Issue 02/2019

ioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 14 ISSN 1862-5258 

Highlights 

Rigid packaging / Theromforming | 12 

Building & Construction | 23 

Basics 

Biobased Packaging | 46 

Preview 

Caroli Buitenhuis 

Green Serendipity 

Mar / Apr 

02 | 2019 

... is read in 92 countries

"DAMN GOOD 

PLASTIC BOTTLE" 

For the founders of BE O a damn good plastic bottle is a biobased one. 

That’s why they choose Green PE (Bio-PE) and Terraprene (Bio-TPE) 

for the production of their novel bottle. 

Thanks to the unique modular design the reusable water bottle 

takes less space and is easy to clean. In addition it is dishwasher 

proof and 100% recyclable.

Editorial 

dear 

readers 

It’s spring again, the bioplastics calendar of events is filling fast, and we have a 

busy time ahead. First up: our inaugural bio!TOY conference, held in the TOY-CITY of 

Nuremberg, Germany and focused on the use of biobased plastics in toys and leisure 

applications has just concluded. All were agreed that it was a very good meeting. 

Read our comprehensive report in the next issue. 

The next big event is the annual Chinaplas trade fair, which this year is being 

held in Guangzhou. Our show preview, including a detachable Show Guide with 

floorplan, can be found on pp. 30-31. 

As soon as we return from China, it’s time for the 3 rd edition of the bio!PAC 

conference on biobased packaging, again in Düsseldorf, Germany, which we 

are organizing in cooperation with Caroli Buitenhuis (see cover photo) of Green 

Serendipity. Have a look at the programme on page 8 – and we encourage you 

to register now, to reserve your seat. 

It goes almost without saying that the really big event this year takes place 

in Düsseldorf in October: the triennial K Show, where for the fourth time we’ll 

be hosting our Bioplastics Business Breakfast. The breakfast meeting was 

extended by a fourth day to cover PHA as a highlight topic. The call for papers 

is open. We are looking forward to your contributions. 

It’s also not too early to submit proposals for the 2019 edition of the 

Global Bioplastics Award. If you have a product or service that deserves to 

be recognized with this award or perhaps you know of someone who does, 

please let us know. We’ll announce the winner at the 14 th European Bioplastics 

Conference on the 3 rd of December in Berlin, Germany. 

Getting back to this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE, the highlight topics include 

Thermoforming / Rigid Packaging and Bioplastics in Building & Construction. This 

is rounded off, as usual, by some of the most recent news items on materials and 

applications to keep you abreast of the latest innovations and ongoing advances in 

the world of bioplastics. 

I look forward to seeing you at one of the many events this year. Until then, please 

enjoy reading this latest issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE. 

EcoComunicazione.it 

WWW.MATERBI.COM 

r1_05.2017 

05/05/17 11:39 

bioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 14 ISSN 1862-5258 

Highlights 



Basics 


Preview 



Mar / Apr 


... is read in 92 countries 

Follow us on twitter! 

www.twitter.com/bioplasticsmag 

Michael Thielen 

Like us on Facebook! 

www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine 

Successful bio!TOY 2019 

See report in the next issue 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 3

Content 

Imprint 

Mar / Apr 02|2019 

Thermoforming / 

Rigid Packaging 

12 Thermoforming of biobased plastic 

14 Heat Resistant and home compostable 

PLA resins 

16 Fresh salads have a new compostable ally 

18 Waste becomes raw material 

Materials 

20 Advances in the development of dandelion 

rubber 

22 Biocomposites made from sunflowers 

Building & Construction 

23 First plant-based pouches with BOPEF 

film 

24 PLA based Edgebanding 

3 Editorial 

5 News 

8 Events 

26 Chinaplas preview 

30 Chinaplas showguide 

36 Application News 

44 Patents 

46 Basics 

48 10 years ago 

49 Brand Owner 

50 Glossary 

54 Event Calendar 

55 Suppliers Guide 

58 Companies in this issue 

Applications 

32 Biobased reusable cutlery 

33 Arla’s wood-based beverage cartons 

38 A five year journey 

39 Eco-Spacer 

Opinion 

40 Heading for a circular economy and 

sustainability with biobased and 

biodegradable plastics 

43 No solution for pollution 

Publisher / Editorial 

Dr. Michael Thielen (MT) 

Samuel Brangenberg (SB) 

Head Office 

Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

Dammer Str. 112 

41066 Mönchengladbach, Germany 

phone: +49 (0)2161 6884469 

fax: +49 (0)2161 6884468 

info@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Media Adviser 

Samsales (German language) 

phone: +49(0)2161-6884467 

fax: +49(0)2161 6884468 

sb@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Michael Thielen (English Language) 

(see head office) 

Layout/Production 

Kerstin Neumeister 

Print 

Poligrāfijas grupa Mūkusala Ltd. 

1004 Riga, Latvia 

bioplastics MAGAZINE is printed on 

chlorine-free FSC certified paper. 

Print run: 3.400 copies 

(+500 for Chinaplas, printed in China) 

bioplastics magazine 

ISSN 1862-5258 

bM is published 6 times a year. 

This publication is sent to qualified subscribers 

(169 Euro for 6 issues). 

bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 

92 countries. 

Every effort is made to verify all Information 

published, but Polymedia Publisher 

cannot accept responsibility for any errors 

or omissions or for any losses that may 

arise as a result. 

All articles appearing in 

bioplastics MAGAZINE, or on the website 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com are strictly 

covered by copyright. No part of this 

publication may be reproduced, copied, 

scanned, photographed and/or stored 

in any form, including electronic format, 

without the prior consent of the publisher. 

Opinions expressed in articles do not necessarily 

reflect those of Polymedia Publisher. 

bioplastics MAGAZINE welcomes contributions 

for publication. Submissions are 

accepted on the basis of full assignment 

of copyright to Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

unless otherwise agreed in advance and in 

writing. We reserve the right to edit items 

for reasons of space, clarity or legality. 

Please contact the editorial office via 

mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com. 

The fact that product names may not be 

identified in our editorial as trade marks 

is not an indication that such names are 

not registered trade marks. 

bioplastics MAGAZINE tries to use British 

spelling. However, in articles based on 

information from the USA, American 

spelling may also be used. 

