkage in flow dir. % shrinkage vertical % E-modulus, MPa

σy, MPa

εy, % Izod Impact RT, kJ/m² HDT / B, °C density, g/cm³

ABS 0.6 0.7 2300 39

recipe A. 0.7 0.8 2550 35

PS 0.4 0.6 3300 46

recipe B. 0.07 0.09 3400 58

2.1

2.5

2

27

70 97 1.07

10 105 1.30

8 82 1.07

28 51 1.25

New ‘basics‘ book on bioplastics This new book, created and published by Polymedia Publisher, maker of bioplastics is now available in English and German language.

MAGAZINE

The book is intended to offer a rapid and uncomplicated introduction into the subject of bioplastics, and is aimed at all interested readers, in particular those who have not yet had the opportunity to dig deeply into the subject, such as students, those just joining this industry, and lay readers. It gives an introduction to plastics and bioplastics, explains which renewable resources can be used to produce bioplastics, what types of bioplastic exist, and which ones are already on the market. Further aspects, such as market development, the agricultural land required, and waste disposal, are also examined.

An extensive index allows the reader to find specific aspects quickly, and is complemented by a comprehensive literature list and a guide to sources of additional information on the Internet.

The author Michael Thielen is editor and publisher bioplastics MAGAZINE. He is a qualified machinery design engineer with a degree in plastics technology from the RWTH University in Aachen. He has written several books on the subject of blowmoulding technology and disseminated his knowledge of plastics in numerous presentations, seminars, guest lectures and teaching assignments.

110 pages full color, paperback ISBN 978-3-9814981-1-0: Bioplastics ISBN 978-3-9814981-0-3: Biokunststoffe

Order now for € 18.65 or US-$ 25.00 (+ VAT where applicable, plus shipping and handling, ask for details) order at www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/books, by phone +49 2161 6884463 or by e-mail books@bioplasticsmagazine.com

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

49

Basics

Glossary 3.0

updated

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.

Since this Glossary will not be printed in each issue you can download a pdf version from our website bioplastics MAGAZINE is grateful to European Bioplastics for the permission to use parts of their Glossary (see [1]) 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: a. Plastics based on → renewable resources (the focus is the origin of the raw material used). These can be biodegradable or not. b. → 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.

Aerobic - anaerobic | aerobic = in the presence of oxygen (e.g. in composting) | anaerobic = without oxygen being present (e.g. in biogasification, anaerobic digestion) [bM 06/09]

Anaerobic digestion | conversion of organic waste into bio-gas. Other than in → composting in anaerobic degradation there is no oxygen present. In bio-gas plants for example, this type of degradation leads to the production of methane that can be captured in a controlled way and used for energy generation.

[14] [bM 06/09] Amorphous | non-crystalline, glassy with unordered lattice Amylopectin | Polymeric branched starch molecule with very high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is → Glucose) [bM 05/09]

Amylose | Polymeric non-branched starch molecule with high molecular weight (biopolymer, monomer is → Glucose) [bM 05/09] Biobased plastic/polymer | A plastic/polymer in which constitutional units are totally or in part from → biomass [3]. If this claim is used, a percentage should always be given to which extent the product/material is → biobased [1] [bM 01/07, bM 03/10]

50

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/11] Vol. 7

Biobased | The term biobased describes the part of a material or product that is stemming from → biomass. When making a biobasedclaim, the unit (→ biobased carbon content, → biobased mass content), a percentage and the measuring method should be clearly stated [1] Biobased carbon | carbon contained in or stemming from → biomass. A material or product made of fossil and → renewable resources contains fossil and → biobased carbon.

The 14C method [4, 5] measures the amount of biobased carbon in the material or product as fraction weight (mass) or percent weight (mass) of the total organic carbon content [1] [6] Biobased mass content | describes the amount of biobased mass contained in a material or product. This method is complementary to the 14C method, and furthermore, takes other chemical elements besides the biobased carbon into account, such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. A measuring method is currently being developed and tested by the Association Chimie du Végétal (ACDV) [1] Biodegradable Plastics | Biodegradable Plastics are plastics that are completely assimilated by the → 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.

