How are bioplastics made?
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As the world is increasingly becoming aware of the harmful effects of plastic on the environment, there has been a growing interest in bioplastics. How are bioplastics made? In this article, we will discuss the step-by-step process of making bioplastic.
Bioplastics are plastics made from renewable resources, such as cornstarch or sugarcane. Not all bioplastics are entirely biodegradable. There are three main types: bio-based bioplastics, biodegradable plastics, and biodegradable bio-based plastics.
Since they are made of biomass sources, they are easier to decompose and recycle. Bioplastics do less harm to the environment, making them a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics.
To thoroughly understand the definition of bioplastics, you can read more here: What are bioplastic compounds?
Before knowing how to make a bioplastic, you must understand what bioplastic is made of. Chemical engineers have created biobased polymers from a variety of biomass sources. The biomass source chosen is critical for achieving desirable material qualities in the final plastic and ensuring environmental and financial feasibility in scaled-up, market-ready goods.
The raw materials used to create bioplastics vary depending on the type of bioplastic being produced. Some of the most commonly used raw materials for bioplastics include:
Corn starch is a prominent raw ingredient to produce bio-based bioplastics. Corn starch is extracted from the endosperm of corn kernels and then mixed with glycerol to create a range of bioplastics.
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-Corn starch accounts for more than 85% of global starch, which means this ingredient has a low price and high availabilityAnother such plant-based material is potato starch. Potato starch is the main ingredient to create a variety of bioplastics, including polylactic acid (PLA). PLA is a biodegradable bioplastic often used in food packaging.
The starch is extracted from the potato and mixed with other natural ingredients such as glycerol and water. The mixture is then heated and molded into the desired shape.
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-Potatoes are a widely available and sustainable cropStarch-based thermoplastics made up roughly half of the bioplastics market. In recent years, there has been a lot of interest in innovative starch-based nanocomposites. In testing, these nanomaterials have demonstrated remarkable mechanical, thermal, hydrophobic, and gas-blocking properties.
Sugarcane is another popular raw material for bio-based bioplastics. Sugarcane is first harvested and processed to extract the sugar, which is then fermented to produce a type of alcohol called ethanol. This ethanol can then be used as a feedstock for the production of bioplastics. Sugarcane plastic is suitable for a variety of plastic goods ranging from culinary utensils to medical gadgets.
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-Sugarcane bioplastics can be recycledAnother common biomass source for biobased polymers is cellulose. Cellulose is an organic substance extracted from plant cell walls.
After extraction, it will be mixed with other ingredients, such as plasticizers, colorants, and other additives to create bioplastic. The final products can be used in a variety of applications, such as packaging, disposable cutlery, and even clothing as an alternative to traditional plastics.
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-With an annual production of around 180 billion tonsAlgae and cyanobacteria are widespread in the bioplastic industry thanks to their low nutritional requirements, ability to be harvested year-round, and capacity to survive in non-arable settings such as wastewaters.
Bioplastics derived from algae are still in the early phases of development, but they have the potential to be a more sustainable alternative to standard plastics. They are also utilized in many applications, including electronic display applications, food packaging, whether for fresh or long-term storage, Greenhouse films, protection nets, or grow sacks.
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-Improve plastic biodegradability -Not all algae strains can adapt to a variety of environmentsPolysaccharides such as chitosan can also be used to make bioplastics. Chitosan may be dissolved in mildly acidic settings, making it suitable for solution casting to produce films.
Engineers from Yale, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Maryland recently developed a "lignocellulosic" bio-based polymer formed of wood powder. Wood powder is an inexpensive and widely available residue of wood products that serve as the foundation for the new substance.
2.2. The bioplastic production processHow to make bioplastic? There are multiple types of bioplastics being manufactured now using various manufacturing procedures. Factories can use existing plastic manufacturing infrastructure to produce bioplastics chemically similar to their petroleum-based equivalents. Bio PE, bio-PET, or bio-PP can be made with the same process as regular PE, PET, and PP.
