Starch biobased products

Ethyl lactate is produced by esterification of lactic acid with ethanol and this process can be done in biorefineries. In these plants, biomass as raw material is transformed into biobased products such as proteins, acids, alcohols, fibers or energy (biogas). In the case of ethyl lactate, both ethanol and lactic acid can be produced in biorefineries from a variety of biomass crops, such as sugar, starch or cellulosic feedstocks, particularly from wastes, resulting also in an economic revaluation for by-products. 

Biobased polymers from renewable materials have received increased attention recently. Lactate is a building block for bio-based polymers. In the United States, production of lactic acid is greater than 50,000 metric tons/yr and projected to increase exponentially to replace petroleum-based polymers. Domestic lactate is currently manufactured from corn starch using the filamentous fungus Rhizopus oryzae and selected species of lactic acid bacteria. The produced lactic acid can then be polymerized into polylactic acid (PLA) which has many applications (Hatti-Kaul et al., 2007). However, so far, no facility is built to use biomass derived sugars for lactic acid production. More research needs to be done to develop microbes using biomass derived sugars for lactate production. 

The transition to a biobased economy is currently in an intermediate phase where certain commodity chemicals, e.g. lactic acid, are being produced from corn starch. Ultimately, however, economically viable production of bulk chemicals and liquid fuels will only be possible from inexpensive lignocellulose, generated intentionally by cultivation of forage crops, e.g. hay, or derived from waste crop and forestry residues. 

EcoSynthetix markets EcoSphere biolatex binder dispersions as a replacement for petroleum-based styrene butadiene latex. EcoSphere biolatex binders are based on starch derived from crops such as com, potatoes, and tapioca. Although the product was originally developed for the paper coating industry, it can also be applied in the textile coating industry. EcoSynthetix also produces EcoMer , a biobased building block to synthesize waterborne sugar-acrylic adhesives and resins. 

Bastioli C., Global status of the production of biobased packaging materials, Starch/Starke, 53, 2001, 351-355. 

Table 1.6 gives an overview of the different biorefineries and their development stage. It should be mentioned that although the sugar and starch biorefineries are in full-scale operation, their development will get a new input due to the biobased economy demands for new products and certainly for reduction of costs. Further biorefinery improvement... 

Biobased polymers are those made from natural or organic ingredients, such as starch from corn, potato, tapioca, rice, or wheat (Narayan 2006a, 201 lb). Biobased polymers can also be made from oils, such as palm seed, linseed, soy bean, or fermentation products, like polylactic acid (PEA), polyhydroxy alkanoate (PHA), and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). BPI World provides a listing of compostable plastic resins, bags, cutlery, and packaging (BPI World 2013). 

Plastic packaging can be produced with sustainable plastics through the use of the definitions presented above. Plastic packaging products account for approximately 30% of the plastics sold in the United States, and approximately 27% of the plastic products sold in Europe (Beswick and Dunn 2002). Sustainable plastic packaging can be made from recycled plastics or biobased plastics, like PHA, PLA, starch, and others. Life cycle assessments can be used to compare environmental impacts of using recycled or biobased plastic materials for plastic packaging products. 

Ethanol from sugars or starch is used in large quantities either as a fuel or fuel additive, or increasingly as a raw material for the production of (green) ethylene and polyethylene (PE). The principle of the dehydration of ethanol to ethylene can also be applied to other biobased alcohols, thus giving access to bioolefins and biohydrocarbons [11]. 

During the past few decades a substantial amount of effort has been devoted to the development of renewable products that are readily biodegradable, such as bioplastics for solid disposable articles, packaging applications, biobased surfactants, co-builders and bleaching activators for detergency applications and starch and sugar based products for the cosmetics industry. ... 

With respect to the use of biobased sources, adhesive products have been ahead of plastics. They are often called natural adhesives. Animal- and plant-based adhesives have been used for thousands of years. Three prominent classes of natural adhesives include proteins (polyamides), carbohydrates (polysaccharides), and natural rubber (mainly cw-polyisoprene). Three specific examples are starch, a carbohydrate gelatin, a protein and rubber cement made from natural rubber. Advantages of biobased adhesives include recyclability and environmental safety. The latter is an important consideration because of presence of solvents and hazardous ingredients in some synthetic adhesives. 

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