Biopolymers market

There are around thirty suppliers actively involved in the world biodegradable polymers market in 2005. The synthetic biopolymers market is dominated by large, global and vertically integrated chemical companies such as BASF, DuPont, and Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals. The starch and PLA sectors contain mainly specialist biopolymer companies such as Novamont, NatureWorks LLC, Rodenburg Biopolymers and Biotec, which were specifically established purely to develop biodegradable polymers. 

In 2005, there were very few biodegradable polymer production plants operating on a fully commercial scale. NatureWorks LLC, Novamont, Rodenburg Biopolymers and BASF are currently the only major operators with significant production capacity. Nevertheless, the world biopolymers market has shown significant growth during the last five years or so, albeit from a very small base. 

During the last ten years or so the main focus of research and development activity for companies involved in the biopolymers market was on improving the technology and the products in readiness for full commercialisation. Now, a significant number of products are commercially available and the emphasis has switched to the end user and developing markets and applications. 

New product development is also playing an important role in driving the synthetic biopolymer market. For example, the launch of the Ecovio product by BASF in 2005 is expected to boost sales of synthetic biopolymers in flexible film applications. 

Endres, H.-J., Siebert-Raths, A., Engineering Biopolymers, Markets, Manufacturing, Properties and Applications, Hanser (2011J. 

Bio does not necessarily have to denote low quality or inferior let alone biodegradable. As mentioned in section 10.2.1, polyamides are true high performance polymers, yet seeing that only 5% of the current biopolymer market is served by PA-types it may take a while to modify the public perception and association. In this respect, the title of this chapter has been well chosen. Furthermore, several of the main bio-based polyamide producers have opted to use the trade names originally deemed for their main petro-based polyamides to uphold the notion of high performance, for example Arkema with Rilsan or Evonik with Vestamid (see Table 10.2). 

The life cycle assessment (LCA) results of PLA, PHA, and thermoplastic starch (TPS) were the most prevalent biopolymers currently represented in the life cycle literature while there were other biopolymers marketed and in development, such as biobased... 

Proteias, amino acids bonded through peptide linkages to form macromolecular biopolymers, used as chiral stationary phases for hplc iaclude bovine and human semm albumin, a -acid glycoproteia, ovomucoid, avidin, and ceUobiohydrolase. The bovine semm albumin column is marketed under the name Resolvosil and can be obtained from Phenomenex. The human semm albumin column can be obtained from Alltech Associates, Advanced Separation Technologies, Inc., and J. T. Baker. The a -acid glycoproteia and ceUobiohydrolase can be obtained from Advanced Separation Technologies, Inc. or J. T. Baker, Inc. 

Biopolymers are certainly a product of the future. Their high eco-efficiency in some applications drives the development of these plastics [133]. In some niche markets, their higher production costs resulting from time-consuming purification and less than ideal raw materials can be neglected, but for large-scale applications of several million tons per year and real competitiveness with commodity polymers, new catalytic routes that lead directly to the polymeric material without generation of side-products are necessary. 

The two commercially most important Ecoflex /biopolymer blends will be presented Sects. 4.2.1. and 4.2.2. These are Ecoflex /starch blends (not marketed by BASF) and Ecoflex /PLA blends (marketed by BASF, Ecovio ). 

Chitosan Chitosan has a molecular structure similar to cellulose. This material is produced from chitin, which is widely found in the exoskeleton of shellfish and crustaceans. Chitin is the second most abundant natural biopolymer after cellulose. Chitosan is a good adsorbent for all heavy metals. It has been estimated that chitosan can be produced from shellfish and crustaceans at a market price of 15.43 /kg. 

The leading suppliers are Novamont, NatureWorks, BASF and Rodenburg Biopolymers, which together represent over 90% of the European market for biodegradable plastics. 

Brand owners and consumer will have a key role to play in the growth of this industry over the next five to ten years. Buyers are indeed beginning to recognise the marketing value of sustainable materials and are starting to endorse this biopolymers movement. It is education and awareness along with the cost and performance improvements that will take sustainable materials out of niche market status. 

Applications development to achieve higher production volumes will be crucial for continued market expansion. Production costs for biopolymers still remain high because of low volumes, and profitability of biodegradable plastics products is still too low. Hence, volumes must be increased if unit costs are to fall and profitability is to improve. 

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. 

Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles for the adoption of biodegradable and compostable materials has been the lack of kerb-side collection and municipal composting facilities, particularly in the USA and parts of Europe. Municipal composting would complete the circle for materials such as biopolymers, which start as natural renewable resources and degrade back to useable compost material. The wider development of a composting infrastructure would permit a realisation of the marketing benefits that seems to drive the adoption of sustainable materials. 

Starch-based biodegradable polymers also have a better environmental image than synthetic biopolymers as they are based on sustainable resources, which open up marketing opportunities for brand owners who wish to promote their products as being packaged in materials based on sustainable resources. 

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