On the other hand, certain bioplastics created from the ground up are produced utilizing bio-based manufacturing procedures. The process can be microbial reactions and nanotechnology synthesis processes such as epitaxial growth.
The last way to make a bioplastic is to extract polymer from the microorganism. This procedure begins with centrifugation to isolate the microorganisms, followed by press filtering and drying the resulting bioplastic.
Bacteria employed in this method are occasionally genetically altered to metabolize diverse feedstocks and to boost feedstock conversion efficiency into polymers. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are the most extensively researched bioplastics derived from this technique.
Plastic manufacturing using biological resources is a viable solution for decarbonizing plastic production and addressing the plastic waste problem. Yet, according to European Bioplastics () estimates, approximately 1% of the world's more than 368 million tonnes of plastic are bio-based or biodegradable.
Alternative production methods based on agricultural byproducts or waste materials have been available for quite some time. Nonetheless, this production processes' cost is still perceived as an obstacle.
According to research published in Cleaner Engineering and Technology journal in , polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic production costs vary from $844/t to $2.410/t. The wide range of production cost is due to the different chosen feedstocks, technology, energy, labor, and capital costs.
There are several ways to make bioplastics stronger:
Reinforce with natural fibers:
Adding natural fibers, such as flax, hemp, or bamboo, can significantly increase the strength of bioplastics. During the production process, manufacturers can add these fibers to create a composite material that is stronger and more durable.Increase the polymer concentration:
Bioplastics are made from a combination of natural polymers and other additives. Increasing the concentration of natural polymers, such as cellulose or starch, can improve the strength and rigidity of the final product.Add plasticizers:
Plasticizers are substances added to plastics to improve their flexibility and durability. Adding plasticizers to bioplastics can make them more resistant to breaking or cracking.Modify the production process:
The process can also be modified to improve the strength of bioplastics. For example, changing the temperature, pressure, or duration of the production process can affect the properties of the final product.If you are looking for more details, kindly visit biodegradable plastic film manufacturer.
On the other hand, how to make bioplastic waterproof? Manufacturers can add waterproofing agents or waterproof coating to improve the water-resistance properties of biopolymers.
Although bioplastics still have disadvantages, there is room for improvement. By combining these approaches, researchers and engineers can create bioplastics that are not only strong but also sustainable and biodegradable. With continued efforts and innovation, we can make bioplastics a viable alternative to traditional plastics and pave the way for a more environmentally conscious future.
As the world becomes more environmentally conscious, the demand for eco-friendly products has increased, and bioplastics have emerged as a promising solution. Here are some common products made from bioplastics:
Food packaging: bags, containers, and films.
Disposable cutlery and tableware: disposable utensils, cups, and plates
Plant pots
Shopping bags
Clothing
3D printing filament
Toys
These are just a few examples of products that can be made from bioplastics. As technology continues to improve, more and more products are likely to be made using bioplastics in the future.
BiONext is a bioplastic product developed by EuroPlas, a leading company in the field of plastic materials. BiONext is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional plastic products, as it is derived from sustainable biomass sources such as PLA, PHA, plants, and vegetables (corn, palm oil, potatoes), or fossil fuels (PBAT)
Unlike traditional plastics derived from non-renewable fossil fuels can take hundreds of years to decompose, BiONext can biodegrade within 12 months.
BiONext is versatile and used in various products, including food packaging, bags, utensils, and even automotive components. It is also heat-resistant and can be molded into different shapes and sizes, making it a popular choice for manufacturers and consumers.
EuroPlas bioplastics offer similar properties to traditional plastics but with the added benefit of being eco-friendly and reducing the carbon footprint. Our products are sustainable and responsible alternatives to conventional plastics, helping to reduce the environmental impact of plastic waste and supporting a more circular economy.
Contact EuroPlas to learn more about BiONext.
