Integrated Project

Bioplastics are made wholly or in part from renewable biomass sources such as sugarcane and corn, or from microbe such as yeast. Some bioplastics are biodegradable or even compostable, under the right conditions. Bioplastics made from renewable resources can be naturally recycled by biological processes, thus limiting the use of fossil fuels and protecting the environment. Therefore, bioplastics are sustainable, largely biodegradable, and biocompatible. Today, bioplastics have become a necessity in many industrial applications such as food packaging, agriculture and horticulture, composting bags, and hygiene. Bioplastics have also found their use in biomedical, structural, electrical, and other consumer products. With increasing demand for global plastic consumption, a lot of research is being dedicated toward exploring green materials and new ways to process them. This chapter focuses on new developments of bioplastics in material, processing, and applications.

Less oil is used to produce petrochemical (oil-based) plastics which pose a great risk to the environment. The common bioplastics can be injection molded and shaped to take the same form as traditional thermoplastics. In some cases, the bioplastics are stronger and lighter, too, so they are not necessarily only suitable for very niche applications.

Bioplastics are more marketable, for example, their usage may improve the value-add of a product through a green marketing campaign. After all, studies have shown that ‘80% of European customers want to buy products with a minimal impact on the environment,’ so bioplastics may represent a useful argument for brands.

Less plastic litter is needed. In the UK, it was found that 90% of litter on beaches was plastic. Using bioplastic alternatives which break down naturally by composting or biodegrading will naturally negate the chance for them to become yet another piece of that 90%.

Many bioplastic polymers are naturally occurring and don’t have the carbon footprint of oil-based plastics because they don’t require the refinement of oil to produce. The refinement of oil to create the petrochemical building blocks for oil-based plastics uses a lot of energy and releases a lot of CO2 during production, perhaps as much as 500 million tonnes of CO2 per year

. Common bioplastics, such as starch-based PLA and PHB, are non-toxic and of ‘no health concern’. This makes them useful for food packaging, as they don’t taint food with any taste, nor leech chemicals (e.g. BPAs) like some oil-based plastics.