Envelopes 

A part of this print run is mailed to the 

readers wrapped bioplastic envelopes 

sponsored by Minima Technology Co., 

Ltd., Taiwan 

Cover 

Caroli Buitenhuis, Green Serendipity 

(Photo: Annemiek Streng) 

Follow us on twitter: 

http://twitter.com/bioplasticsmag 

Like us on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine

daily upated news at 


News 

Aimplas official test 

site for TÜV Austria 

Anellotech & partners: 

biobased paraxylene 

Companies seeking to gain OK Compost Industrial, 

OK Compost Home, OK Biodegradable Soil and Seedling 

certification and labels can now turn to the laboratories 

of research institute AIMPLAS (Paterna, Spain) for the 

required tests. 

Aimplas has now been officially recognised for that 

purpose by TÜV Austria, the independent certification 

body who, in December 2017 acquired the OK brand and 

certification scheme OK Compost developed by Belgian 

body Vinçotte NV. 

The laboratories of Aimplas had already significantly 

increased the scope of their accreditations in 2017 

when they obtained the ENAC - the Spanish National 

Accreditation Entity - accreditation for biodegradation 

under composting conditions and in soil tests, as well as 

disintegration tests. This placed the technology centre at 

the forefront of accredited tests for plastic materials in 

Europe. 

TÜV Austria's environment product verification 

marks offer a customized certification label for each 

biodegradation environment. The labels are widely 

recognised and trusted internationally by end customers. 

Hence, all components, inks and additives in certified 

packaging or products bearing the OK Compost Industrial 

label are biodegradable in an industrial composting 

plant. The OK Compost Home certification ensures these 

will biodegrade in home compost, at a lower temperature 

than industrial composting, while the OK Biodegradable 

Soi label ensures that a product is biodegradable in soil. 

The Seedling logo, authorised by European Bioplastics, 

identifies products in compliance with EN 13432 as 

compostable. Obtaining these labels includes ecotoxicity 

tests to assess compost quality and to ensure that there 

are no adverse effects on the environment. MT 

www.aimplas.es 

U.S. sustainable technology company Anellotech (Pearl 

River, New York and its joint development partners IFPEN 

and Axens have processed renewably-sourced aromatics 

made at Anellotech’s TCat- 8 ® pilot plant to successfully 

recover high-purity biobased paraxylene – a key component 

for making 100% biobased PET a reality. 

This is a key development milestone for Anellotech 

and global consumer beverage company Suntory, as the 

two partners will collaborate to produce bioPET bottles. 

Anellotech, IFPEN and Axens will now purify additional 

paraxylene to create pilot sample 100% bioPET beverage 

bottles – as well as sample quantities of biobased benzene 

whose derivatives (nylon, ABS, polycarbonate, linear alkyl 

benzene) are used in clothing, toys, mobile phones and 

laundry detergent. 

Anellotech has been producing renewably-sourced 

aromatics for purification by IFPEN and Axens in Europe. 

Since the announcement of a successful two-week 

continuous trial in March 2018 at Anellotech’s TCat-8 pilot 

plant at Silsbee, Texas, over 4,000 hours of cumulative onstream 

time have been achieved. 

An initial volume of high-purity bio-paraxylene test 

samples have completely met all of the ASTM International 

specifications for downstream derivatives in conversion 

to PET. As larger amounts of paraxylene are purified, 

Anellotech will begin to make renewable PET resin for 

prototype bottle manufacture and product trials. This 

will be the industry’s first major production of bio-PET 

from continuous, cost- effective processing of non-food 

biomass. 

As well as bio-paraxylene, Anellotech continues to 

work on the recovery of bio-benzene and toluene from 

TCat-8 output. Separation and purification of highpurity 

bio-benzene will enable sample volumes of a 

range of important biobased polymers such as nylons, 

polycarbonate, polystyrene and acrylonitrile-butadienestyrene 

(ABS) to be produced. MT 

www.anellotech.com 

Picks & clicks 

Most frequently clicked news 

Here’s a look at our most popular online content of the past two months. 

The story that got the most clicks from the visitors to bioplasticsmagazine.com was: 

tinyurl.com/news 20190220 

Newest market and trend report: 2018 was a very good year 

for biobased polymers (20 February 2019) 

Nova-Institute’s latest market and trend report (...) entitled “Biobased 

Building Blocks and Polymers – Global Capacities, Production and Trends 

2018-2023”, it shows the production capacities and, for the first time, the 

production data for all biobased polymers. 

According to this report, the total production volume reached 7.5 million 

tonnes in 2018, which equates to about 2% of the production volume of 

petrochemical polymers. The potential of these materials is much higher, 

the authors note, but the low price of oil combined with the lack of political 

support are factors working against their reaching significant growth. 


News 

daily upated news at 


DSM and Roquette to dissolve Reverdia, 

reframe relationship 

DSM and Roquette are taking the next step in biobased 

succinic acid, as the companies recently announced. 

Following the successful production of bio-succinic acid 

under the trademark Biosuccinium since 2012, Reverdia’s 

parent companies — Royal DSM, a global science-based 

company in Nutrition, Health and Sustainable Living, and 

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients for Food, 

Nutrition and Health markets, — have decided on a strategic 

shift in the continuing operations of their joint venture. 

Effective 1 April 2019, the joint venture Reverdia will 

be dissolved and the partners will transfer the rights and 

obligations related to Reverdia’s Biosuccinium plant in 

Cassano, Italy to Roquette. Under a non-exclusive license 

from DSM, Roquette will operate the plant and continue 

serving customers of Biosuccinium. Customer service, order 

processing, and marketing and sales will be integrated into 

Roquette’s existing business to ensure a smooth transition. 

DSM, the original developer of the Biosuccinium technology, 

will assume the role of exclusive licensor, in line with its 

business model in this field. 

Atul Thakrar, President of Biobased Products and Services 

at DSM says: “The Reverdia joint venture has proven 

Biosuccinium technology to be the most sustainable and 

competitive bio-succinic acid on the market today. We have 

gone well beyond the start-up phase and the Biosuccinium 

brand will continue to grow under the leadership of our 

partner Roquette. This is an example of DSM doing what it 

does best — establishing market-leading technologies and 

commercializing them.” 

“After the success of the collaboration with DSM through 

the joint venture, we will integrate the Biosuccinium product 

line within our global business organisation. Our sales force 

will continue to support our customers’ growth,” says Bruno 

Plancke, Vice President of the Industry Global Business Unit 

at Roquette. 

DSM, the original developer of the Biosuccinium technology, 

will become the exclusive licensor to strategic customers 

and other third parties interested in the integration of the 

Biosuccinium production process into their value chains. 

