Biopolymers and Bioplastics (10 Plenary Forums - 1 Event)

Polymer Nano composites (PNC) comprise of a polymer or copolymer having nanoparticles or Nano fillers dispersed in the polymer matrix. Plastic packaging for food & non-food applications is non-biodegradable, and also uses up valuable and insufficient non-renewable resources like petroleum. With the current focus on exploring alternatives to petroleum and prominence on reduced environmental impact, research is increasingly being directed at development of biodegradable food packaging from biopolymer-based materials. A biomaterial is any matter, surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems. As a science, biomaterials are around fifty years old. The study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science. It has experienced stable and strong growth over its history, with many companies investing large amounts of money into the development of novel products. Biomaterials science encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science. World biomaterial market over the forecast period of 2012-2017. The global market place for biomaterials is estimated at $44.0 billion in 2012 and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 15% from 2012 to 2017 to reach $88.4 billion by 2017

Polymers have properties that make them suitable for use in protecting products from moisture, increasing shelf-life and making products easier to dispense. Every biopolymer has its own material-specific properties, e.g. barrier properties such as oxygen permeability. The barrier properties are relevant to the choice of biopolymers for the packaging of particular products. Bioplastics have very promising prospects for use in pesticide soil pins, for packaging in-flight catering products and for packaging dairy products.

Sugar based biopolymers Applications: Polyalctides decompose harmlessly in the human body and have therefore long been used for medical applications. Examples include surgical implants which do not require operative removal. Until recently, it was not feasible to use polylactides for packaging because of their high price, around US$500 per kilogram.

Cellulose based Biopolymers Applications: Familiar applications of cellophane include packaging for CDS, confectionary and cigarettes. The material is gradually falling out of favour, however, owing to its high price (about US$6 per kilogram). Other cellulose polymer materials (e.g. cellulose ilm) have also been commercially available for many years but are losing market share to newer polymers such as polypropylene.

Synthetic based Biopolymers Applications: The relatively high price of biodegradable polymers of synthetic substances, e.g. aliphatic aromatic copolyesters has prevented them from reaching a large scale market. The best known application is for making substrate mats.

The major advantage of biodegradable packaging is that it can be composted. But the biodegradability of raw materials does not necessarily mean that the product or package made from them (e.g. coated paper) is itself compostable. Biopolymers can also have advantages for waste processing. Coated paper (with e.g. polyethylene) is a major problem product for composting. Although such materials are usually banned from inclusion in organic waste under separate collection schemes, some of them usually end up nonetheless in the mix. The paper decomposes but small scraps of plastic are left over in the compost. The adoption of biopolymers for this purpose would solve the problem.

Plastic pollution involves the aggregation of plastic products in the environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or human kinds. Plastics that act as pollutants are categorized into micro, meso, or macro debris, based on size. The importance of plastic pollution is correlated with plastics being inexpensive and durable, which lends to high levels of plastics used by human beings. However, it is slow to degrade. Humans are also affected by plastic pollution, such as through the interruption of the thyroid hormone axis or sex hormone levels. Plastic efforts have occurred in some regions in attempts to reduce plastic consumption and pollution and promote plastic recycling.

The use of biodegradable plastics has been shown to have many advantages and disadvantages. Biodegradables are biopolymers that degrade in industrial composters. Biodegradables do not degrade as efficiently in domestic composters, and during this slower process, methane gas may be emitted.

There are also other types of degradable materials that are not considered to be biopolymers, because they are oil-based, similar to other conventional plastics. These plastics are made to be more degradable through the use of different additives, which help them degrade when exposed to UV rays or other physical stressors. However, biodegradation promoting additives for polymers have been shown not to significantly increase biodegradation.

Although biodegradable plastics and degradable plastics have helped reduce plastic pollution, there are some drawbacks. One issue concerning both types of plastics is that they do not break down very efficiently in natural environments. There, degradable plastics that are oil-based may break down into smaller fractions, at which point they do not degrade further.

Biocomposites is a composition material formed by a matrix and a reinforcement of natural fibers. Green composite are differentiated as a bio composite combined by natural fibers with biodegradable resins. They are called green composites, majorly because of their degradable and sustainable properties, which can be easily disposed without harming the environment. Because of its durability, green composites are majorly utilized to increase the life cycle of products with short life. A different class of Biocomposites, called hybrid bio composite which is based on different types of fibers into a single matrix. The fibers can be synthetic or natural, and can be randomly combined to generate the hybridization. The worldwide capacity for production of "C" (carbon) fibres was 111, 785 tons in 2012. In 2016 it is set to reach 156,845 tonnes and in 2020, it was set to reach 169,300tonnes. In relation to these nominal capacities, actual production only represents a part, estimated at 60% in 2012, 68% in 2016 and 72% in 2020. Demand was 47,220 t in 2012. It is set to reach 74,740tonnes in 2016 and 102,460tonnes in 2020. This over-capacity could lead to maintaining competitive prices. Hydrocarbonsfiber matrix composite materials are made 72 % from epoxy.