The process of biodegradation depends on the environmental conditions, which influence it (e.g. location, temperature, humidity) and on the material or application itself. Consequently, the process and its outcome can vary considerably. Biodegradability is linked to the structure of the polymer chain; it does not depend on the origin of the raw materials.

There is currently no single, overarching standard to back up claims about biodegradability. As the sole claim of biodegradability without any additional specifications is vague, it should not be used in communications. If it is used, additional surveys/tests (e.g. timeframe or environment (soil, sea)) should be added to substantiate this claim [1].

One standard for example is ISO or in Europe: EN 14995 Plastics- Evaluation of compostability - Test scheme and specifications [bM 02/06, bM 01/07]

Biomass | Material of biological origin excluding material embedded in geological formations and material transformed to fossilised material. This includes organic material, e.g. trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, algae and waste of biological origin, e.g. manure [1, 2] Blend | Mixture of plastics, polymer alloy of at least two microscopically dispersed and molecularly distributed base polymers Bisphenol-A (BPA) | Monomer used to produce different polymers. BPA is said to cause health problems, due to the fact that is behaves like a hormone. Therefore it is banned for use in children’s products in many countries.

BPI | Biodegradable Products Institute, a notfor-profit association. Through their innovative compostable label program, BPI educates manufacturers, legislators and consumers about the importance of scientifically based standards for compostable materials which biodegrade in large composting facilities.

Carbon footprint | (CFPs resp. PCFs – Product Carbon Footprint): Sum of → greenhouse gas emissions and removals in a product system, expressed as CO2 equivalent, and based on a → life cycle assessment. The CO2 equivalent of a specific amount of a greenhouse gas is calculated as the mass of a given greenhouse gas multiplied by its → global warmingpotential [1, 2] Carbon neutral, CO2 neutral | Carbon neutral describes a product or 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.

Carbon neutrality can also be achieved through buying sufficient carbon credits to make up the difference. The latter option is not allowed when communicating → LCAs or carbon footprints regarding a material or product [1, 2].

Carbon-neutral claims are tricky as products will not in most cases reach carbon neutrality if their complete life cycle is taken into consideration (including the end-of life).

If an assessment of a material, however, is conducted (cradle to gate), carbon neutrality might be a valid claim in a B2B context. In this case, the unit assessed in the complete life cycle has to be clarified [1] Catalyst | substance that enables and accelerates a chemical reaction Cellophane | Clear film on the basis of → cellulose [bM 01/10] Cellulose | Cellulose is the principal component of cell walls in all higher forms of plant life, at varying percentages. It is therefore the most common organic compound and also the most common polysaccharide (multisugar) [11]. C. is a polymeric molecule with very high molecular weight (monomer is → Glucose), industrial production from wood or cotton, to manufacture paper, plastics and fibres [bM 01/10] Cellulose ester| Cellulose esters occur by the esterification of cellulose with organic acids.

The most important cellulose esters from a technical point of view are cellulose acetate

Basics (CA with acetic acid), cellulose propionate (CP with propionic acid) and cellulose butyrate (CB with butanoic acid). Mixed polymerisates, such as cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) can also be formed. One of the most well-known applications of cellulose aceto butyrate (CAB) is the moulded handle on the Swiss army knife [11] Cellulose acetate CA| → Cellulose ester CEN | Comité Européen de Normalisation (European organisation for standardization) Compost | A soil conditioning material of decomposing organic matter which provides nutrients and enhances soil structure. [bM 06/08, 02/09]

Compostable Plastics | Plastics that are → biodegradable under ‘composting’ conditions: specified humidity, temperature, → microorganisms and timefame. In order to make accurate and specific claims about compostability, the location (home, → industrial) and timeframe need to be specified [1].

Several national and international standards exist for clearer definitions, for example EN 14995 Plastics - Evaluation of compostability Test scheme and specifications. [bM 02/06, bM 01/07] Composting | A solid waste management technique that uses natural process to convert organic materials to CO2, water and humus through the action of → microorganisms.