Bio-succinic acid is a platform molecule with applications 

in a range of large-volume markets. DSM’s technology has 

matured to a point where the roll-out potential is significant 

enough to warrant a focused effort on licensing. MT 

www.reverdia.com 

Virent & partners: 

biobased paraxylene 

BP, Virent Inc. and Johnson Matthey (JM) have 

signed an agreement that will further advance the 

commercialisation of Virent’s Bioforming® process for 

production of bio-paraxylene (PX), a key raw material for 

the production of 100 % biobased PET. 

Virent’s Bioforming technology, which is being developed 

with JM, produces drop-in reformate product from 

renewable sources that can be used to produce renewable 

fuels and also processed into lower carbon intensive bio- 

PX, the feedstock for bio-purified terephthalic acid (PTA), 

using existing technologies. 

As part of this agreement, the parties will work together 

to commercialise the BioForming technology – BP will 

contribute technical resources and has exclusive rights 

to negotiate becoming the sole manufacturer of bio-PX 

using Virent’s technology. 

“We have been working with JM to scale up the 

BioForming process for production of renewable fuel and 

are very pleased to enter into this agreement with BP 

to commercialisethe technology for production of bio- 

PX and bio-PTA,” said Dave Kettner, President of Virent. 

“This is an indication of the flexibility of the BioForming 

technology to produce both bio-fuels and bio-aromatic 

chemicals. MT 

www.bp.com 

Braskem and Haldor 

Topsoe: biobased MEG 

Braskem and Haldor Topsoe announced today that 

they have reached mechanical completion of the 

MOSAIK process step of their demonstration plant 

that will produce bio-based monoethylene glycol - MEG 

- from sugars. 

The mechanical completion of this process step is the 

first milestone to be achieved by Braskem and Haldor 

Topsoe’s partnership to validate the MOSAIK sugar-tobiochemicals 

solution for production of cost-competitive 

bio-based MEG. 

Currently, MEG is made from fossil-based feedstocks, 

such as naphtha, gas or coal, and it is a key component 

of PET plastic used for food packaging, especially 

bottles, and polyester fabrics. The global MEG market 

represents a value of 25 billion dollars. 

The demonstration plant, located in Lyngby, Denmark, 

is an important step towards upscaling the MOSAIK 

solution and production at an industrial scale, which is 

planned to commence in 2023. The plant demonstrates 

all key design features of the technology and can 

produce more than 100 tons per year of glycolaldehyde, 

which is converted into MEG in the next process step. MT 

www.braskem.com | www.topsoe.com 

6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14

News 

New study assesses the environmental impact of 

innovative biobased products 

The European Union has published a new study entitled “Environmental impact assessments of innovative biobased products” 

which aims to provide science-based facts and evidence on the environmental impacts of innovative biobased products and 

mostly plastic products compared to petrochemical counterparts. 

Seven cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) case studies were carried out covering three major commercialised 

biobased polymers: 

• biobased polyethylene terephthalate (PET; “beverage bottles”); 

• polylactide acid (PLA; “single-use cups”, “single-use Cutlery”, “packaging films”) and 

• starch plastics (“clips”, “mulch films” and “carrier bags”). 

Primary data were gathered from the industry based on the real supply chain. This also included the biomass currently used 

by the industry. The study is accessible vie the link below. MT 

tinyurl.com/EU-report-19-02 

Biome Bioplastics and Futamura partner on 

development of compostable multilayer packaging 

Biome Bioplastics (Southampton, UK) and Futamura 

(Wigton, Cumbria, UK) have partnered on the development 

of a range of bio-based and compostable multilayer films. 

The materials offer competitive performance, while tackling 

the negative environmental impact of traditional oil-based, 

non-recyclable multilayer packaging. 

Sustainable alternatives to challenging packaging formats 

such as multilayer pouches will be key to meeting the 

UK Plastics Pact target that 70% of plastic packaging is 

effectively recycled or composted by 2025. 

Multilayer films can be used in 

packaging both fresh products and 

dry foods to extend shelf life in a 

cost-effective manner. However, their 

multilayer construction means that this 

type of packaging cannot be recycled and 

lacks a viable disposal route. 

The compostable multilayer films are 

manufactured by combining Biome’s 

range of biodegradable sealant resins 

with Futamura’s compostable NatureFlex cellulose films 

to generate a range of laminated flexible structures. The 

films are compliant to the European industrial composting 

standard EN13432 

The materials have a biobased content of between 50- 

70 %. The performance of the compostable materials is 

comparable to non-recyclable multilayer packaging for 

decoration, oxygen and moisture barrier and heat-sealing 

properties. 

The companies have demonstrated how a viable 

compostable solution can be achieved by creating a dry 

food pouch, which offers excellent oxygen barrier and 

good moisture barrier properties, as well as efficient 

sealability. The pouches can also be easily printed using 

both conventional and digital print processes, allowing 

manufacturers to create highly decorated branding to ensure 

their sustainable pack stands out on shelves. Additionally, 

the puncture resistance of the pouch is similar to products 

currently available on the market. 

Myriam Moeyersons, Sales Manager at Biome Bioplastics, 

commented: 

“This range of multilayer films allows 

brand owners to move away from nonrecyclable 

packaging and show that 

they are at the forefront of the drive to 

create a circular economy for plastics. 

There is no time to lose if we are to bear 

down on packaging waste and achieve 

the aims of the UK Plastics Pact. We 

must immediately start implementing 

changes to existing packaging.” 

Dr Lucy Cowton, Product & Sustainability Manager at 

Futamura, added: 

“Futamura chose to partner with Biome as our companies 

are aligned in their passion to produce technically strong, 

sustainable and compostable alternatives to conventional 

packaging films. Biome’s sealant resins are an excellent 

pairing because they complement the heat resistance 

and barrier properties of our NatureFlex range with their 

puncture resistance and strong sealability.” MT 

www.biomebioplastics.com 

| www.futamuragroup.com 


Events 

bioplastics MAGAZINE presents: 

The third bio!PAC conference on biobased packaging in Düsseldorf, Germany, 

organised by bioplastics MAGAZINE together with Green Serendipity, is the mustattend 

conference for anyone interested in sustainable packaging made from 

renewably-sourced materials. The conference offers expert presentations 

from major players in the packaging value chain, from raw material suppliers 

and packaging manufacturers to brand owners experienced in using biobased 

packaging. bio!PAC offers excellent opportunities for attendees to connect and 

network with other professionals in the field. 

