![\"Bioplastics\"](\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2015\/04\/Bioplastics-300x300.jpg\")
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Originally posted on April 10, 2015
\nUpdated August, 2022<\/p>\n
Since the original version of this article was posted in 2015, much has happened. Near-catastrophic climate changes mean that we must stop burning fossil fuels much quicker than previously imagined. Plastics have also come under the microscope because our oceans are full of microscopic polymer particles.<\/p>\n
If we move to polymers based on biological resources, then they must be degradable as well, especially if they are to be used in disposable, single-use applications. And if we use land to grow polymers, what effect will that have on the need to use cultivatable land for feeding a global population which will have reached 10 million by 2050?<\/p>\n
Professor Sir David John Cameron MacKay Kt FRS FInstP FICE was Regius Professor of Engineering at the Cambridge University Engineering Department and first created a carbon calculating system. He sadly passed away in April 2016. From 2009 to 2014, he was Chief Scientific Advisor to the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). MacKay also authored the book Sustainable Energy \u2013 Without the Hot Air.<\/p>\n
The Global Calculator (GC)<\/a> is a pioneering initiative aimed at providing a relatively simple and highly accessible systems tool for policymakers, business leaders, NGOs and researchers. It is interactive and allows users to create their own U.K. emissions reduction pathway and see the impact using real scientific data. It helps everyone engage in the debate and lets Government make sure our planning is consistent with this long-term aim. Anyone can go online and have a play. Users can select their own preferred combination of power mix, final energy demand and greenhouse gas emission targets \u2013 and away you go.<\/p>\n Based on the Global Calculator, the Financial Times (FT) prepared a climate change calculator to assess the impacts of major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting countries on meeting global temperature targets by simulating the implementation of their respective INDCs at different levels in the context of the UNFCCC’s 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21, Paris).<\/p>\n The GC project was led by the former U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), currently, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), funded by its International Climate Fund and co-funded by the Climate Knowledge and Innovation Community (Climate-KIC) of the European Union.<\/p>\n If nothing else, the Calculator shows how complex the overall picture is. McKay\u2019s model suggests that with current population predictions, we cannot even expect to be eating meat at that point, as using arable land to farm animals would be too wasteful, let alone using it to produce plastics.<\/p>\n Away from plant-derived bioplastics, the European (FP7) algae project Sustainable Polymers from Algae Sugars and Hydrocarbons (SPLASH)<\/a> developed third-generation algae feedstock into bioplastics. Because algae farms can be installed on non-arable land, the sustainable production of polymers from algae sugars and hydrocarbons may provide an alternative.<\/p>\n Led by Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research, the four-year project had the goal of developing a new bio-based industrial platform using microalgae as a raw material for the sustainable production and recovery of hydrocarbons and (exo)polysaccharides from algae, as well as their further conversion into renewable polymers (polyesters and polyolefins). The project closed in 2017, and the conclusions were reported here<\/a>.<\/p>\n In all, eight innovative projects benefitted from funding from the EU\u2019s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), including BIOREFINE-2G<\/a>, which has developed commercially attractive processes for efficient conversion of side-streams from biorefineries to be used as precursors for bio-based polymers including biodegradable polymers. Meanwhile, the BRIGIT<\/a> project has produced new tailor-made biopolymers from lignocellulosic sugar waste for highly-demanding fire-resistant applications. SYNPOL<\/a> researchers gave themselves the task of propelling forward the sustainable production of new polymers from feedstock. Finally, the EUROPHA<\/a> project aimed to reduce the costs of PHA biopolymer and expand its applications as a 100% compostable food packaging bioplastic.<\/p>\n Through these and other projects that are currently underway as part of FP7\u2019s successor program, Horizon 2020, Europe aims to cement itself as a leading global player in bioplastics manufacturing and innovation and ensure that bioplastics become truly sustainable material of the twenty-first century.<\/p>\n PLA-based bioplastics<\/strong><\/p>\n While it seems some serious questions need to be addressed before we can confidently say that bioplastics are part of the solution to our environmental woes, in the short term, at least, developments in bioplastics continue to accelerate as companies turn to eco-friendly packaging. \u201cGlobal demand for bioplastics is set to rise by around 20% per year,\u201d said Shaun Chatterton, CEO of Floreon Transforming Packaging. This bioplastic technology company has been granted a patent for Floreon, a bioplastic that is much tougher and easier to process than its counterparts; a development that is essential to extend the uses of bioplastics. The patent took just over four years to obtain, and currently, the patent has been granted in the U.K., New Zealand and Australia.