Bioplastics are a promising alternative to traditional plastics, as they are made from renewable sources and are biodegradable or compostable. And this article has answered the question, &#;How are bioplastics made?&#; They are manufactured through various processes and the blending of natural materials such as corn starch, sugarcane, and vegetable oils.
With advancements in technology and increased awareness about the harmful effects of traditional plastics on the environment, bioplastics are expected to become more prevalent shortly. As consumers and industries prioritize sustainability, the demand for bioplastics will only grow, creating a more eco-friendly and sustainable future for all.
Biodegradable plastics have been advertised as one solution to the plastic pollution problem bedeviling the world, but today&#;s &#;compostable&#; plastic bags, utensils and cup lids don&#;t break down during typical composting and contaminate other recyclable plastics, creating headaches for recyclers. Most compostable plastics, made primarily of the polyester known as polylactic acid, or PLA, end up in landfills and last as long as forever plastics.
University of California, Berkeley, scientists have now invented a way to make these compostable plastics break down more easily, with just heat and water, within a few weeks, solving a problem that has flummoxed the plastics industry and environmentalists.
&#;People are now prepared to move into biodegradable polymers for single-use plastics, but if it turns out that it creates more problems than it&#;s worth, then the policy might revert back,&#; said Ting Xu, UC Berkeley professor of materials science and engineering and of chemistry. &#;We are basically saying that we are on the right track. We can solve this continuing problem of single-use plastics not being biodegradable.&#;
Xu is the senior author of a paper describing the process that will appear in this week&#;s issue of the journal Nature.
The new technology should theoretically be applicable to other types of polyester plastics, perhaps allowing the creation of compostable plastic containers, which currently are made of polyethylene, a type of polyolefin that does not degrade. Xu thinks that polyolefin plastics are best turned into higher value products, not compost, and is working on ways to transform recycled polyolefin plastics for reuse.
The new process involves embedding polyester-eating enzymes in the plastic as it&#;s made. These enzymes are protected by a simple polymer wrapping that prevents the enzyme from untangling and becoming useless. When exposed to heat and water, the enzyme shrugs off its polymer shroud and starts chomping the plastic polymer into its building blocks &#; in the case of PLA, reducing it to lactic acid, which can feed the soil microbes in compost. The polymer wrapping also degrades.
The process eliminates microplastics, a byproduct of many chemical degradation processes and a pollutant in its own right. Up to 98% of the plastic made using Xu&#;s technique degrades into small molecules.
One of the study&#;s co-authors, former UC Berkeley doctoral student Aaron Hall, has spun off a company to further develop these biodegradable plastics.
Plastics are designed not to break down during normal use, but that also means they don&#;t break down after they&#;re discarded. The most durable plastics have an almost crystal-like molecular structure, with polymer fibers aligned so tightly that water can&#;t penetrate them, let alone microbes that might chew up the polymers, which are organic molecules.
Xu&#;s idea was to embed nanoscale polymer-eating enzymes directly in a plastic or other material in a way that sequesters and protects them until the right conditions unleash them. In , she showed how this works in practice. She and her UC Berkeley team embedded in a fiber mat an enzyme that degrades toxic organophosphate chemicals, like those in insecticides and chemical warfare agents. When the mat was immersed in the chemical, the embedded enzyme broke down the organophosphate.
Her key innovation was a way to protect the enzyme from falling apart, which proteins typically do outside of their normal environment, such as a living cell. She designed molecules she called random heteropolymers, or RHPs, that wrap around the enzyme and gently hold it together without restricting its natural flexibility. The RHPs are composed of four types of monomer subunits, each with chemical properties designed to interact with chemical groups on the surface of the specific enzyme. They degrade under ultraviolet light and are present at a concentration of less than 1% of the weight of the plastic &#; low enough not to be a problem.
For the research reported in the Nature paper, Xu and her team used a similar technique, enshrouding the enzyme in RHPs and embedding billions of these nanoparticles throughout plastic resin beads that are the starting point for all plastic manufacturing. She compares this process to embedding pigments in plastic to color them. The researchers showed that the RHP-shrouded enzymes did not change the character of the plastic, which could be melted and extruded into fibers like normal polyester plastic at temperatures around 170 degrees Celsius, or 338 degrees Fahrenheit.