The programme of the conference is provided below. Please visit our conference 

website for full details and information about registration. 

bio PAC 

www.bio-pac.info 

biobased packaging 

conference 

28-29 may 2019 

maritim düsseldorf 

Programme: 

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 

08:45 - 09:15 Michael Thielen, Polymedia Publisher Welcome remarks - Basics of “biobased“ (definitions etc.) 

09:15 - 09:40 Caroli Buitenhuis, Green Serendipity Future of biobased packaging 

09:40 - 10:05 Elena Cantos, European Bioplastics Bioplastics communications - Do's and Don'ts 

10:05 - 10:30 Michael Carus, nova Institute Bioplastics vs. Food production - no competition! 

10:30 - 10:55 Q&A 

10:55 - 11:20 Coffeebreak 

11:20 - 11:45 Emanuela Bardi, Taghleef Industries NATIVIA ® films: from production to applications 

11:45 - 12:10 Lucy Cowton, Futamura 

State of the art Bio-laminate solutions to replace conventional plastics in flexible 

packaging 

12:10 - 12:35 Patrick Gerritsen, Bio4pack Biobased plastics and recycling 

12:35 - 12:50 Q&A 

12:50 - 14:00 Lunch 

14:00 - 14:25 Remy Jongboom, Biotec How to avoid illusions&confusions with bioplastics in the Circular Economy 

14:25 - 14:50 Julian Schmeling, Mitsubishi Chemical 

(Home-) compostable barrier packaging/laminates for dry-food applications 

( with BioPBS) 

14:50 - 15:15 Erwin Vink, NatureWorks Sustainable feedstock sourcing for bio-based polymers 

15.15 - 15:40 Julian Fox, Tetra Pak Tetra Pak's journey to enhance renewable polymer sourcing 

15:40 - 16:05 Q&A 


16:35 - 17:00 David Abecassis, Titan Bioplastics Increasing the properties of bioplastics for packaging using nanotechnology 

17:00 - 17:25 Marie-Hélène Gramatikoff, Lactips, Plastic free and soluble material for packaging 

17:25 - 17:50 David Sudolsky, Annellotech (t.b.c.) Making 100% biobased PET a reality (t.b.c.) 

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 

09:00 - 09:25 Martin Bussmann, BASF 

"Differences in compostable to conventional plastics for fast moving 

consumer goods" 

09:25 - 09:50 Patrick Zimmermann, FKuR Re-thinking the status-quo – plastics in the circular economy 

09:50 - 10:15 Albertro Castellanza, Novamont Compostable materials: innovative solutions in packaging applications 

10:15 - 10:40 Brendan Hill, Braskem Braskem I’m Green PE – helping customers decouple from fossil feedstocks 

10:40 - 10:55 Q&A 


11:20 - 11:45 Marcea van Doorn, Bunzl Bunzl Believes - sustainable developments 

11:45 - 12:10 Dirk Wens, Belgian Biopackaging t.b.d. 

12:10 - 12:35 Chris McKillop, Club Coffee Biobased Packaging in Canada: The Brand Owner Perspective 

12:35 - 12:50 Q&A 

12:50 - 14:00 Lunch 

14:00 - 14:25 Mark Lankveld, Corbion PEF developments 

14:25 - 14:50 Gert-Jan Gruter, Avantium Avantiums bioplastics perspective and innovations 

14:50 - 15:15 Diego Torresan, Bio-on t.b.d. 

15.15 - 15:40 Steven Ijzerman, Ecoplaza Ekoplaza – World´s first Plastic Free Aisle 

15:40 - 15:55 Q&A 

16:00 - 16:30 Caroli Buitenhuis, Michael Thielen Closing remarks 

(subject to changes, visit www.bio-pac.info for updates) 

bio!PAC 2017 


Events 

bioplastics MAGAZINE presents: 

bio PAC 

Conference on Biobased Packaging 

28 - 29 May 2019 - Düsseldorf, Germany 

Biobased packaging 

» can be recyclable and/or compostable 

» fits into the circular economy of the future 

» is made from renewable resources or waste streams 

» can offer environmental benefits in the end-of-life phase 

» can offer innovative features and beneficial barrier properties 

» can help to reduce the depletion of finite fossil resources and CO 2 

emissions 

That‘s why bioplastics MAGAZINE (in cooperation with Green Serendipity) is now 

organizing the third edition of 

bio PAC 

The 2 day-conference will be held on the 

28 th and 29 th of May 2019 in Düssseldorf, Germany 

Gold Sponsor 

Silver Sponsors 

supported by 

Coorganized by 

1 st Media Partner 

Media Partner 

#biopac 

www.bio-pac.info

News 

NatureWorks announces 

100 % third-party certified 

sustainable feedstock by 2020 

A 

new initiative at NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnessota, 

USA) will ensure that by 2020 100 % of the agricultural 

feedstock for Ingeo PLA biopolymers and Vercet 

performance chemicals will be certified by the International 

Sustainability & Carbon Certification System (ISCC) to the ISCC 

PLUS standard of best practices in agricultural production. 

NatureWorks was the first biopolymers manufacturer to 

become certified to the new ISCC PLUS standard in 2012 and 

currently has more than 40 % of its agricultural feedstock 

certified. At full capacity, more than 90 farms will be involved in 

the program by 2020. 

The ISCC PLUS certified crops are grown within 80 km (50 

miles) of the NatureWorks’ Blair, Nebraska, USA, production 

facility, which has an annual production capacity of 150,000 

tonnes of Ingeo PLA. Every farm entering the program receives 

training in adhering to the ISCC PLUS certification’s principles, 

which are the following: 

• Protect highly biodiverse and high carbon stock areas. 

• Implement best agricultural practices for the use of 

fertilizers and pesticides, irrigation, tillage, soil management, 

and the protection of the surrounding environment. 

• Promote safe working conditions. 

• Comply with human, labor, and land rights. 

• Comply with laws and international treaties. 

• Implement good management practices and continuous 

improvement. 

“New materials innovation is being driven by the tenants of 

the circular bioeconomy, and as we seek to decouple plastics 

from fossil feedstocks, we remain committed to feedstock 

diversification and to critically assessing the sustainability of 

each and every feedstock we use,” said Rich Altice, CEO and 

President of NatureWorks. 

