Innovative Bioplastic Applications Drive Market Development!

TAGS:  Green and Bioplastics    

Bioplastics are advancing at a very rapid pace across many development fronts namely – sustainable sources of monomers, innovative additive solutions, and even natural fiber reinforcement. While bioplastics still remain a small part of total global plastics production, the output is growing across a range of applications such as:

• Packaging (multilayer compostable oxygen food barrier films),
• Agriculture (biodegradable mulch film),
• Consumer (home compostable paper/plastic laminates), and
• Industrial (water-soluble medical and laundry detergent bags and ties) industries

The cycle of renewal is always evolving in bioplastics. What better renewable bioplastic application than a durable butterfly feeder to set ourselves up in an environmentally friendly way!

One recent application for Finland-based Arctic Biomaterials is the Belightful Butterfly Feeder.

• It is molded from their ArcBiox A1008 compound, a weather-resistant, high-impact grade of PolyLactic Acid (PLA).
• It has an unnotched Izod impact strength of 100 kiloJoules per square meter (kJ/m²) with no break.
• Cold injection molds with short cycle times are in use.

The ArcBiox A1008 grade, very different from standard high impact PLA compounds, does not need to use either a post-molding secondary annealing step, or increased molding cycles with hot molds, to increase bioplastic crystallinity and thereby higher impact strength. All this bioplastic ingenuity in a butterfly feeder!

Arctic Biomaterials ArcBiox A1008 Butterfly Feeder

Arctic Biomaterials ArcBiox A – series are PLA-based compounds that are not compostable but are sustainable alternatives for PolyCarbonate (PC) and AcryloNitrile Butadiene (ABS) with a high bio-content of 80- 95%. Food contact capable, and heat resistance to 100°C grades are available.




Let's take a look at new developments in bioplastics allowing their use to go beyond packaging to more functional uses in high-end sectors.

Compostable Multilayer Barrier Film by SP Group and Nurel Biopolymers

To start with, Spain-based SP Group and Nurel Biopolymers have developed a multilayer film structure with a high oxygen barrier, which is also compostable. Many multilayer barrier film structures due to their different layer to layer plus dissimilar material complexity render themselves unrecyclable.

• SP Group’s blown films have packaged food products such as smoked salmon, with additional ongoing testing currently taking place with energy bars, nuts and salt products.
• Nurel’s Inzea proprietary renewable biomass-based biopolymers used in the film structure can be processed on traditional blown film and other extruders, have a high biobased content, are transparent, and are easily sealable. At the end of their product use, they can be disposed of, or recycled with other organic waste.

Nurel’s Inzea F18C biopolymer is tailored for film extrusion and co-extrusion and overcame the challenge of high biocontent materials capable of being blown film extruded on standard extrusion manufacturing production lines. Oxygen permeability results are comparable to traditional Ethylene Vinyl alcohOL (EVOH) high barrier film structures.

MAIP Compounding’s PHA-based Bioplastic Compounds for Pen Shells

Next, Italy’s MAIP Compounding has developed various bioplastic compounds based on PolyHydroxyAlkanoate (PHA), in their IamNature product line that are both injection moldable and extrudable. Also, there is an IamNature B6 G713 grade based on P-Hydroxy-Benzoate Hydroxylase (PHBH), which is composting certified by testing authority TUV Austria at thicknesses up to 2.15 millimeters (mm).

Of innovative application note, there is a B6 grade used by a market-leading Swiss promotional products company Prodir in their ‘QS40 True Biotic’ writing pen shell. They’re emphasizing in their literature that the pen is ‘created by nature for nature,’ and further that their pen shell is molded from a ‘(fossil) plastic-free biopolymer.’


MAIP Compounding primarily focuses on its BIOS bioplastic family that splits into several subfamilies namely, B1, B2, B3, B5 and B6. IamNature grades are part of the B6 family, based primarily on PHA and PHB (PolyHydroxyBenzoate) biopolymers. They are for the most part fully made from renewable resources, are manufactured by genetically modified, sugar/lipid fermenting, bacteria or microorganisms, and are fully biodegradable.

Faurecia’s Biocomposite Products for Automotive Interior Parts

Continuing, France-based Faurecia, a global market-leading automotive interior system supplier is strongly pushing sustainable materials across all its product lines with the goal to reduce the CO₂ footprint of materials used for interior applications by 85% by 2030.

To this end, Faurecia has pioneered since 2009 the use of their NAFILean industrial hemp reinforced PolyPropylene (PP) biocomposites. They have also done research on natural fiber linen and bamboo biocomposites. Industrial hemp reinforced biocomposites are particularly favored by automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for meeting their mechanical property performance and safety standards. Faurecia is currently supplying its NAFILean biocomposite products for seventeen global car vehicle models that can be found in approximately twelve million cars.


The in-development, next generation of NAFILean compounds will be high-performance in nature, will be called NAFILean Perf, and will provide even higher reductions in weight and CO₂ emissions at 40% and 60% respectively. Current NAFILean products include:

1. NAFILean Stiff for mechanically tough parts,
2. NAFILite with 30% weight reduction and 45% less CO₂ emissions, and
3. NAFILean R uses a 100% recycled plastic matrix and in turn, has a 110% reduction in CO₂ emissions

Also under development is a Natural Fiber PolyPropylene NFPP grade specifically tailored to compression molding, which will allow the use of kenaf and flax natural fiber reinforcement, where thorough and uniform matrix resin to fiber penetration is achievable. This in turn will be of benefit in developing visible automotive interior parts.

