Bioplastics

A better bioplastic for a better world

SBB 3254

industrial biotechnology

Evangelin 

"I don't want to protect the environment. I want to create a world where the environment doesn't need protection"

Saveetha

"Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented" 

Jaswineey

"Plastic pollution free world is not a choice but a commitment to life - a commitment to the next generation"

Petroleum-based Plastic

  • The term ‘’plastic’’ is derived from the Greek word ''plastikos'', meaning fit for moulding. This refers to the material’s malleability, or plasticity during manufacture, which allows it to be cast, pressed, or extruded into a variety of shapes - such as films, fibres, plates, tubes, bottles, boxes, and much more.

  • Most plastic products are made from petroleum. These include polyethylene, PVC, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyester, nylon and acrylic (DiGregorio, 2009).

WHY PLASTIC IS BAD?

  • Petroleum and petroleum-derived products can be dangerous to human health, because they contain toxic compounds such as Benzene, PEG, and BPA

  • Petroleum-based plastics do not biodegrade

  • When plastics are broken down by sunlight they produce micro-plastic granules and release toxic chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) and PS oligomer (Gironi et al., 2011)
ALTERNATIVE PLASTIC

BIOPLASTICS

Bioplastic refers to plastic made from plant or other biological material instead of petroleum. It is also often called bio-based plastic·        

WHY CHOOSE BIOPLASTIC OVER PETROLEUM- BASED PLASTICS?

  • Bioplastics can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels, support sustainability in the industry, avoid environmental pollutions and allow manufacturers to diversify feedstocks        

  • Bioplastics are made from biopolymers obtained from biomass, such as starch, proteins and cellulose. (Sarasa et al., 2018)

history of bioplastics

  1. ·         1862 – Alexander Parkes (UK) creates Parkesine, the first man-made plastic made from cellulose. Parkesine was a biobased plastic, a bioplastic.
  2. ·         1897 – Galalith is invented by German chemists. It’s a biodegradable plastic made from casein (milk).
  3. ·         1912 – Brandenberger (CH) invents and patents Cellophane, a transparent sheet made from wood, cotton or hemp cellulose.
  4. ·         1926 – Maurice Lemoigne (FR) developed polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from bacterium Bacillus megaterium. This was the first bioplastics made from bacteria.
  5. ·         1930s – Henry Ford (US) used bioplastics made from soy beans for some car parts.
  6. ·         1950 – W.R. Grace (US) evaluates if bioplastics (PHA and PHB) can be produced from microbes and bacteria on a commercial scale.
  7. ·         1975 – A team of Japanese scientists discover the principle of biodegradable plastics. They discovered a bacteria (Flavobacterium) that broke down nylon in pools containing waste water from a nylon factory.
  8. ·         1990 – Bioplastics company Novamont (IT) is established. Novamont is seen as the Bioplastics industry leader.
  9. ·         1992 – Chris Somerville from Michigan State University reported in the journal Science that bioplastics (PHB) could be produced  from a plant called Arabidopsis thaliana.
  10. ·         1996 – Monsanto acquires the Biopol business from Zeneca and start using plants to produce bioplastics instead of microbes and bacteria.
  11. ·         1997 – Cargill and Dow chemicals set up the Cargill and Dow Chemicals joint venture with the intention to produce bioplastics from corn.
  12. ·         2001 – University of Lincoln (UK) researcher, Nick Tucker, was the first to use elephant grass in the production of bioplastic articles.
  13. ·         2010 – Rémy Lucas (FR) establishes Algopack, the first bioplastics company that uses seaweed as biomass.
  14. ·         2013 – Bioplasticsnews.com is established.
  15. ·         2018 – Arctic Biomaterials (FI) manage to reinforce PLA with biodegradable glass fibre. Their technology will enable PLA upgrade.
  16. ·         2019 – Neste (FI) starts industrial production of Bio-polypropylene (Bio-PP) for home furniture company IKEA.
  17. ·         2020 – First packaging made from a fruit     (Axel Barrett, 2018)

TYPES OF BIOPLASTICS

  • Starch based

    • Made from natural starch and are mainly used for making wrappers for goods packaging, biodegradable polyesters etc,

  • Cellulose

    • Made of cellulose esters and used for making thermoplastics and for packaging

  • Protein based

    • Made from proteins and mainly used for making body panels of automobiles

  • aliphatic polyesters

    • From other chemical sources.