ISCC PLUS is an independent third-party sustainability 

certification system developed in a multi-stakeholder initiative. 

The comprehensive program certifies the sustainability of 

agricultural feedstocks used for biobased products, including 

both the environmental and social aspects of agricultural 

production. Site specific audits and certificates ensure full 

traceability and chain of custody along the supply chain, 

ensuring that the total volume of Ingeo received by the final user 

of the product can be traced back (and documented through a 

mass balance system) to the equivalent amount of certified, 

sustainable crop produced. ISCC certification has been adopted 

by global brands and is supported by non-governmental 

organizations. 

“We are very happy about NatureWorks’ commitment to 

sourcing sustainable agricultural feedstock,” said Gernot 

Klepper, Chairman of the ISCC Association. “Agricultural 

producers have both a responsibility and a tremendous chance 

to contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals 

of the United Nations. Certification with ISCC PLUS enables 

farmers to move toward more sustainable agricultural 

practices, thus supporting ecologic and social, as well as 

economic sustainability in agriculture and rural areas.” 

As part of NatureWorks’ commitment to renewable, 

sustainable feedstocks and materials, the Ellen MacArthur 

Foundation recently announced that NatureWorks, along 

with other global brandowners and manufacturers, have 

signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. As a 

signatory, NatureWorks committed to the following in support 

of sustainable agriculture for bioplastics: 

• By 2019, 60 % of the company’s feedstock will be certified as 

sustainably and responsibly managed via ISCC PLUS. 

• By 2020, 100 % of feedstock will be certified as sustainably 

and responsibly managed via ISCC PLUS. 

• By 2025, 100 % of new feedstocks for additional 

manufacturing capacity will be certified as sustainably 

and responsibly managed via an independent third-party 

administered program. MT 

www.natureworksllc.com 


Call for papers now open! 

organized by 

Automotive 

17. - 20.10.2019 

Messe Düsseldorf, Germany 

BIOPLASTICS 

BUSINESS 

BREAKFAST 

B 3 

Bioplastics in 

Packaging 

PLA, an Innovative 

Bioplastic 

Bioplastics in 

Durable Applications 

PHA, Opportunities 

& Challenges 

www.bioplastics-breakfast.com 

At the World‘s biggest trade show on plastics and rubber: 

K‘2019 in Düsseldorf bioplastics will certainly play an important role again. 

On four days during the show bioplastics MAGAZINE will host a 

Bioplastics Business Breakfast: From 8am to 12pm the delegates will 

enjoy highclass presentations and unique networking opportunity. 

The trade fair opens at 10 am. 

Media Partner: 


Thermoforming / Rigid Packaging 

Thermoforming with biobased 

plastics for greater sustainability 

Are biobased and biodegradable plastics also suitable 

for thermoforming? The Turkish plastics processor 

Göncay Plastik, which manufactures millions of 

plastic lids for drinking cups for fast-food chains, answers 

the question with a definite “yes”. The company has plenty of 

good experience with Bio-Flex ® , a biobased compound from 

the portfolio of FKuR that meets the high specifications on 

processability and product properties. 

The application of plastics in the packaging segment, which 

is frequently characterised by extremely large production 

runs, is at the centre of discussion more than ever before. 

Proven ways to gain greater acceptance include the use of 

recycling-friendly monolayer structures and the lowering of 

material consumption by reducing the thickness and thus 

the weight of the product. A lesser known aspect here is that 

biobased thermoplastics are also suitable for one of the most 

commonly used production processes in the industry, namely 

thermoforming – also known as vacuum forming. The 

products combine an aesthetic appearance with functionality 

plus a significant increase in sustainability. 

Millions of lids for hot and cold drinks 

Göncay Plastik reports on the successful use of a 

thermoformed product from a biobased thermoplastic 

instead of a conventional thermoplastic. The company, 

founded in 1988, is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey, and 

delivers to customers in over 50 countries, predominantly 

in Europe. One of its biggest-selling products is a range of 

thermoformed plastic lids for hot and cold drink cups for 

international fast-food chains. With a production capacity 

of 6 million lids a day, Göncay Plastik manufactures over 70 

different shapes and sizes for virtually all types of plastic 

cups and beakers used around the world. In 2018 the 

company switched part of this production to the product 

Bio-Flex S 7711 from FKuR. 

Managing Director Ibrahim Göncay remembers well how it 

all started: “We received the assignment from our customers 

– belonging to the best-known branded companies in the 

world – to maximise the environmental compatibility of our 

products by reducing the amount of material used and by 

deploying sustainable materials. In order to come up with the 

right answers, we turned to Mert Kumru from Kumru Kimya, 

the local representative of FKuR. We then received sample 

materials for pilot trials and extensive application-related 

assistance during the sampling process.” 

The result of this cooperation was that Bio-Flex S 7711 

proved to be the best-suited material for the production of 

the thermoformed lids. Kumru: “Bio-Flex S 7711 combines 

the high elasticity that is required for easy pressing of the lid 

onto the beaker with the necessary stiffness and rigidity for a 

firm and reliable fit despite the low wall thickness. It naturally 

also has the required heat resistance and heat deflection 

temperature. However, in the end, the real solution to the task 

only came about through the combination of these beneficial 

material properties with some process modifications that 

affected both the extrusion line for the film manufacture and 

the thermoforming station.” As Göncay further reported, 

production of the lids has been running without a single 

customer complaint since it was switched to Bio-Flex. 

The right material for every task 

Thermoforming is a highly economical process for the 

million-fold manufacture of products such as the previously 

mentioned beaker lids as well as blister packs and trays. In 

all cases, the first step is to heat up a two-dimensional plastic 

film or sheet and then, under a vacuum or with compressed 

air, press it against the contours of a mould. This results in 

the three-dimensional mouldings, predominantly for the 

packaging segment, but also for the toy, consumer goods 

and automotive industries, as well as many other segments. 

Basically, all thermoplastics are suitable for 

thermoforming, which means that an appropriate material – 

from commodities to high-performance plastics – exists for 

every project. FKuR meets the need for biobased types with 

certain Bio-Flex PLA blends, with a partially biobased PET 

and also with a biobased HDPE. 

Flexible, biobased and biodegradable 

Bio-Flex products are blends from FKuR’s own 

development centre. They are based on PLA (polylactic acid) 

and thus consist entirely or partially of natural raw materials. 

They are also entirely biodegradable (according to EN 13432). 

