Page 42 - Plastics News August - 2023

FEATURE

The niche called bioplastics is growing
Successful single-use plastic alterna-
tives include:
PEF (Poly Ethylene Furanoate)
PEF is a 100% bio-based drop-in re-
placement for petrochemical PET
(Polyethylene Terephthalate) pack-
aging materials. PEF, like PET, can be
used to make plastic bottles, films,
and other packaging materials that
are widely used in the personal care
industry. In the industry, PEF is re-
ferred to as the next-generation poly-
ester because it has better mechanical
and barrier properties than polyester
(PET) and is 100% bio-based.
Avantium (Netherlands), which plans
lastic contributes considerably to that have been in the development or to commercialize PEF on a large scale
Pglobal greenhouse gas emissions. pilot phase for the past ten years that by the end of 2023, has already signed
In 2022, plastics produced 1.9 billion are expected to enter mass produc- off-take agreements with major brand
tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emis- tion in a few years. Major bio-based owners such as the LVMH group,
sions (3.5% of total global emissions), plastics suppliers and cosmetics com- which plans to use PEF-based packag-
with 90% of this emission coming panies have begun to sign contracts ing materials in their luxury cosmetic
from plastic production, conversion and material off-take agreements. Be- products. For example, Avantium's
from fossil fuels, and natural resource cause of the risks associated with the PEF LCA analysis claims that the use
exploitation. potential price volatility of fossil fuels, of PEF in a bottle is expected to re-
Carbon emissions have caused havoc the contract is an extremely impor- duce GHG emissions by 33% over
in recent years. However, there is tant component for the ease of the the lifecycle of the bottle. However,
potential to conserve the ecosystem transition from fossil to bio. PEF’s mass acceptance in the market
by using sustainable materials without is yet to be proven.
sacrificing product quality. Because PLA (Poly Lactic Acid)
packaging accounts for ~35% of to-
tal plastic consumption, it is critical to PLA is a novel polymer with excellent
developing a fully sustainable product. barrier properties and a strong pres-
This percentage is primarily made up ence in the packaging industry. They
of single-use plastics. The main issue are widely marketed as a bio-alter-
here is disposal, so reducing waste native to PET, PVC, PS (polystyrene),
generation is the best solution. This is PP (polypropylene), and ABS (acry-
precisely where the concept of reus- lonitrile butadiene styrene). They can
able and refillable packaging emerges. also be used to partially or completely
Metal and glass packaging solutions replace LDPE, HDPE, PP, PA, PS, or
are becoming more popular, but they PET. BioPak Pty Ltd. (Australia) and
come with their own set of challenges Coveris Flexibles (UK) have a diverse
(cost and logistics). portfolio of PLA-based packages. An-
other intriguing fact about PLA is that
Bioplastics offer an alternative. Still its cradle-to-gate (carbon impact of
a niche area, there are nevertheless a product from production to usage)
numerous bio-based plastic materials

42 PLASTICS NEWS August 2023
42 PLASTICS NEWS
August 2023