To trigger degradation, it was necessary only to add water and a little heat. At room temperature, 80% of the modified PLA fibers degraded entirely within about one week. Degradation was faster at higher temperatures. Under industrial composting conditions, the modified PLA degraded within six days at 50 degrees Celsius (122 F). Another polyester plastic, PCL (polycaprolactone), degraded in two days under industrial composting conditions at 40 degrees Celsius (104 F). For PLA, she embedded an enzyme called proteinase K that chews PLA up into molecules of lactic acid; for PCL, she used lipase. Both are inexpensive and readily available enzymes.
&#;If you have the enzyme only on the surface of the plastic, it would just etch down very slowly,&#; Xu said. &#;You want it distributed nanoscopically everywhere so that, essentially, each of them just needs to eat away their polymer neighbors, and then the whole material disintegrates.&#;
The quick degradation works well with municipal composting, which typically takes 60 to 90 days to turn food and plant waste into usable compost. Industrial composting at high temperatures takes less time, but the modified polyesters also break down faster at these temperatures.
Xu suspects that higher temperatures make the enshrouded enzyme move around more, allowing it to more quickly find the end of a polymer chain and chew it up and then move on to the next chain. The RHP-wrapped enzymes also tend to bind near the ends of polymer chains, keeping the enzymes near their targets.
The modified polyesters do not degrade at lower temperatures or during brief periods of dampness, she said. A polyester shirt made with this process would withstand sweat and washing at moderate temperatures, for example. Soaking in water for three months at room temperature did not cause the plastic to degrade.
Soaking in lukewarm water does lead to degradation, as she and her team demonstrated.
&#;It turns out that composting is not enough &#; people want to compost in their home without getting their hands dirty, they want to compost in water,&#; she said. &#;So, that is what we tried to see. We used warm tap water. Just warm it up to the right temperature, then put it in, and we see in a few days it disappears.&#;
Xu is developing RHP-wrapped enzymes that can degrade other types of polyester plastic, but she also is modifying the RHPs so that the degradation can be programmed to stop at a specified point and not completely destroy the material. This might be useful if the plastic were to be remelted and turned into new plastic.
The project is in part supported by the Department of Defense&#;s Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command&#;s Army Research Laboratory.
&#;These results provide a foundation for the rational design of polymeric materials that could degrade over relatively short timescales, which could provide significant advantages for Army logistics related to waste management,&#; said Stephanie McElhinny, Ph.D., program manager with the Army Research Office. &#;More broadly, these results provide insight into strategies for the incorporation of active biomolecules into solid-state materials, which could have implications for a variety of future Army capabilities, including sensing, decontamination and self-healing materials.&#;
Xu said that programmed degradation could be the key to recycling many objects. Imagine, she said, using biodegradable glue to assemble computer circuits or even entire phones or electronics, then, when you&#;re done with them, dissolving the glue so that the devices fall apart and all the pieces can be reused.
&#;It is good for millennials to think about this and start a conversation that will change the way we interface with Earth,&#; Xu said. &#;Look at all the wasted stuff we throw away: clothing, shoes, electronics like cellphones and computers. We are taking things from the earth at a faster rate than we can return them. Don&#;t go back to Earth to mine for these materials, but mine whatever you have, and then convert it to something else.&#;
Co-authors of the paper include Christopher DelRe, Yufeng Jiang, Philjun Kang, Junpyo Kwon, Aaron Hall, Ivan Jayapurna, Zhiyuan Ruan, Le Ma, Kyle Zolkin, Tim Li and Robert Ritchie of UC Berkeley; Corinne Scown of Berkeley Lab; and Thomas Russell of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. The work was funded primarily by the U.S. Department of Energy (DE-AC02-05-CH), with assistance from the Army Research Office and UC Berkeley&#;s Bakar Fellowship program.
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