Nano polymers are nothing but nanostructured polymers. The nanostructure determines important modifications in the intrinsically properties. Multi scale Nano structuring and the resulting materials properties across the hierarchy of length scales from atomic, to mesoscopic, to macroscopic is an absolute necessity. The term polymer covers a large, vast group of molecules, including substances from proteins to high-strength Kelvar fibres. A key feature that distinguishes polymers from other large molecules is the recurrence of units of atoms in their chains. This occurs during polymerization, in which large number of monomers, polymer chains within a substance are often not of equal length.

Biopolymers are polymers produced by living organisms in other words, they are polymeric biomolecules. Since they are polymers, biopolymers contain monomeric units that are covalently bonded to form larger structures. Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or macrobiotic. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural byproducts and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Bioplastics can be composed of starches, cellulose, biopolymers, and a variety of other materials. Industrial biotechnology is, as far as possible, based on various renewable raw materials, such as vegetable oils and fatty acids. The challenge is to find suitable microorganisms and enzyme systems which effectively transform the raw materials into useable chemical substances. Global Green Chemicals Market to grow at a CAGR of 8.16 percent over the period 2013-2018, the leather chemicals market size in terms of value is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.64% between 2014 and 2019 to reach$7,963.65 million by 2019.

Biopolymers are polymers that are biodegradable. The input materials for the production of these polymers may be either renewable (based on agricultural plant or animal products) or synthetic. Current and future developments in biodegradable polymers and renewable input materials focus relate mainly to the scaling-up of production and improvement of product properties. Larger scale production will increase availability and reduce prices. Currently either renewable or synthetic starting materials may be used to produce biodegradable polymers. Two main strategies may be followed in synthesizing a polymer. One is to build up the polymer structure from a monomer by a process of chemical polymerization. The alternative is to take a naturally occurring polymer and chemically modify it to give it the desired properties. A disadvantage of chemical modification is however that the biodegradability of the polymer may be adversely affected. Therefore it is often necessary to seek a compromise between the desired material properties and biodegradability.

Increased use of biopolymers would reduce the dependence on fossil fuels; another advantage is that biopolymers are easily bio-degradable.

Thermosetting plastics are polymer materials which are liquid or malleable at low temperatures, but which change irreversibly to become hard at high temperatures. A major effort is underway to recognize biobased epoxy resins that can substitute for existing petroleum-based materials such as bis-phenol A diglycidyl ether[C21H24O4] (BADGE). Unfortunately, bis-phenol A (BPA) is particularly problematic as it is differentiated as a reprotoxic R2 substance and an endocrine disruptor. The production of overall epoxy thermosetting polymers is estimated to be 2 million tons in 2010 and is projected to reach 3 million tons by 2017. Their global market was estimated at about US$18 billion in 2012 and is forecasted to reach US$21.5 billion by 2015. More than 60% of the overall production is used in the coatings industry. Furthermore, epoxies are apparently the most versatile family of adhesives because they are compatible with many substrates, and can be easily modified to attain widely varying properties. Control of properties and also processing is usually based on the selection of the relevant epoxy precursors or combination of monomers, on the selection of curing agents and associated reaction mechanism, and on the inclusion of organic or inorganic fillers and components. Work is underway to develop BPA replacements from various biobased feedstocks’ as well lignin derived chemicals.

Bio-based polyesters are of high interest by academic and industrial scientists and engineers. One member of this family is poly (lactic acid), PLA, is renewable, biocompatible and also biodegradable and is one of the most widely used biopolyesters. PLA is obtained either by ring opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide or by direct polycondensation of lactic acid. Another biopolyester with a wide range of interesting properties are Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). These families of biopolyesters are produced directly by microorganisms from various carbon sources. Efforts are underway to develop more efficient production organisms, use this biological pathway for the production of other biopolyesters such as PLA, develop more efficient downstream processing methods, produce PHAs from waste materials and much more. These are just two examples of a wide family of polymers that have tremendous potential to make important contributions to the introduction of biobased plastics. 

Industrial Biorefineries and White Biotechnology brings a comprehensive look at the increasing focus on developing the processes and technologies needs for the conversion of biomass to liquid and gaseous fuels and chemicals, in specific, the development of low-cost Technologies Adoption. During the last 3-4 years, there have been scientific and technological developments in the field; this book represents the most updated information and technological perspective on the theme. Industrial biotechnology uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make biobased products in sectors such as chemicals, detergents, food and feed, paper and pulp, textiles and bioenergy (such as biofuels or biogas). In doing so, it utilizes renewable raw materials and is one of the most promising, innovative approaches towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The application of industrial biotechnology has been proven to make significant contributions towards moderating the impacts of climate change in these and other sectors. In addition to environmental benefits, biotechnology can enhance industry’s performance and product value and, as the technology develops and matures, white biotechnology will yield more and more feasible solutions for our environment. These innovative solutions bring added benefits for both our climate and our economy.

Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics (also called petrobased polymers), are derived from petroleum or natural gas. Production of such plastics tends to require more fossil fuels and to produce more greenhouse gases than the production of biobased polymers (bioplastics). Some, but not all, bioplastics are designed to biodegrade. Biodegradable bioplastics can break down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on how they are manufactured. Bioplastics can be composed of starches, cellulose, biopolymers, and a variety of other materials.