When talking about composting of bioplastics, usually → industrial composting in a managed composting plant is meant [bM 03/07] Compound | plastic mixture from different raw materials (polymer and additives) [bM 04/10) Copolymer | Plastic composed of different monomers.

Cradle-to-Gate | Describes the system boundaries of an environmental →Life 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 →LCA studies.

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

Crystalline | Plastic with regularly arranged molecules in a lattice structure Density | Quotient from mass and volume of a material, also referred to as specific weight DIN | Deutsches Institut für Normung (German organisation for standardization) DIN-CERTCO | independant certifying organisation for the assessment on the conformity of bioplastics Dispersing | fine distribution of non-miscible liquids into a homogeneous, stable mixture Elastomers | rigid, but under force flexible and elastically formable plastics with rubbery properties EN 13432 | European standard for the assessment of the → compostability of plastic packaging products

Energy recovery | recovery and exploitation of the energy potential in (plastic) waste for the production of electricity or heat in waste incineration pants (waste-to-energy)

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

Enzymes | proteins that catalyze chemical reactions

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

Ethylen | colour- and odourless gas, made e.g. from, Naphtha (petroleum) by cracking, monomer of the polymer polyethylene (PE) European Bioplastics e.V. | The industry association representing the interests of Europe’s thriving bioplastics’ industry. Founded in Germany in 1993 as IBAW, European Bioplastics today represents the interests of over 70 member companies throughout the European Union. With members from the agricultural feedstock, chemical and plastics industries, as well as industrial users and recycling companies, European Bioplastics serves as both a contact platform and catalyst for advancing the aims of the growing bioplastics industry.

Extrusion | process used to create plastic profiles (or sheet) of a fixed cross-section consisting of mixing, melting, homogenising and shaping of the plastic.

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

FSC | Forest Stewardship Council. FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-forprofit organization established to promote the responsible and sustainable management of the world’s forests.

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

Genetically modified organism (GMO) | Organisms, such as plants and animals, whose genetic material (DNA) has been altered are called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Food and feed which contain or consist of such GMOs, or are produced from GMOs, are called genetically modified (GM) food or feed [1] Global Warming | Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation [8]. Global warming is said to be accelerated by → green house gases.

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.

Greenhouse gas GHG | Gaseous constituent of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorbs and emits radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, the atmosphere, and clouds [1, 9] Greenwashing | The act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company, or the environmental benefits of a product or service [1, 10] Granulate, granules | small plastic particles (3-4 millimetres), a form in which plastic is sold and fed into machines, easy to handle and dose.

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

IBAW | → European Bioplastics Industrial composting | Industrial composting is an established process with commonly agreed upon requirements (e.g. temperature, timeframe) for transforming biodegradable waste into stable, sanitised products to be used in agriculture. The criteria for industrial compostability of packaging have been defined in the EN 13432. Materials and products complying with this standard can be certified and subsequently labelled accordingly [1, 7] [bM 06/08, bM 02/09]

Integral Foam | foam with a compact skin and porous core and a transition zone in between.

ISO | International Organization for Standardization JBPA | Japan Bioplastics Association LCA | Life Cycle Assessment (sometimes also referred to as life cycle analysis, ecobalance, and → cradle-to-grave analysis) is the investigation and valuation of the environmental impacts of a given product or service caused. [bM 01/09]

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

Molecule | group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds.

Monomer | molecules that are linked by polymerization to form chains of molecules and then plastics Mulch film | Foil to cover bottom of farmland PBAT | Polybutylene adipate terephthalate, is an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester that has the properties of conventional polyethylene but is fully biodegradable under industrial composting. PBAT is made from fossil petroleum with first attempts being made to produce it partly from renewable resources [bM 06/09] PBS | Polybutylene succinate, a 100% biodegradable polymer, made from (e.g. bio-BDO) and succinic acid, which can also be produced biobased [bM 03/12].

PC | Polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyester, petroleum based, used for e.g. baby bottles or CDs. Criticized for its BPA (→ Bisphenol-A) content.