    (Keyplastics, 2018)

Benefits using bioplastics.

Reduction of greenhouse gas emission and carbon footprint.

Lower fossil fuel consumption.

Recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable.

Non-toxic and no health concern.

Environmental friendly product.


(QualityInspection, 2020)

Limitations using bioplastics.

Designed to be composted, not recycled.

Improper disposal leads to toxicity.

 Sales value: This ranged from cellulose and PLA being up to 50% more expensive, to starch and PHA reaching up to four times the price of conventional plastics.

Greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions: cellulose films currently have higher GHG emissions than conventional polypropylene film equivalent packaging.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) used to increase productivity of PHA and PLA. 

Starch- based products have poor physical and mechanical properties and they are highly water soluble.


(QualityInspection, 2020)

APPLICATION OF BIOPLASTIC 

Common applications for bioplastic.

Bioplastic Packaging

  • According to survey in 2019, the global production of bioplastic amounted with almost 53% (1.14 million tonnes) of volume destined for packaging market.

  • Bioplastic Packaging option include bags for compost, nursery products, toys , textiles, also used for disposable cups, making clingfilms and wrappers.

Food Service

Bioplastics are helping to reduce the impact of this waste on the environment and are being used in applications such as thermoformed coffee cup lids, injection moulded disposable cutlery and plates along with food containers of all shapes and sizes

Medical

  • Biodegradable plastics are also being used for medical devices. For example, pins, tacks and screws which are used to help bones heal and during reconstructive surgery are being produced with bioplastics.

  • Containers for tablets and creams can also be produced using bioplastic

  • Polylactic acid (PLA) is most widely used biopolymers in tissue engineering also in other medical applications.

  • Starch-based bioplastics are being used for the production of capsules.

Cosmetics

  • Plastic for Packaging of Cosmetics

  • Disposable products such as toothbrushes, hairbrushes, cotton buds and razors

Bioplastics for Consumer Electronics

Electronical product casings, circuit boards and data storage are all traditionally made from oil-derived plastics and the plastic helps keep the products lightweight and durable.


(Branska et al., 2020)
Bioplastics

future aspect

Dr. Raj Shah

"Present and Future Trends in Biodegradable Polymers"

Biodegradable plastics is exploring the various permutations of biodegradable nanocomposites that can be employed in the industry and the development of new biodegradable nanocomposites with improved mechanical and separation properties and that can withstand hot temperatures.

Johanna Kramm

"Plastics of the Future? The Impact of Biodegradable Polymers on the Environment and on Society"

Trying to improve the thickness of plastic sheet by using different metal plates and also to improve flexibility, elasticity by adding bio-materials.

Frederik R. Wurm

"The Future of Bioplastics for Packaging"

Usage of wide variety of dyes and to determine their properties. To synthesis bio-plastics from biomass is our undergoing research arena
reference

1 Keziah. S, (2018). Biodegradable plastic production from corn starch.

2. Cinelli.P, (2019). Cosmetic Packaging to Save the Environment: Future Perspectives. 

3. Keyplastics (2018). Common Applications of Bioplastics. 

4. Barrett. A (2018). The History of Bioplastics

5. Branska, L., Patak, M., & Pecinova, Z. (2020). Innovation of customer chemicals packaging in concern of sustainability.\

6. DiGregorio, B. E. (2009). Biobased performance bioplastic: Mirel. Chemistry & biology, 16(1), 1-2.

7. Gironi, F., & Piemonte, V. (2011). Bioplastics and petroleum-based plastics: strengths and weaknesses. Energy sources, part a: recovery, utilization, and environmental effects, 33(21), 1949-1959.

8. Sarasa, J., Gracia, J. M., & Javierre, C. (2009). Study of the biodisintegration of a bioplastic material waste. Bioresource technology, 100(15), 3764-3768.

9. Narancic, T., Cerrone, F., Beagan, N., & O’Connor, K. E. (2020). Recent advances in bioplastics: Application and biodegradation. Polymers, 12(4), 920.