Page 42 - Plastics News September 2016

FEATURES
The global biobased construction polymers market
size was US$11.87 bln in 2015. Rising concern towards
petrochemical products coupled with increasing adoption
of renewable products is expected to propel the market
for biobased construction polymers over the forecast
period.
A major source of green-house gas emissions is associated
with fossil fuel usage across various industrial operating segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.2% over the
facilities. Growing concern towards carbon dioxide
footprint in large scale manufacturing units has urged the
industry to shift towards biobased polymers.
Increasing R&D to develop eco-friendly renewable
products has increased the use of bio based polymers
in the construction industry. High production costs and
less developed global supply value chain are expected to
hinder bio based construction polymers. Global bio based
product demand is not entirely capitalized to realize
the economies of scale and market is less developed to
compete with well-established petroleum based product.
A recent breakthrough in technology has shifted focus
towards manufacturing bio based polymers from bacterial
fermentation. The technology involves synthesizing
monomers from renewable sources that include fatty
acids, cellulose, and starch.
The favorable regulatory scenario in various countries
and initiatives by regional governments in support of
biopolymers are expected to have a positive impact on
market growth over the forecast period.
Government regulations such as Lead Market Initiative
(UK) and BioPreferred (U.S.) favor the use of bio based
raw material for polymer production. Major polymer
Plastics News | S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 6 42
manufacturers are shifting their focus towards developing
sustainable technologies and are collaborating with
various individual bi based technology ?rms in order to
manufacture bio based polymers.
Polyurethane dominated the global demand and accounted
for over 26% of the total volume in 2015. The product
next eight years. Application of biobased polyurethanes
as insulation in the building and construction industry is
a signi?cant opportunity for the market particularly
in the US and Europe.
Bio based epoxies market is estimated to witness
moderate growth over the next few years on account
of its wide range of applications in the construction
industry such as in paints & coatings, adhesives, and
in wood & concrete repair.
Polylactic acid (PLA) and Polyhydroxyalkanoates
(PHA) are expected to witness the fastest growth in
the bio based polymer industry owing to increasing
use and numerous advantages over other products.
PLA is a bio-derived monomer used as a suspending
agent, foam, pore-forming agent, binder and coating
adhesive in the construction industry.
PHA produced from microorganism is used as a coating,
viscosi?er, and pore-forming agent. The other bio based
polymers produced worldwide include Polytrimethylene
terephthalate (PTT) and Polybutylene succinate (PBS).
Major applications include pipe and insulation. The pipe
was the largest application segment and accounted for
over 37% of the global demand in 2015. The construction
industry has been a major consumer of plastics with their
applications ranging mainly from pipe ?ttings & insulation.
Use of plastics compounding is also increasing in pipes
and ?ttings segments supported by their reduced cost
structures, long life span, corrosion resistance and light
weight. Typical applications where bio based construction
polymers are used include window and door pro?les, pipes
and guttering, cement, ?ooring, glazing, sealants and
adhesives, insulation, building panels and roo?ng.
The growing trend of using bio based polymer in pro?les
used in bridge engineering for all composite structures is
anticipated to propel the market growth over the forecast
period. Pro?le application is expected to witness the