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

PE | Polyethylene, thermoplastic polymerised from ethylene. Can be made from renewable resources (sugar cane via bio-ethanol) [bM 05/10]

PET | Polyethylenterephthalate, transparent polyester used for bottles and film

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/11] Vol. 7

51

PGA | Polyglycolic acid or Polyglycolide is a biodegradable, thermoplastic polymer and the simplest linear, aliphatic polyester. Besides ist use in the biomedical field, PGA has been introduced as a barrier resin [bM 03/09] PHA | Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. The most common type of PHA is → PHB. PHB | Polyhydroxybutyrate (better poly-3-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 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.

PHBH | Polyhydroxy butyrate hexanoate (better poly 3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) is a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), Like other biopolymers from the family of the polyhydroxyalkanoates PHBH is produced by microorganisms in the fermentation process, where it is accumulated in the microorganism’s body for nutrition. The main features of PHBH are its excellent biodegradability, combined with a high degree of hydrolysis and heat stability. [bM 03/09, 01/10, 03/11] PLA | Polylactide or Polylactic Acid (PLA), a biodegradable, thermoplastic, linear aliphatic polyester based on lactic acid, a natural acid, is mainly produced by fermentation of sugar or starch with the help of micro-organisms.

Lactic acid comes in two isomer forms, i.e. as laevorotatory D(-)lactic acid and as dextrorotary L(+)lactic acid. In each case two lactic acid molecules form a circular lactide molecule which, depending on its composition, can be a D-D-lactide, an L-L-lactide or a meso-lactide (having one D and one L molecule). The chemist makes use of this variability. During polymerisation the chemist combines the lactides such that the PLA plastic obtained has the characteristics that he desires. The purity of the infeed material is an important factor in successful polymerisation and thus for the economic success of the process, because so far the cleaning of the lactic acid produced by the fermentation has been relatively costly [12].

Modified PLA types can be produced by the use of the right additives or by a combinations of L- and D- lactides (stereocomplexing), which then have the required rigidity for use at higher temperatures [13] [bM 01/09] Plastics | Materials with large molecular chains of natural or fossil raw materials, produced by chemical or biochemical reactions.

PPC | Polypropylene Carbonate, a bioplastic made by copolymerizing CO2 with propylene oxide (PO) [bM 04/12] Renewable Resources | agricultural raw materials, which are not used as food or feed, but as raw material for industrial products or to generate energy Saccharins or carbohydrates | Saccharins or carbohydrates are name for the sugar-family.

Saccharins are monomer or polymer sugar

52

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/11] Vol. 7

units. For example, there are known mono-, di- and polysaccharose. → glucose is a monosaccarin. They are important for the diet and produced biology in plants.

Semi-finished products | plastic in form of sheet, film, rods or the like to be further processed into finshed products 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 | Natural polymer (carbohydrate) consisting of → amylose and → 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 → amylose and → amylopectin known. [bM 05/09] Starch derivate | Starch derivates are based on the chemical structure of → starch. The chemical structure can be changed by introducing new functional groups without changing the → starch polymer. The product has different chemical qualities. Mostly the hydrophilic character is not the same.

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.

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

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.

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

Thermoplastic Starch | (TPS) → starch that was modified (cooked, complexed) to make it a plastic resin Thermoset | Plastics (resins) which do not soften or melt when heated. Examples are epoxy resins or unsaturated polyester resins.

WPC | Wood Plastic Composite. Composite materials made of wood fiber/flour and plastics (mostly polypropylene).

