Bioplastic types. BIOPLASTICS AND BIOPOLYMERS

BIOPLASTICS AND BIOPOLYMERS

Performed: 2 year master

Shilova Anastasiya

Checked: Ilarionov

Sergei Aleksandrovich

Perm 2014

Contents

Summery

In this work are listed various kinds of biodegradable materials, their properties. Examined the economic and environmental significance of these products. Describes the processing of biopolymers. The chronology of the development of this area of knowledge.

Introduction

Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch[1] or microbiota[2]. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural byproducts and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms.Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics, are derived from petroleum. Production of common plastics requires more fossil fuels and produces more greenhouse gas. Some, but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade. Biodegradable bioplastics can break down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on how they are manufactured. Bioplastics can be composed of starches, cellulose, biopolymers, and a variety of other materials.

Bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging, crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, and straws[3]. They are also often used for bags, trays, fruit and vegetable containers and blister foils, egg cartons, meat packaging, vegetables, and bottling for soft drinks and dairy products.

These plastics are also used in non-disposable applications including mobile phone casings, carpet fibres, insulation car interiors, fuel lines, and plastic piping. New electroactive bioplastics are being developed that can be used to carry electrical current[4]. In these areas, the goal is not biodegradability, but to create items from sustainable resources.

Medical implants made of PLA, which dissolve in the body, can save patients a second operation. Compostable mulch films can also be produced from starch polymers and used in agriculture. These films do not have to be collected after use on farm fields[5].

Bioplastic types

Starch-based plastics

Thermoplastic starch currently represents the most widely used bioplastic, constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market[citation needed]. Simple starch bioplastic can be made at home.[8] Pure starch is able to absorb humidity, and is thus a suitable material for the production of drug capsules by the pharmaceutical sector. Flexibiliser and plasticiser such as sorbitol and glycerine can also be added so the starch can also be processed thermo-plastically. The characteristics of the resulting bioplastic (also called "thermo-plastical starch") can be tailored to specific needs by adjusting the amounts of these additives.

Starch-based bioplastics are often blended with biodegradable polyesters to produce starch/polycaprolactone[6] or starch/Ecoflex[7] (polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate produced by BASF[8]). blends. These blends are used for industrial applications and are also compostable. Other producers, such as Roquette, have developed other starch/polyolefin blends. These blends are not biodegradable, but have a lower carbon footprint than petroleum-based plastics used for the same applications.

Cellulose-based plastics

Cellulose bioplastics are mainly the cellulose esters, (including cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose) and their derivatives, including celluloid.

Some aliphatic polyesters

The aliphatic biopolyesters are mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) like the poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH).

Polylactic acid (PLA)

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a transparent plastic produced from corn[9] or dextrose. Its characteristics are similar to conventional petrochemical-based mass plastics (like PET, PS or PE), and it can be processed using standard equipment that already exists for the production of some conventional plastics. PLA and PLA blends generally come in the form of granulates with various properties, and are used in the plastic processing industry for the production of films, fibers, plastic containers, cups and bottles.

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)

The biopolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a polyester produced by certain bacteria processing glucose, corn starch or wastewater. Its characteristics are similar to those of the petroplastic polypropylene. PHB production is increasing. The South American sugar industry, for example, has decided to expand PHB production to an industrial scale. PHB is distinguished primarily by its physical characteristics. It can be processed into a transparent film with a melting point higher than 130 degrees Celsius, and is biodegradable without residue.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. They are produced by the bacteria to store carbon and energy. In industrial production, the polyester is extracted and purified from the bacteria by optimizing the conditions for the fermentation of sugar. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties. PHA is more ductile and less elastic than other plastics, and it is also biodegradable. These plastics are being widely used in the medical industry.

Polyamide 11 (PA 11)

PA 11 is a biopolymer derived from natural oil. It is also known under the tradename Rilsan B, commercialized by Arkema. PA 11 belongs to the technical polymers family and is not biodegradable. Its properties are similar to those of PA 12, although emissions of greenhouse gases and consumption of nonrenewable resources are reduced during its production. Its thermal resistance is also superior to that of PA 12. It is used in high-performance applications like automotive fuel lines, pneumatic airbrake tubing, electrical cable antitermite sheathing, flexible oil and gas pipes, control fluid umbilicals, sports shoes, electronic device components, and catheters.

A similar plastic is Polyamide 410 (PA 410), derived 70% from castor oil, under the trade name EcoPaXX, commercialized by DSM. PA 410 is a high-performance polyamide that combines the benefits of a high melting point (approx. 250 °C), low moisture absorption and excellent resistance to various chemical substances.

Bio-derived polyethylene

The basic building block (monomer) of polyethylene is ethylene. Ethylene is chemically similar to, and can be derived from ethanol, which can be produced by fermentation of agricultural feedstocks such as sugar cane or corn. Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically identical to traditional polyethylene – it does not biodegrade but can be recycled. Bio derivation of polyethylene can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions considerably. Brazilian chemicals group Braskem claims that using its method of producing polyethylene from sugar cane ethanol captures (removes from the environment) 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of polyethylene produced, while the traditional petrochemical production method results in emissions of close to 3.5 tonnes.

Braskem plans to introduce commercial quantities of its first bio-derived high density polyethylene, to be used in a packaging such as bottles and tubs, in 2010, and has developed a technology to produce bio-derived butene, which is required to make the linear low density polyethylene types used in film production.

Genetically modified bioplastics

Genetic modification (GM) is also a challenge for the bioplastics industry. None of the currently available bioplastics – which can be considered first generation products – require the use of GM crops, although GM corn is the standard feedstock.

Looking further ahead, some of the second generation bioplastics manufacturing technologies under development employ the "plant factory" model, using genetically modified crops or genetically modified bacteria to optimise efficiency.

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