Bioplastic polymers

Getting the Bugs Out—The Promise of Monomers from Nature The Birth of a Bioplastic Polymer Recycling... 

Queiroz, A.U. B., Collares-Queiroz, Z.E.P Innovation and industrial trends in bioplastics. Polymer Reviews, in press (2009)... 

Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 Bioplastic Polymers and Composites LLC, 4275 Conifer Circle, Okemos, MI 48864... 

Among bio-based chemicals, bioplastic polymers have a large interest they are usually derived from renewable raw materials (Mecking, 2004). Among these are polyhydroxyal-kanoate (PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA), considered to be highly promising. 

Above we have shown the attractiveness of the so-called green nanocomposites, although the research on these materials can still be considered to be in an embryonic phase. It can be expected that diverse nano- or micro-particles of silica, silicates, LDHs and carbonates could be used as ecological and low cost nanofillers that can be assembled with polysaccharides and other biopolymers. The controlled modification of natural polymers can alter the nature of the interactions between components, affording new formulations that could lead to bioplastics with improved mechanical and barrier properties. 

Fig. 1 Life cycle model of biorenewable polymers according to European Bioplastics [6]...

Problems of applications of bioplastics arise not only from the (price) competition with the highly developed synthetic polymers but also from their insufficient property levels. Possibilities to decrease the hydrophility and to increase the values of mechanical properties so far are ... 

In order to improve the usability of enzymes, immobilization matrices have been proposed with both environmental decontamination as well as personal detoxification in mind. Effective immobilization methods allow for the preparation of an immobilized enzyme that retains most of its native activity, maintains high operational stability as well as high storage stability. Recent advances in material synthesis using enzymes have allowed the preparation of a variety of bioplastics and enzyme-polymer composites, which involve the incorporation of the enzyme material directly into the polymer. Enzymes stabilized in this way maintain considerable stability under normally denaturing conditions [21]. A number of methods have been used to prepare bioplastic or enzyme-polymer composite materials with OP-degrading enzymes. Drevon Russel described the incorporation... 

Yet another way to use this textbook is to use polymers as the examples for discussions or explanation of concepts covered in a chemistry course. Chapter 1 can be used in conjunction with the first chapter of any textbook where a discussion of What is chemistry occurs. A teacher wants students to know the importance of chemistry in their everyday lives and the good things that have been the result of chemistry, but it is also necessary to discuss some of the problems that have arisen because of the careless use of chemistry. (You can also refer to Chapter 9, Disposal, Degradation, And Recycling Bioplastics, for another angle on responsible chemistry.)... 

In March 2006, Cereplast announced plans to double its capacity by the summer of 2006 and is investing in new and more efficient equipment. The company also reported that advances in nano-technology that they have introduced into their process coupled with polymer processing advantages through lower temperatures, support Cereplast s confidence in the viability of the bioplastics market. 

Biomass-derived polymers are often touted as "green" alternatives to polyethylene and other plastics used for packaging. However, not all biopolymers are biodegradable (2). Moreover, as we shall see in section 8.5, degradability of biopolymers is sometimes overstated (3). In this chapter, we will quantify the contribution of plastics to municipal solid waste in the USA and examine some of the realities about biodegradability of "bioplastics."... 

A variety of bioplastics and enzyme-polymer composites for use as reactive monoliths, foams, fibers, wipes, and coatings have been developed (Kline et al., 2000 Gill and Ballesteros, 2000a, b). In this form, the enzymes were found to maintain stability under... 

Chapters cover nearly every conceivable topic related to polysaccharides, such as biofibers, bioplastics, biocomposites, natural rubbers, proteins, gums, and bacterial polymers. Given the global context it does not seem preposterous to consider the materials discussed as the polymers of the future. 

Starch is the major carbohydrate reserve in higher plants and has been one of the materials of choice since the early days of human technology. Recently, starch gained new importance as a raw material in the production of bioplastics, in particular for use in the synthesis of monomers to produce polymers such as polyflactic acid), and after chemical modification and thermomechanical processing, to produce the so-called thermoplastic starch. 

The term bioplastics covers two different concepts that we tend to confuse. The first categorizes the so-called bio-sourced plastics from agricultural resoinces, a priori renewable, they are not necessarily degradable. The second includes biodegradable plastics they are not necessarily bio-soinced they are also polymers derived from fossil resources and chemistry. 

For example, if we consider the set of biodegradable and/or bio-based polymers, a recent market study published by the organization European Bioplastics (http //en.european-bioplastics.org/) shows that world capacity for production of these polymers, in 2012, was only around 1.4 million tons, of which 0.6 milhon were accounted for by biodegradable polymers. Compare this with worldwide plastic consumption of 288 million tons, of which, 57 million tons were in Europe alone, according to Plastics-Europe (http //www.plasticseurope.org), in 2012. Recent projections - particularly that presented by European Bioplastics - show that these very rapidly growing polymers will, nevertheless, remain a niche market for the next 10 years. They will account for only a small percent of the world plastic market. Thus, it is not envisaged that these polymers can totally replace conventional plastics. 

STA06] Stassin F., Resources, conservation and recycling, bioplastics in the millenium a look at technological and commercial developments , BPRI and SRC Green Polymers, Louvain-la-Neuve, 11 October 2006. 

These innovations require an increase in the number of formulations to improve product quality (compounds), new shapes, and an increasing use of composite materials, nanomaterials and bioplastics. It is also necessary to rely on process innovations. The extruder is now considered not only as a tool for the manufacture of the polymer allowing, for example, the introduction of various loads, but as a... 

For the development of edible and biodegradable bioplastics, it is required solvents and a pH regulating agent, when necessary, in addition to the plasticizer and polymer. The pH adjustment in the case of proteins is necessary to control the solubility of the polymer. Some regulators of pH found in the literature [13] acetic acid and sodium hydroxide. The solvents commonly used to prepare these bioplastics are water, ethanol or a combination of both [14]. A crucial aspect in the preparation of films is the solubility of proteins and the ability to interact with the same solvent used, since the total solubility of the protein is required for films formation [15]. The dispersion of the protein molecule in water is possible due to the large number of amino acid residues that interact with the polar solvents. These interactions can be improved depending on the dielectric constant of the solvent, since this constant is inversely proportional to the strength of intermolecular attraction. Films can be simple, made with one type of macromolecule or composed by two or more types of macromolecules, and can be formed with two or... 

Wu, C.S. Renewable resource-based composites of recycled natural fibers and maleated polylactide bioplastic Characterization and biodegradability. Polym. Degrad. Stab. 94, 1076-1084 (2009)... 

As a partial solution to the global issue of plastic waste, in recent years much interest has been devoted to the formulation of environmentally degradable plastic materials. In particular the use of natural polymers presents several advantages such as biodegradability, utilizing of renewable resources, recyclability. At the same time water sensitivity and degradability of natural polymers limit their possible applications. Consequently bioplastics cannot replace synthetic plastics in every application but they can result appropriate in specific products especially for those applications in which recovery of plastics is not economically feasible, viable and... 

Biobased polymers or bioplastics, how they are often called, are chemical products made from monomers from plant- or crop-based resources. They have petrochemical equivalents with the same chemical structure and same properties against which they have to compete in the market. They can win this competition only through a lower price, tax advantages or governmental subsidies. 

It should be noted though that this list includes biodegradable and compostable polymers. European bioplastics trade group predicted the annual capacity of 1.5 million tons by 2011 [16], a number that is very similar to the COPA/COGEGA estimate. 

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