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

References: [1] Environmental Communication Guide, European Bioplastics, Berlin, Germany, 2012 [2] ISO 14067. Carbon footprint of products Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication [3] CEN TR 15932, Plastics - Recommendation for terminology and characterisation of biopolymers and bioplastics, 2010 [4] CEN/TS 16137, Plastics - Determination of bio-based carbon content, 2011 [5] ASTM D6866, Standard Test Methods for Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon Analysis [6] SPI: Understanding Biobased Carbon Content, 2012 [7] EN 13432, Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation. Test scheme and evaluation criteria for the final acceptance of packaging, 2000 [8] Wikipedia [9] ISO 14064 Greenhouse gases -- Part 1: Specification with guidance..., 2006 [10] Terrachoice, 2010, www.terrachoice.com [11] Thielen, M.: Bioplastics: Basics. Applications. Markets, Polymedia Publisher, 2012 [12] Lörcks, J.: Biokunststoffe, Broschüre der FNR, 2005 [13] de Vos, S.: Improving heat-resistance of PLA using poly(D-lactide), bioplastics MAGAZINE, Vol. 3, Issue 02/2008 [14] de Wilde, B.: Anaerobic Digestion, bioplastics MAGAZINE, Vol 4., Issue 06/2009

A sustainable alternative to traditional plastics

Cereplast® offers a wide range of bioplastic resin grades that are suitable for a variety of applications Cereplast Compostables® resins for certied compostable, single-use applications Cereplast Sustainables® resins for biobased, durable applications

Cereplast® resins work with all major converting processes Injection Molding Thermoforming Blown Film Blow Molding Extrusions

www.cereplast.com

Suppliers Guide 1. Raw Materials 10

20

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

30

40

www.cereplast.com US: Tel: +1 310.615.1900 Fax +1 310.615.9800 Sales@cereplast.com Europe: Tel: +49 1763 2131899 weckey@cereplast.com

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

50

Simply contact:

Tel.: +49 2161 6884467

60

suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com 70

Stay permanently listed in the Suppliers Guide with your company logo and contact information.

80

For only 6,– EUR per mm, per issue you can be present among top suppliers in the field of bioplastics.

90

For Example:

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. No.33 Kefeng Rd, Sc. City, Guangzhou Hi-Tech Ind. Development Zone, Guangdong, P.R. China. 510663 Tel: +86 (0)20 6622 1696 info@ecopond.com.cn www.ecopond.com.cn FLEX-162 Biodeg. Blown Film Resin!

Bio-873 4-Star Inj. Bio-Based Resin!

PolyOne Avenue Melville Wilson, 2 Zoning de la Fagne 5330 Assesse Belgium Tel.: + 32 83 660 211 www.polyone.com

100

120

130

39 mm

110

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

140

Sample Charge: 150

160

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

Sample Charge for one year: 6 issues x 234,00 EUR = 1,404.00 €

170

180

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.

Jincheng, Lin‘an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, P.R. China China contact: Grace Jin mobile: 0086 135 7578 9843 Grace@xinfupharm.com Europe contact(Belgium): Susan Zhang mobile: 0032 478 991619 zxh0612@hotmail.com www.xinfupharm.com 1.1 bio based monomers

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

190

200

210

1.2 compounds

220

230

240

250

www.facebook.com www.issuu.com

260

www.twitter.com 270

54

www.youtube.com

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

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

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

GRAFE-Group Waldecker Straße 21, 99444 Blankenhain, Germany Tel. +49 36459 45 0 www.grafe.com

Guangdong Shangjiu Biodegradable Plastics Co., Ltd. Shangjiu Environmental Protection Eco-Tech Industrial Park,Niushan, Dongcheng District, Dongguan City, Guangdong Province, 523128 China Tel.: 0086-769-22114999 Fax: 0086-769-22103988 www.999sw.com www.999sw.net 999sw@163.com

WinGram Industry CO., LTD Benson Liu Great River(Qin Xin) Plastic Manufacturer CO.,LTD Mobile (China): +86-18666691720 Mobile (Hong Kong): +852-63078857 Fax: +852-3184 8934 Benson@greatriver.com.hk 1.3 PLA

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

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

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

Suppliers Guide 1.6 masterbatches

3. Semi finished products 3.1 films

ROQUETTE Frères 62 136 LESTREM, FRANCE 00 33 (0) 3 21 63 36 00 www.gaialene.com www.roquette.com

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

PSM Bioplastic NA Chicago, USA www.psmna.com +1-630-393-0012 1.5 PHA

GRAFE-Group Waldecker Straße 21, 99444 Blankenhain, Germany Tel. +49 36459 45 0 www.grafe.com

