Biopolymers consumption

The major classes of biopolymer, starch and starch blends, polylactic acid (PLA) and aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters, are now being used in a wide variety of niche applications, particularly for manufacture of rigid and flexible packaging, bags and sacks and foodservice products. However, market volumes for biopolymers remain extremely low compared with standard petrochemical-based plastics. For example, biopolymer consumption accounted for just 0.14% of total thermoplastics consumption in Western Europe for 2005. 

Table 4.10 Biopolymer consumption in EU in 2009 (http //www.renewable-resources.de)...

An increase in temperature causes the gelatin/water system to show that the biopolymer tends to compaction (decreasing in Rh and [ /]), which requires an increase of energy consumption due to a difficulty in flowing (increase in D and high This phenomenon... 

Coinjection of a low-concentration surfactant and a biopolymer, followed by a polymer buffer for mobility control, leads to reduced chemical consumption and high oil recovery. There may be synergistic effects between the surfactant and the polymer in a dynamic flood situation. The chromatographic separation of surfactant and polymer is important to obtain good oil recovery and low surfactant retention [1721],... 

The performance of capillary electrophoresis, for the separation of biopolymers, is comparable to or better than that of HPLC. The basis for separation relies on the choice of an appropriate buffer to be adapted to the analysis. Although reproducibility is more difficult to control, mass sensitivity is relatively high a few thousand molecules can be detected. Sample quantity is very small and solvent and reagent consumption during an analysis is negligible (Fig. 8.10). 

During the period 2000 to 2005, world consumption of synthetic biodegradable polymers has increased from 3,900 tonnes to 14,000 tonnes. In 2010, world consumption of synthetic biopolymers is projected to reach 32,800 tonnes. This represents a compound annual growth rate of 18.6% during the period 2005-2010. These forecasts assume that producers are successful in lowering the cost of production and that the price differential between synthetic biopolymers and standard thermoplastics continue to narrow. 

Western Europe is the leading market for synthetic biopolymers with 48% of total world consumption in 2005. Asia Pacific and North America each account for around 26% of consumption. 

The performance of CE, for the separation of biopolymers is comparable to that of HPLC. The success of a separation relies on the choice of an appropriate buffer medium adapted to the analysis. Only a very small quantity of sample is required and the reagent consumption or solvent is negligible (Figure 8.10). The sensitivity is very high by using laser induced fluorescence (LIE) detection a few thousands of molecules can be observed. 

The over growing environmental pressure caused by the wide spread consumption of petroleum based polymers and plastics has hastened the development of biodegradable and environmentally acceptable materials. Biopolymers derived from various natural resources such as proteins, cellulosics, starch and other polysaccharides are regarded as the alternate materials. Biodegradable polymeric materials derived from renewable sources are the most promising materials because of their easy availability and cost effectiveness. Biodegradable modified polysaccharides have been found to possess varied applications such as salt resistant absorption of water [109]. 

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a thermoplastic polyester characterized by mechanical and optical properties similar to polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is obtained from natural sources, completely biodegradable and compostable in controlled conditions as already stated in previous chapters. PLA offers some key points with respect to classic synthetic polymers, since it is a bioresource and renewable, while raw materials are cheap and abundant compared to oil. From a commercial point of view, a non-secondaiy approach, it can embellish with the word green so fashioned for the major stream consumers. Legislation can also help the commercial diffusion of biopolymers. As an example, a decisive leap has been made with the control of non-biodegradable shopping bags distribution in the European Commission and many of its member states. In addition, PLA has received some interest from the industrial sectors because of its relatively low price and commercial availability compared with other bioplastics. This is the veiy key point for any successful polymer application. In fact, the current price of commercial PLA falls between 1.5 and 2 kg , which is sufficiently close to other polymers like polyolefins, polyesters or poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). Clearly, the PLA market is still in its infancy, but it is expected that the decrease in the production costs and the improvement in product performance will result in a clear acceleration in the industrial interest for PLA uses. It is estimated that PLA consumption should reach... 

The reliance on petrochemicals for nonwovens is destined to change with increasing material consumption with movement towards polymers sourced from regenerative processes (Wiertz, 2014). There is already evidence of this shift, as the production of nonwoven materials from renewable resources is increasing, along with the number of biopolymers available. Where petrochemical-derived polymers remain economical or essential, the production of nonwoven products can be made more sustainable by including recycled polymers and fibres. 

---