<\/p>\n Polylactic Acid<\/a> (PLA) is one of the newest bioplastics used in the automotive industry, though initially, it was mostly used in medicine. It is produced by fermentation of sugar derived from sugar beet, sugarcane, or corn. And it is best suited for interior accessories like mats, carpeting, and upholstery or tires and consoles.<\/p>\n Floreon is a polyester-based polymer blend with PLA, a standard. Conventional PLA is produced from plant feedstock, but has been renowned for its poor toughness and tendency to lose strength when stored in warm conditions, which means its use has been restricted to niche areas.<\/p>\n Floreon is suitable for manufacturing degradable and compostable articles, such as bottles, but with improved mechanical, physical, chemical and thermal properties. It has improved toughness, higher strength and durability than PLA, but is also recyclable, biodegradable, and requires far less energy to process.<\/p>\n Floreon can be used in a variety of process moulding techniques to produce packaging trays, cutlery, and thin-walled injection moulded parts, where the use of PLA has been limited in the past.<\/p>\n In January 2022, Floreon signed a license agreement with one of the world\u2019s leading suppliers of black masterbatch, Hubron (International). As a licensed compounding partner in the UK, Hubron now has access to Floreon\u2019s high-performance, durable and flame retardant bioplastic materials, as well as compostable grades for horticulture and food packaging. With over 85% of masterbatch production exported through a worldwide network of distribution partners, Hubron is an ideal partner to export Floreon grade bioplastics internationally.<\/p>\n Floreon Technical Director, Andrew Gill, commented: “Hubron will provide us with technical support and technical staff to assist in customer trials. Collaboration is incredibly important to us, especially when our values, such as UK-based production, are so aligned, and we look forward to seeing this UK license agreement flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n As the use of 3D printing accelerates in prototyping and production of customized products, users demand robust output with high quality and fine detail. At the same time, as its uptake grows, 3D printing must go green.<\/p>\n Floreon3D is a new bioplastic 3D printing filament, which is four times tougher than conventional PLA. Floreon created the new filament by blending a novel polyester-based polymer blend with standard PLA. Floreon3D is not only tougher than PLA, but is also said to combine better processing with a smoother printing experience.<\/p>\n While conventional PLA has a lower carbon footprint and non-renewable energy usage than any mineral-based thermoplastic, when used in 3D printing filaments it is renowned for its poor toughness. While it delivers clean low-temperature printing, it has limited performance, and some strand breaks have been reported with lower-quality PLA filaments.<\/p>\n Floreon3D addresses the need for a sustainable 3D printing filament that matches the performance of conventional filaments\u2014but without the unpleasant smell during processing. It is tough, flexible, and gives an excellent matte finish, which improves the appearance and durability of finished items and keeps the printer nozzles clean.<\/p>\n Amazingly, bioplastics were first used in the automotive industry in the 1930s. The pioneer was Henry Ford, who experimented with bioplastics automotive parts made of soy. They later desisted because fossil-fuel-based plastic became more available, cheaper, and easier to work with at that time.<\/p>\n Early adopters in the modern era included Mazda in the Mazda MX-5 in 2015 and has been subsequently used in Mazda CX-5, Mazda3, Mazda2, Mazda CX-30, and will be used on the Mazda MX-30. Toyota had 20% of all plastic components made from bioplastics by 2015 with some cars now using up to 60% of interior textiles made of bioplastics.<\/p>\n In 2018, a team of 22 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology created a city car only using bioplastic parts, and no synthetic plastic was used. They named the car Noah, it is ultra-light, electrically-powered prototype based on flax fiber and sugar, it weighs approximately half of the weight of a regular vehicle.<\/p>\n Common bioplastics used in the automotive industry, in addition to PLA, include biopolyamides (Bio-PA) have high strength and stiffness, with good heat and fire resistance. Most commonly made from castor oils and sugar cane, it is used in connectors, brake noses, fuel lines, and flexible tubing.<\/p>\n Bio-based polypropylene (Bio-PP) is also produced from sugar cane, and the resin used in the production is certified as 100% renewable. Bio-PP can substitute synthetic plastics in many applications, including bumpers, panels and dashboards.<\/p>\n Reference<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2015\/04\/MX-5_2014_exterior_EU_06SM.jpg\")
Bioplastics in the automotive industry<\/h3>\n