PolyOne Avenue Melville Wilson, 2 Zoning de la Fagne 5330 Assesse Belgium Tel.: + 32 83 660 211 www.polyone.com

Arkema Inc. Functional Additives-Biostrength 900 First Avenue King of Prussia, PA/USA 19406 Contact: Connie Lo, Commercial Development Mgr. Tel: 610.878.6931 connie.lo@arkema.com www.impactmodifiers.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

GRAFE-Group Waldecker Straße 21, 99444 Blankenhain, Germany Tel. +49 36459 45 0 www.grafe.com

TianAn Biopolymer 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

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

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

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

2. Additives/Secondary raw materials

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

Metabolix 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

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

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

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

4. Bioplastics products 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 Phone: +49 (0)621-8907-233 Fax: +49 (0)621-8907-8233 bioadimide.eu@rheinchemie.com www.bioadimide.com

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

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

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

55

Suppliers Guide 7. Plant engineering 10

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

20

30

40

50

Simply contact:

Tel.: +49 2161 6884467

60

6. Equipment 6.1 Machinery & Molds

suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com 70

Stay permanently listed in the Suppliers Guide with your company logo and contact information.

Molds, Change Parts and Turnkey Solutions for the PET/Bioplastic For only 6,– EUR per mm, per issue you Container Industry can be present among top suppliers in 284 Pinebush Road the field of bioplastics.

Cambridge Ontario Canada N1T 1Z6 For Example: Tel. +1 519 624 9720 Fax +1 519 624 9721 info@hallink.com www.hallink.com

80

90

100

120

130

39 mm

110

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

140

Sample Charge: 150

160

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

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

Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH Holzhauser Strasse 157–159 D-13509 Berlin Tel. +49 30 43 567 5 Fax +49 30 43 567 699 sales.de@uhde-inventa-fischer.com Uhde Inventa-Fischer AG Via Innovativa 31 CH-7013 Domat/Ems Tel. +41 81 632 63 11 Fax +41 81 632 74 03 sales.ch@uhde-inventa-fischer.com www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com

180

9. Services

Osterfelder Str. 3 46047 Oberhausen Tel.: +49 (0)208 8598 1227 Fax: +49 (0)208 8598 1424 thomas.wodke@umsicht.fhg.de www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de

Institut für Kunststofftechnik Universität Stuttgart Böblinger Straße 70 70199 Stuttgart Tel +49 711/685-62814 Linda.Goebel@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de www.ikt.uni-stuttgart.de

Sample Charge for one year:

64625 Bensheim, Deutschland Tel. +49 6251 77061 0 Fax +49 6251 77061 500 info@sp-protec.com www.sp-protec.com

narocon Dr. Harald Kaeb Tel.: +49 30-28096930 kaeb@narocon.de www.narocon.de

6.2 Laboratory Equipment

200

10.1 Associations

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

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

10.2 Universities

Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

The entry in our Suppliers Guide is bookable for one year (6 issues) and ProTec Polymer Processing GmbH extends automatically if it’s not canceled Stubenwald-Allee 9 three month before expiry.

190

10. Institutions

8. Ancillary equipment

6 issues x 234,00 EUR = 1,404.00 € 170

UL International TTC GmbH Rheinuferstrasse 7-9, Geb. R33 47829 Krefeld-Uerdingen, Germany Tel: +49 (0)2151 88 3324 Fax: +49 (0)2151 88 5210 ttc@ul.com www.ulttc.com

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hanover Faculty II – Mechanical and Bioprocess Engineering Heisterbergallee 12 30453 Hannover, Germany Tel.: +49 5 11 / 92 96 - 22 69 Fax: +49 5 11 / 92 96 - 99 - 22 69 lisa.mundzeck@fh-hannover.de http://www.ifbb-hannover.de/

210

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

220

230

240

250

www.facebook.com www.issuu.com

260

www.twitter.com 270

56

www.youtube.com

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

nova-Institut GmbH Chemiepark Knapsack Industriestrasse 300 50354 Huerth, Germany Tel.: +49(0)2233-48-14 40 E-Mail: contact@nova-institut.de

