Page 43 - Plastics News August - 2023

FEATURE

Global Warming Potential (GWP) is counterparts. Some of their draw-
confirmed to be only 0.5 kg of carbon backs include the lack of microplastic
dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq). It rep- formation, biodegradability, and vapor
resents a 75% reduction in carbon barrier performance. They are com-
footprint compared to most tradition- pletely biodegradable in freshwater,
al plastics (Totalcorbion LCA analysis seawater, soil, home compost, indus-
of PLA). trial compost, landfills, etc. A few of
On the other hand, the slow bio- the companies, such as Bacardi (Ber-
degradability of PLA has long been a muda) and Shellworks (UK), have al-
source of concern for the industry, ready started using PHAs in their food Similar to bio-PE, Bio PP is also a drop
and companies were already work- & beverage packaging, though the in biopolymer. However, with the bio-
ing to address the issue. The most high cost can be one of the reasons mass balance process, it was only pos-
notable aspect of this is the produc- for limited mass adoption. sible to produce partially bio-based
tion of highly degradable PLA that can Due to the unique properties of PHAs PP. The bio-mass balance process is a
technique to reduce the consumption
also biodegrade in the oceans. Teijin and to address cost-related issues, a
Limited (Japan) has created highly few industrial companies are con- of fossil fuels and C02 emissions as
biodegradable plastic as part of its ducting research and development well as manufacture sustainable prod-
THINK ECO® environmental initia- for other short-chain length (SCL) ucts. Renewable resources, such as
tive by incorporating a biodegradation PHAs like P4HB and medium-chain bio-naphtha or biomethane derived
from organic waste, crops, or vegeta-
accelerator into its PLA grade. They length (MCL) PHAs like PHBO for
can biodegrade without the assis- large-scale production and industrial ble oils, are employed as feedstocks in
tance of bacteria, fungi, or even any applications. the very early stages of chemical man-
additives. Furthermore, PLA is one of Bio-PE (Bio-Polyethylene) ufacture alongside fossil feedstocks.
the fastest-growing biopolymers; its Commercialized grades have a maxi-
manufacturing process is now much Bio-PE is a drop in biopolymer with mum bio-based content of up to
cheaper and uses less energy than it partial bio-content or full bio-content. 40%. Depending on how these pro-
did years ago. Though it may have lim- They are chemically identical to their cesses and approaches evolve, bio-
itations/ impact on the product quality petrochemical counterparts because based percentages of up to 75% are
or expiry of the product that is filled in bio-PE grades have the same process- possible in the next three years. In
the packaging. Because of this limita- ing characteristics as fossil PE. They 2023, Braskem (Brazil) announced
tion, we can't use it for a wide range can be processed using the same plas- the world’s first plant-producing fully
of products as it is self-biodegradable. tic processing equipment (blow mold- bio-based polypropylene on an in-
ing/injection molding/extrusion) with dustrial scale. It’s anticipated to be
PHA (Polyhydroxy alkanoates) no additional investment. Braskem operational by 2026. Several projects
PHAs are a broad class of biodegrad- (Brazil) is the market leader in Bio- for the manufacturing of fermenta-
able polymers, but only a few of them PE, with a capacity of more than 200 tion-based polypropylene (PP) have
are primarily commercialized, includ- KTPA, and they are expecting to ex- been announced in recent years, such
ing PHB/P3HB (Poly (3-hydroxy bu- pand their volume capacity five-fold as the partnership between Braskem
tyrate)) and its copolymers, PHBV by 2030 due to rising demand for Bio- (Brazil), Cargill (US), and Novozyme
(Poly (3-hydroxy butyrate-co-3-hy- PE. Apart from packaging companies (Denmark), but the majority of these
droxy valerate)), PHBH, and P3HB- like TetraPak Company (Switzerland) programs have been halted due to
4HB. They are often marketed as an and SIG Combibloc Packaging Com- cost economics.
alternative to other bioplastics such as pany (Switzerland), they are also used
PLA, PBS, PBAT, and others. PHA re- in other industries, like the famous Is this a packaging-specific trend,
duces the potential for global warm- toy manufacturer Lego (Denmark). or does it apply to other indus-
ing by 80%, with GHG emissions of Bio-PP (Bio-Polypropylene) tries as well?
0.49 KG (CO2-eq) compared to (2-3) Packaging accounts for ~50% of to-
KG (CO2-eq) in their petrochemical As compared to fossil-based PP, Bio- tal bioplastics. However, the appli-
PP reduces fossil depletion by ~80%.

PLASTICS NEWS 4343
August 2023
August 2023 PLASTICS NEWS