Through the choice of related additional polymers, all grades 

are significantly more flexible than the rather brittle pure 

PLA. In addition to the Bio-Flex S 7711 used at Göncay, 

Bio-Flex F 6611, F 6711 and F 7510 as well as S 5630 WH 

are specifically suitable for thermoforming. Furthermore, 

according to EN 10/2011, they are also all suitable for use as 

packaging materials for food contact applications. 

Bio-Flex S 7711 combines high stiffness and strength 

as a prerequisite for particularly thin-walled yet stable 

thermoformed parts. It has the highest elongation at break 

of this product family, allowing high plasticity and forming 

characteristics combined with good resilience properties. 

Bio-Flex F 6611 is a certified GMO-free type. It is noted 

for its pleasant tactile properties and pearlescent gloss. 

Furthermore, it satisfies the criteria of standard EN 13432 

and is thus classified as a certified compostable material. 

Typical applications include food trays and coffee capsules. 

Furthermore, Bio-Flex F 6711, which has similar properties, 

is also suitable for applications with acidic foodstuffs such 

as fruit. 

Bio-Flex F 7510 has a lower density than the F 6611 and 

F 6711 grades. Accordingly, its stiffness and strength are 

closer to those of pure PLA Typical applications for this grade 

include cold drink lids. 



By: 

Patrick Zimmermann, Director Marketing & Sales, 

Denise Martha, Marketing Manager - Public Relations 

FKuR Kunststoff 

Willich, Germany 

Bio-Flex S 5630 WH is noted for its balanced ratio 

of extensibility and stiffness. Furthermore, products 

made from this grade have pleasant, high-quality tactile 

properties. The most common application apart from 

trays is caps for coffee capsules. 

Biobased and highly transparent 

A partially biobased PET suitable for the production of 

thermoformed film in FKuR’s product portfolio is Eastlon 

PET CB-602AB produced by the Taiwanese Fenc Group. 

It is chemically identical to conventional fossil based 

PET and consists 70 % of terephthalic acid and 30 % of 

biobased monoethylene glycol (Bio-MEG). The basis for 

the Bio-MEG used here is, however, ethanol, which is 

obtained from the renewable vegetable raw material, 

sugar cane. 

The properties and processing of Eastlon correspond 

to those of conventional PET. Like the latter, it can be 

printed, punched, embossed and bonded, and it also 

combines high optical clarity with good resistance to a 

variety of chemicals and oils. For this reason, Eastlon CB- 

602AB has proved itself as a drop-in solution in a variety 

of thermoforming applications, for which conventional 

PET was previously used, including above all transparent 

packaging solutions. In existing PET material flows, it is 

completely recyclable. 

Polyethylene from sugar cane 

The product Green HDPE SHE 150 in FKuR’s portfolio, 

which is suitable for the production of film and subsequent 

thermoforming, is a member of the biobased “I’m 

green” PE family from Braskem, which is produced on 

the basis of sugar cane. The recyclability and mechanical 

properties correspond to those of conventional HDPE 

from crude oil, which means that this material can also 

serve as a drop-in product. The proportion of renewable 

raw materials in Green HDPE SHE 150 is 94 %. 

Much stronger demand expected 

Ibrahim Göncay from Göncay Plastic sees a clear trend 

towards an increase in the demand for such products: 

“At the moment, the limited availability and the price are 

putting a brake on the use of biobased thermoplastics. 

But I am confident that the packaging segment in 

particular will react to the current lively discussion about 

the use of plastics and will increasingly turn to biobased 

varieties in the near future. I also believe that the market 

availability of biobased plastics will play an important role 

in implementing the impending changeover.” 

www.fkur.com | www.goncayplastik.com | www.kumrukimya.com 

Cup lid for hot drinks, thermoformed from 

Bio-Flex S 7711 (Photo: Göncay Plastik) 

Thermoformed trays made from the biobased PLA blend 

Bio-Flex from FKuR offer an attractive opportunity for greater 

sustainability in the packaging segment. (Photo: FKuR) 

Charpy notched 

impact strength 

(kJ/m²) 100 % 

= 7.2 

Tensile modulus of elasticity (MPa) 100 % = 3,300 

100 

80 

60 

40 

20 

0 

Elongation at break (%) 100 % = 24 

Tensile strength 

(MPa) 100 % = 57 

Bio-Flex F 7510 

Bio-Flex S 5630 WH 


Bio-Flex S 7711 

A direct property comparison shows the relative strengths of the 

Bio-Flex grades suitable for thermoforming – for example the 

stiffness and strength of F 7510 compared with the ductility of 

F 6611 and the balanced properties of S 5630 WH. 



Heat Resistant and home 

compostable PLA resins 

Kompuestos develops a new Biokomp grade for hot contents 

From soft-drink cups at fast food restaurants and 

festivals to fresh fruit and vegetable containers: 

the packaging industry is no stranger to biobased 

polylactic acid (PLA) plastic. And according to recent studies 

on the biodegradable plastics market, PLA will maintain its 

dominance in the biodegradable plastics market through 

2023. Made from natural, renewable resources such as 

sugar cane or corn, PLA is readily available worldwide, 

processed using conventional converting processes and is 

recyclable or compostable at the end of life. 

However, so far, the use of conventional PLA has largely 

been limited to applications such as cold food packaging, 

disposable plates and cutlery and shopping bags. Efforts 

have been made to develop heat resistant PLA grades 

able to withstand use temperatures in the range of 80°C 

to 120°C. Yet these applications all require composting 

in industrial facilities, while the market is increasingly 

indicating a preference for home composting. 

Other home compostable resins, such as PHA or PBSA, 

have emerged as alternatives in the biodegradable market, 

and their market share is expected to grow at a rapid 

rate. However, although they offer a good fit for flexible 

packaging and film applications, they lack the mechanical 

properties required for rigid packaging, in addition to being 

more expensive. 

There is no one-fits-all solution, and the packaging 

industry is under pressure to offer more sustainable 

solutions and alternatives to traditional fossil fuel based 

plastics. As a supplier to some of the largest plastic 

converters in Europe, Kompuestos ® is in a key position 

to play an influential role in supplying an attractive 

and sustainable alternative for conventional plastics. 

Kompuestos is committed to embracing the challenges 

that the packaging industry is facing. 