Bioplastics Consulting Tel. +49 2161 664864 info@polymediaconsult.com

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

Events

Event Calendar

7th European Bioplastics Conference

06.11.2012 - 07.11.2012 - Berlin, Germany Maritim proArte Hotel http://en.european-bioplastics.org/conference2012/

Biopolymere 2012

20.11.2012 - Straubing, Germany http://bayern-innovativ.de/biopolymere2012

Composites Europe

The 2013 Packaging Conference

http://www.composites-europe.com/kontakt_57.html

www.thepackagingconference.com

Biopolymere in Folienanwendungen

Bioplastics - The Re-Innovation of Plastics

04.02.2013 - 06.02.2013 - Atlanta, Georgia, USA The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

09.10.2012 - 11.10.2012 - Duisburg, Germany Exhibition Centre Duesseldorf

04.03.2013 - 06.03.2013 - Las Vegas, USA Cesar‘s Palace

10.10.2012 - 11.10.2012 - Würzburg, Germany http://www.skz.de/457

Carbon Dioxide as Feedstock for Chemicals and Polymers

www.bioplastix.com

23. Stuttgarter Kunststoff-Kolloquium

10.10.2012 - 11.10.2012 - Essen, Germany Haus der Technik“ Essen

06.03.2013 - 07.03.2013 - Straubing, Germany University of Stuttgart

http://www.co2-chemistry.eu/

http://www.ikt.uni-stuttgart.de

Biopolymers Symposium 2012

BioKunststoffe 2013

15.10.2012 - 16.10.2012 - San Antonio (TX), USA The Westin Riverwalk Hotel

06.03.2013 - 07.03.2013 - Duisburg, Germany Haus der Unternehmer

http://www.biopolymersummit.com

www.hanser-tagungen.de/biokunststoffe

You can meet us!

Please contact us in advance by e-mail.

Bookstore Order now! www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/books phone +49 2161 6884463 e-mail books@bioplasticsmagazine.com

NEW

* plus VAT (where applicable), plus cost for shipping/handling details see www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/books

Michael Thielen

NEW

Bioplastics Basics. Applications. Markets.

r 5o * 0 8.6 € 1 $ 25.0 US

00*

69.

€1

Hans-Josef Endres, Andrea Siebert-Raths

Engineering Biopolymers

Markets, Manufacturing, Properties and Applications Hans-Josef Endres, Andrea Siebert-Raths

Technische Biopolymere

Rahmenbedingungen, Marktsituation, Herstellung, Aufbau und Eigenschaften

44*

79,

€2

44*

Handbook of Bioplastics and Biocomposites Engineering Applications Engineering Applications

General conditions, market situation, production, structure and properties New ‘basics‘ book on bioplastics: The book is intended to offer a rapid and uncomplicated introduction into the subject of bioplastics, and is aimed at all interested readers, in particular those who have not yet had the opportunity to dig deeply into the subject, such as students, those just joining this industry, and lay readers.

Edited by Srikanth Pilla

The intention of this new book (2011), written by 40 scientists from industry and academia, is to explore the extensive applications made with bioplastics & biocomposites. The Handbook focuses on five main categories of applications packaging; civil engineering; biomedical; automotive; general engineering. It is structured in six parts and a total of 19 chapters. A comprehensive index allows the quick location of information the reader is looking for.

