Bioplastics
BIOPLASTICS
Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota. There are a variety of materials bioplastics that can be composed of, including: starches, cellulose, or other biopolymers.
APPLICATIONS OF BIOPLASTICS
Biodegradable bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging and catering items (crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls and straws). They are also often used for bags, trays, containers for fruit, vegetables, eggs and meat, bottles for soft drinks and dairy products, and blister foils for fruit and vegetables.
Nondisposable applications include mobile phone casings, carpet fibres, and car interiors, fuel line and plastic pipe applications, and new electro active bioplastics are being developed that can be used to carry electrical current. In these areas, the goal is not biodegradability, but to create items from sustainable resources.
Medical implants made of PLA, which dissolve in the body, save patients a second operation. Compostable mulch films for agriculture, already often produced from starch polymers, do not have to be collected after use and can be left on the fields.
TYPES OF BIOPLASTICS
Starch-based plastics:
Constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market, thermoplastic starch, currently represents the most widely used bioplastic. Pure starch possesses the characteristic of being able to absorb humidity, and is thus being used for the production of drug capsules in the pharmaceutical sector. Flexibiliser and plasticiser such as sorbitol and glycerine are added so the starch can also be processed thermo-plastically. By varying the amounts of these additives, the characteristic of the material can be tailored to specific needs. Simple starch plastic can be made at home.
Industrially, starch based bioplastics are often blended with biodegradable polyesters. These blends are no longer biodegradables, but display a lower carbon
Bioplastics are a form of plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or microbiota. There are a variety of materials bioplastics that can be composed of, including: starches, cellulose, or other biopolymers.
APPLICATIONS OF BIOPLASTICS
Biodegradable bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging and catering items (crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls and straws). They are also often used for bags, trays, containers for fruit, vegetables, eggs and meat, bottles for soft drinks and dairy products, and blister foils for fruit and vegetables.
Nondisposable applications include mobile phone casings, carpet fibres, and car interiors, fuel line and plastic pipe applications, and new electro active bioplastics are being developed that can be used to carry electrical current. In these areas, the goal is not biodegradability, but to create items from sustainable resources.
Medical implants made of PLA, which dissolve in the body, save patients a second operation. Compostable mulch films for agriculture, already often produced from starch polymers, do not have to be collected after use and can be left on the fields.
TYPES OF BIOPLASTICS
Starch-based plastics:
Constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market, thermoplastic starch, currently represents the most widely used bioplastic. Pure starch possesses the characteristic of being able to absorb humidity, and is thus being used for the production of drug capsules in the pharmaceutical sector. Flexibiliser and plasticiser such as sorbitol and glycerine are added so the starch can also be processed thermo-plastically. By varying the amounts of these additives, the characteristic of the material can be tailored to specific needs. Simple starch plastic can be made at home.
Industrially, starch based bioplastics are often blended with biodegradable polyesters. These blends are no longer biodegradables, but display a lower carbon