RECENT TRENDS IN BIOPLASTICS

Recycling is the groundwork of worldwide efforts to diminish the number of plastics in waste. Mostly around 7.8–8.2 million tons of poorly-used plastics enter the oceans every year. Non-biodegradable plastics settlements in landfills are uncertain, which hinders the production of land resources.

Non-biodegradable plastic solid wastes, carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, various air pollutants, cancerous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and dioxins, are released to the environment cause severe damage and harmfulness to the inhabitants. Due to the bio-degradability and renewability of biopolymers, petroleum-based plastics can be replaced with bio-based polymers in order to minimize the environmental risks [1].

Figure 1. The Schematic diagram of Bio-recycling [1].

In recent years, S. Thakur et al., have been discussed bio degradability of polymers, and the mechanisms of bio-recycling have been particularly emphasized in that the review article (Figure 1) [1].

Bioplastics constitute an emerging and innovative industrial segment, characterized by new synergies and collaborations among the chemical, biotechnological, agricultural, and consumer sectors [2].

The concerns about the accumulating plastic waste pollution have stimulated the rapid development of bioplastics, in particular biodegradable bioplastics derived from renewable resources.

Driven by a low carbon circular economy, bioplastics production is estimated to reach a 40% share of the plastics market by 2030 (Bioplastics Market Data, 2018). It is expected to substitute petrochemical-based plastics in many applications, from food packaging, pharmaceuticals, electronics, and agriculture to textiles.

The current biodegradable bioplastics have met challenges in competing with engineering polymers such as PET and Nylon in terms of processing capacity at the industry scale, mechanical robustness, thermal resistance, and stability.

Figure 2. The four general types of plastics grouped by materials of renewable (top) and fossil (bottom) origin, not biodegradable (left) and biodegradable (right) polymers, respectively [3].

Bioplastics encompass both bio-based materials synthesized from biomass and bio-degradable plastics which break down into organic matter and gases, mostly CO₂, by the action of naturally occurring microorganisms including algae, fungi, and bacteria. The latter may be of fossil or renewable origin. Plastics can thus be categorized into four groups given their biodegradability and raw materials (Figure 2) [3].

Examples of well-known non-biodegradable and biodegradable oil-based plastics include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) in the first group (non-biodeg.), and poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(butylenes succinate/adipate) (PBS/A), and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBA/T) in the second family, respectively [4].

On the other hand, not all bio-based plastics are necessarily biodegradable: in contrast to cellulose, cellulose acetate does not decompose in the environment. Linkwise, bio-PET from bio-based ethylene glycol, whose content of renewable C is approximately 30%, is not a bioderadable polymer.

Figure 3. The trend in the global production of bioplastics [5].

European Bioplastics has estimated that the global bioplastics production capacity is set to increase from ca. 2.05 million tonnes in 2017 to approximately 2.44 million tonnes in 2022, with fully bio-based and biodegradable biopolymers such as PLA (polylactic acid) and PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) as the main drivers of this growth (Figure 3) [5].

The manufacture of bio-based PE is predicted to continue growing in the coming years, while that of bio-based PET will not at the expense of a new 100% bio-based substitute such as bio-PEF (polyethylene furanoate), with improved barrier and thermal properties for the packaging of drinks, food, and non-food products.

References

[1]. S. Thakur, J. Chaudhary, B. Sharma, A. Verma, S. Tamulevicius, V. K. Thakur, Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 13, 2018, 68-75.

[2]. A. U. B. Queiroz, F. P. Collares-Queiroz, Journal of Macromolecular Science R, Part C: Polymer Reviews, 49:65–78, 2009.

[3]. OECD, 2013, Policies for Bioplastics in the Context of a Bioeconomy, http://search.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=DSTI/STP/BIO(2013)6/FINAL&doc-Language=En, last access February 11th, 2019.

[4]. C. Xu, M. Nasrollahzadeh, M. Selva, Z. Issaabadi, R. Luque, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2019, 48, 4791.

[5].https://www.european-bioplastics.org/global-market-forbioplastics-to-grow-by-20-percent/, last access February 11th, 2019.

Blog Written By

Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja

National College

Thiruchirappalli, Tamilnadu, India

Blog Editors

Dr. S. Chandrasekar

Dr. K. Rajkumar

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