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 micro-structure, manufacturing, and processing-, application-, and recycling properties of biopolymers

79,

€2

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

57

Companies in this issue Company

Editorial Advert

A&O FilmPAC

55

A. Schulman

21

ACS

7

Alesco

Company

Editorial Advert 54

plasticker

Hallink

56

Polish Academy of Science

28

55

Polster Catering

6

Hosti

6

Huhtamaki Films

10

Polymediaconsult

5

API

21

API Institute

18

Innovia Films

55

ProTec Polymer Processing

Argent Energy

28

Institut für Kunststofftechnik

56

PSM

55

Argus Umweltbiologie

28

Institute for Biopolymers and Biocomposites

56

Purac

37, 54

54

55

55

56

Antibioticòs

Arkema

Iggesund

22

9, 15

Polyone

54, 55

President Packaging

23

55 56

InteriorPark

16

Reistenhofer

BASF

5, 6

Jiangsu Danmao Textrile

20

Rhein Chemie

Bayer Material Science

46

Jiangsu Jilang-CAS

38

Roll-o-Matic

56

BioAmber

42

Jiaxing Runzhi

20

Roquette

55

BioPro

16

Kingfa

Saida

56

Shenzhen Esun Industrial Co.

54

Showa Denko

54

54

28 17, 55

Biosphere

54

KRKA

28

BPI

56

Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients

8

Braskem

59

Linotech

15

Sidaplax

Livemold trading

15

Siemens

London Bio Packaging

12

Starbucks

7

Malmö Aviation

22

Sulzer Chemtech

10

Cargill

5

Cereplast

53, 54

Chemtex Italia

28

Coca-Cola

13

Cortec DuPont Eksportera USB

3, 9, 14, 43

15

Taghleef Industries

McDonalds

13

Takata

14

54

Metabolix

5

28

47, 56

55

Termoplast

56

TianAn Biopolymer

Minima Technology

55

Toray

31 24

Myriant

39

Uhde Inventa-Fischer

6

narocon

56

UL Thermoplastics

Evonik

32

Nat. Inst. of Chem. Ljubljana 2, 54

9

Natur-Tec

Fort Collins

37

Nite Ize

Fourmotors

9

NMC NNFCC

56

28

NatureWorks

FNR

Fraunhofer UMSICHT

55

Michigan State University

EuroSpeedway FKuR

55 47

Martin Fuchs Spielwaren

35

European Bioplastics

54

55 28

Erema

55

56

University Freiburg

8, 10, 20, 23

40

University Hong Kong

7

University Padua

28

37

University Pisa

28

21

University Rostock

6

12

University Zagreb

28

Versalis

34

Volkswagen

40

54

21

nova-Institut

Full Circle Design

14

Novamont

Genomatica

34

Novozymes

5

Wei Mon

29, 56

Omikron

22

WinGram

54

Organic Waste Systems

8

Xinfu Pharm

Panasonic

46

Yparex

PickNick

22

55

Grafe

54, 55

Graz University of Technology

26

Green Dot Holdings

15, 36

Editorial Planner

33, 44

30, 56

11, 56

Frisetta Kunststoff

Grabio Greentech

13, 22, 25, 34 55, 60

Issue

Month

pub-date

deadline

Editorial Focus (1)

Editorial Focus (2)

Basics

06/2012

Nov/Dec

03.12.12

03.11.12 ed.

17.11.12 ad.

Films / Flexibles / Bags

Consumer Electronics

Film Blowing

01/2013

Jan/Feb

04.02.2013

21.12.12 ed.

21.01.13 ad.

Automotive

Foam

t.b.d.

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7

54 30

2012 / 2013

Subject to changes

58

Editorial Advert

Guangdong Shangjiu Hallstar

55

Company

Follow us on twitter!

www.twitter.com/bioplasticsmag

Be our friend on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine

Event / Fair

I’m green™: it begins with sugarcane and ends with solutions that contribute to a better planet.

The I’m green™ seal identifies and lends credibility to products made from Braskem’s green polyethylene, which not only is recyclable using conventional recycling stream, but also is made from a renewable raw material, the sugarcane, which contributes towards reducing greenhouse gases.

A product differential that makes the difference to nature.

For more information, visit www.braskem.com.br/greenplastic

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®.

Mater-Bi® is a family of materials, completely biodegradable and compostable which contain renewable raw materials such as starch and vegetable oil derivates. Mater-Bi® 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.

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

Inventor of the year 2007

Within Mater-Bi® product range the following certifications are available

The “OK Compost” certificate guarantees conformity with the NF EN 13432 standard (biodegradable and compostable packaging) 3_2012