Imaflex’s Biodegradable Metalized Agricultural Mulch Film

Delving further, Canada-based Imaflex has developed a biodegradable metalized agricultural mulch film that will break down naturally in farm soil. Imaflex’s Can-Eco films are made from PolyLactic Acid (PLA) and PolyButylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT) bioplastics in combination with proprietary petroleum-based materials. Completely bioplastic-based mulch films are too brittle to be quickly laid out in crop fields, and they biodegrade too soon during a normal crop season.


Imaflex’s Can-Eco mulch film is thinner compared to traditional, non-biodegradable Low-Density PolyEthylene (LDPE) based systems. Can-Eco film is equally mechanically tough, which in turn more than compensates for LDPE’s higher cost. Further Can-Eco film:

• Reduces nutrient leaching
• Decreases water evaporation
• Controls weeds
• Preserves soil structure.

Imaflex’s metalized mulch film further helps crops in multiple ways. It is mirror-like in nature and thus can successfully reflect the Sun’s UltraViolet (UV) and InfraRed (IR) radiation. This in turn helps to minimize pests, speed up plant growth, and maintain a cool plant environment.

Home Compostable, Flexible Packaging Laminate by BASF and BillerudKorsnäs

Finally, Germany’s BASF and Sweden’s packaging manufacturer BillerudKorsnäs have successfully commercialized a combined paper and plastic, home compostable, flexible packaging laminate. It has three basic film parts namely:

• A BillerudKorsnäs ConFlex Silk paper
• A BASF Ecovio bioplastic sealing layer
• A BASF Epotal Eco 3675 X adhesive joining layer

All laminate parts are food contact approved, and it has a printable surface. It is application targeted at barrier wrap packages for fresh fish, cheese, dairy products, cereal bars, cookies, and ice cream. In this fully biodegradable application, a novel end-of-life alternative in home compostable, flexible packaging has been created.

BASF Ecovio Bioplastic, Epotal Eco Adhesive in BillerudKorsnäs ConFlex Silk Paper Laminate

This film laminate has been rated in several recognized European schemes as home-compostable. The laminate has a high renewables content material-wise. This development opens the door to and signifies a shift to compostable paper-based food barrier packaging, in place of and design identical to the dominant, traditional plastic film-based alternatives, with the critical added feature of home compostability.

Bioplastics and Compounding Additives – Developments of 2021

1. Bioplastic Compound for Coffee Capsules by Akro-Plastic Bio-Fed –
   Akro-Plastic Bio-Fed has commercialized a near 100% renewable content bioplastic suitable for home composting. It also exhibits high stiffness in molded parts up to one millimeter in thickness and thin wall film extrusion. It is finding wide acceptance in coffee capsules in Europe. It also has sought and received European food safety approval.





2. Plant-based Biodegradable Polymer for Food Packaging by Kaneka –
   Japan’s Kaneka has developed their PolyHydroxyButylHexanoate™ (PHBH™) bioplastic. It is a 100% plant-based biodegradable polymer and chemically speaking is a member of the PolyHydroxyAlkanoate (PHA) family.


 


3. Bio-based Thermoplastic Elastomers for Air Vent Covers by FKuR -
   FKuR has developed two high biocontent, ThermoPlastic Elastomers (TPEs), trade named Bio-Flex® and Terralene®. Bio-Flex® PolyLactic Acid (PLA) has high stiffness, mechanical toughness and is approximately 75% biocontent. It is targeted at traditional reinforced High-Density PolyEthylene (HDPE) plastic compounds in industrial piping systems, sporting goods equipment and mechanical gears and housings. Similarly, Polyethylene-based Terralene® 30% glass filled is 95% biocontent and finds use in substituting for ThermoPlastic Olefins (TPOs) and PolyVinyl Chloride (PVC) in similar type industrial and mechanical applications.



FKuR’s Terralene^® Glass Fiber Reinforced/Bio-based TPE for Air Vent Covers



4. Wollastonite Fibers for Property Enhancement in Bioplastics by HPF Minerals –
   Quarzwerke’s HPF has commercialized both short and long Wollastonite fiber reinforcements to improve bioplastic mechanical and heat resistance properties. Stiffness is enhanced with long fibers, whereas short fibers boost dimensional stability as well as impact resistance.


 
HPF Minerals’ Short (L) and Long (R) TREMIN® 283 Wollastonite Reinforcement for Bioplastics



5. Talc Fillers for Compostable Bioplastic Applications by Imerys –
   Imerys has developed specialty talc fillers for bioplastic compounds based on PolyLactic Acid (PLA), PolyButylene Succinate (PBS) and PolyHydroxyAlkanoate (PHA). Increasing bioplastic melt strength and crystallization rates have been achieved leading to improved compound stiffness and heat deflection temperature at 15-25% loadings by weight.


    
Imerys’ Steamic^® and HAR^® Talc Filler Loading Effects in PLA on Modulus (Left) and HDT (Right)

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