Biokomp ® can take the heat 

The objectives are clear: to develop new biobased and 

biodegradable customized compostable resins to serve 

as sustainable and attractive alternatives to conventional 

plastic materials, for the manufacture of single-use plastic 

products and food packaging that comply with the current 

legislation, with added environmental benefits but the 

same functional requirements as products made from 

comparable traditional plastic materials - at competitive 

cost. 



By: 

Grégory Coué 

Technical Manager 

Kompuestos 

Palau Solità i Plegamans, Spain 

home compostable materials that are able to withstand 

high temperatures or with ultra-high barrier properties, as 

well as that can meet the demands of the growing group of 

consumers who are aware of the impact of their actions on 

the environment. 

Kompuestos is a Spanish company founded in 1986 in 

Palau Solità i Plegamans near Barcelona. Over the past 

three decades, Kompuestos has acquired an in-depth 

knowledge of the market and has positioned itself as one 

of the main international suppliers of a large variety of 

masterbatches, all of which are intended to meet the needs 

of very diverse markets in the plastics industry, among 

which the packaging sector. With a production capacity of 

over 170,000 tonnes per year and growing, Kompuestos 

has established itself as one of the leading companies in 

the sector, while still seeking to expand its business 

horizons. 

To meet the challenging requirements and the growing 

demand for eco-friendly and sustainable plastic rigid 

packaging solutions, Kompuestos plans to launch a range 

of novel Biokomp grades containing Nuvolve. Designed 

for thermoforming applications, these will provide high 

temperature utility (e.g., for hot food and beverages) with 

the enhanced biodegradability profile typically expected of 

PLA-based resin systems under composting conditions. 

This new combination of properties is being sustainable 

material future. DuPont’s Nuvolve, a plant-based, renewably 

sourced engineered polysaccharide, whose development 

was inspired by nature, has been shown to be synergistic 

in the biodegradability process as well as demonstrating 

promising performance enhancements in products across 

multiple markets and applications. 

Work is ongoing to improve and strengthen the 

functionalities of the developed products and to validate 

their application in real working environments within the 

food industry. This entails the development of disposable 

To answer the demand for greener products, 

Kompuestos has developed Biokomp, a family of 

biodegradable and compostable resins made from different 

starches and other biologically-sourced biodegradable 

polymers. Several grades of Biokomp for film applications 

have already been certified by TÜV Austria and have earned 

the labels OK Compost Industrial, OK Compost Home and 

Seedling Logo according to the requirements, specified by 

EN 13432, the reference standard in terms of 

compostability. 

The company is looking forward to expanding its range of 

compostable solutions through 2019. These products will 

introduce a new sustainable option to the current 

challenges of the plastic market and enable customers to 

develop products that can be recycled at the end of life. 

Biokomp represents a first essential step towards a 

circular economy and a responsible production process, as 

shown by a consistent striving to ensure quality and 

optimal solutions down the whole value chain. 

Kompuestos views the ‘circular economy’ as an 

economic system that will replace the ‘end-of-life’ concept 

with a system that calls for a reduction in material use, 

alternatively followed by the reused, recycling and recovery 

of materials in production/distribution and consumption 

processes, with as aim to accomplish sustainable 

development. This will simultaneously serve to create 

environmental quality, economic prosperity and social 

equity, to the benefit of current and future generations. 

www.kompuestos.com | www.biosciences.dupont.com/biomaterials 



Fresh salads have a new 

compostable ally 

The new range of certified compostable salad bowls 

from Sirap is called MQ Bio. This product is part of the 

new Earth’s ® range, with which the company proposes 

to respond to the ever-increasing demand for biobased and 

compostable packaging, in line with the Group’s newly formulated 

strategic approach. This approach has led Sirap 

to actively invest in sustainable solutions across the line: 

in cutting-edge production products and processes, in the 

optimization of the supply chain, and in its choice of reliable 

and sustainable partners. This was also how the partnership 

with Novamont, an Italian company for whom sustainable 

development is a priority, started. Novamont is now a 

crucial Sirap partner for the development of bio packaging. 

The new line of bio containers is targeted at the market 

of pre-packaged, ready-to-eat salads, one of the fastest 

growing segments in recent years. A 2018 Nielsen Trade 

study in Italy revealed that sales of packaged fruit and 

vegetables in “ready to use” portions increased by 4.6 % in 

2018, confirming the growth trend of the last period. This 

trend is further evidenced by recent innovations seen in 

retail throughout Europe, where the space dedicated to the 

display of fruit and vegetables has expanded, favouring the 

inclusion of longer and better lit display counters and display 

cases. A marked amount of attention is devoted to creating 

beautiful fruit and vegetable displays, designed to tempt 

today’s critical consumers who are showing themselves 

to be increasingly sensitive to the aesthetic and functional 

aspects of the products. The registered design of the new 

organic MQ packaging, ensures maximum practicality, 

allowing multiple level exposures thanks to its stackability. 

The bases of the salad bowl are also made of Mater-Bi ® , 

a family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics 

created by Novamont that are compliant to the EN 13432 

standard. 

One aspect to which Sirap has given special attention to is 

that of colour. The salad bowels are available in the standard 

colours of white and green, because of the association with 

cleanliness and nature, but thanks to a complete range of 

certified compostable masterbatches they can be produced 

in customized colours on request. Mater-bi has an 

unprecedented surface finish, which gives the salad bowl a 

pleasant smoothness and a matte effect that is reminiscent 

of a natural surface. The Mater-Bi grade used for this range 

of products has very good gas barrier properties (O 2 

, CO 2 

), 

which opens the door for new developments in the area of 

modified atmosphere packaging (MAP applications). 

The lids, on the other hand, are made of PLA, also 

a biodegradable bioplastic produced from renewable 

sources. PLA has very good mechanical properties, making 

it possible to reduce the thickness and, therefore, material 

consumption as well. The crystal-clear transparency allows 

consumers to see the contents and assess the freshness of 

the product . Practical tabs on the corners of bases and lids 

make the salad bowl easy to open. 

The versions with Mater-Bi bases and PLA lids, or the 

completely transparent PLA version are available in the 

range. 

Achieving the right balance between the technical 

characteristics of the product, the ability to protect the 

food and the compostability of the packaging has only 

been possible thanks to an important multidisciplinary 

effort in ecodesign that involved the design, extrusion 

and thermoforming phases. Indeed, the most challenging 

element for compostable materials is aligning product 

performance with the requirements for compostability 

certification, as stated by the EN13432 European Regulation. 

The whole salad bowl, available in 500 ml, 1000 ml and 

1500 ml sizes, has obtained the CIC (Consorzio Italiano 

Compostatori / Consortium of Italian Composters) 

compostability certification. The images show the progress 

of the product disintegration test performed in a real 

industrial composting plant according to the criteria of the 

EN13432 standard. 


By: 

Fabrizio Scribano 

Marketing Manager 

Sirap 

Verolanuova, Italy 

Once used, the salad bowl can be disposed of in the separate organic waste 

bin, collected and treated at an industrial composting facility , where it is 

subsequently transformed into compost. To help the consumer dispose of the 

product correctly, the word “Compostable” has been embossed on the bases and 

on the lids, as well as the logo, the certification marks and indication of the 

material type. 

The new MQ Bio range, in the previously listed sizes, follows the convenience 

trend and is optimized to guarantee good versatility. Born as a container for ready 

salads, this packaging meets the requirements regarding the conservation, 

exposure and consumption of fresh fruit, rice or pasta salads and, more generally, 

for cold gastronomy. 

The product is particularly suitable for retailers who are interested in the 

bio / organic food market, which has also grown significantly over the last 

five years. The consumer is increasingly alert and sensitive to issues related 

to environmental sustainability. Packaging is an important discriminator for 

consumers when choosing a product. 

The bio packaging of Sirap is aimed at consumers seeking a light lunch break 

or a healthy and organic snack. One of the most indicated channels is, therefore, 

that of food service and delivery. Thanks to the properties of the materials and 

its aesthetic features, the product is particularly suitable for organic and vegan 

takeaway restaurants or shops, for whom the biodegradability and compostability 

features will serve to underline their marketing message. 

Closed circuits, such as theme parks, school canteens, hospitals or airports, 

also offer potential, as they have the organization to guarantee the sale, 

consumption and recovery of bio-waste on site, thus simplifying management of 

the end of life of the packaging. 

www.sirapgroup.com 


Think Sustainable 

M·VERA ® 

Bioplastics 

With our M·VERA® range of 

biobased and biodegradable 

plastics (certified to EN 13432), 

we provide you with customised 

solutions for your application: 

• Film 

Such as shopping bags, 

fruit and vegetable bags 

or agricultural films 

• Injection Moulding 

Such as packaging, coffee 

capsules, cutlery and others 

• Color, Carbon Black and 

Additive Masterbatches 

Our team of highly experienced 

plastic specialists is pleased to 

help you – contact us! 

Phase 1: 

Test initialization 

Phase 2: Intermediate Day 13 

BIO-FED 

Branch of AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH 

Phase 3: Intermediate Day 29 

Phase 4: 

Final check 

BioCampus Cologne · Nattermannallee 1 

50829 Cologne · Germany 

Phone: +49 221 88 8894-00 

Fax: +49 221 88 88 94-99 

info@bio-fed.com 

www.bio-fed.com 



Waste becomes 

raw material 

With the introduction of a new series of paddy straw 

trays for fruit and vegetables on the European market, 

Bio4Pack (Nordhorn, Gewrmany) once again 

introduces a new revolutionary product that can rightly be 

called sustainable. The basis for the dishes is waste from 

rice plantations in the north of Malaysia. Until recently, 

this waste was “cleaned up” by burning it. This not only resulted 

in air pollution, but valuable raw material was also 

lost. With the development of a, now patented, processing 

technique by the Malaysian “Free the Seed” initiative, this 

waste is now becoming raw material for high-quality fruit 

and vegetable trays that are compostable in accordance 

with the EN 13432 standard. The unique sustainable properties 

of the product were confirmed by obtaining the silver 

Cradle to Cradle certificate, which can be called a unique 

achievement. 

The rice dishes are offered in various sizes and shapes. 

They are suitable for all types of fruit and vegetables and 

can optionally be supplied with transparent compostable 

lids and cover film. 

Free the Seed’s green, circular economy initiative is 

implemented in the northern region of Malaysia and 

involves 1,300 paddy smallholders. The post-harvesting 

waste of paddy straws are purchased directly from the 

paddy farmers and converted to biodegradable packaging 

products using Free The Seed’s innovative biotechnology 

process utilizing protease serene enzymes, delignified 

cellulose fibers and enzymatic gratification methods to 

produce biodegradable packaging products for the global 

market that compost organically in 180 days in compliance 

with current sustainable packaging initiatives. As these waste 

stockpiles deplete, so does the incidence of open burning 

while the readily compostable nature of the end product 

ensures no further addition of harmful waste material to 

the envrionment. As the project progresses, the sector will 

see a stream of direct and indirect benefits in the form of 

additional income for the purchase of paddy waste material 

and associated pre-processing activities and the introduction 

of sustainability and stewardship standards which will lift the 

paddy sector overall, as well as reductions of carbon footprint 

due to mitigation of open burning of paddy waste. 

Bio4Pack has a lot of faith in the paddy straw trays but also 

has an eye for the positive impact that the ‘Free The Seed’ 

initiative has on rice farmers in the area. The product is a 

win-win solution for both the environment and the farmers in 

Malaysia and therefore fits perfectly with companies that are 

committed to a sustainable and circular economy. SB 

www.bio4pack.com 

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Automotive 

PRESENTS 

The Bioplastics Award will be presented 

during the 14 th European Bioplastics Conference 

December 03-04, 2019, Berlin, Germany 

2019 

THE FOURTEENTH ANNUAL GLOBAL AWARD FOR 

DEVELOPERS, MANUFACTURERS AND USERS OF 

BIOBASED AND/OR BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS. 

Call for proposals 

Enter your own product, service or development, 

or nominate your favourite example from 

another organisation 

Please let us know until August 31 st 

1. What the product, service or 

development is and does 

2. Why you think this product, 

service or development should win an award 

3. What your (or the proposed) company 

or organisation does 

Your entry should not exceed 500 words (approx. 1 page) and 

may also be supported with photographs, samples, marketing 

brochures and/or technical documentation (cannot be sent 

back). The 5 nominees must be prepared to provide a 30 second 

videoclip and come to Berlin on December 3 rd , 2019. 

An entry form can be found at 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/events/award/bio-award19.pdf 


Materials 

Advances 

in the 

development 

of dandelion 

rubber 

T 

he LFL Bavarian State Research Centre for Agriculture 

(Freising, Germany), HOLMER Maschinenbau 

(Schierling, Germany) and the tyre manufacturer 

Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH are jointly developing 

a root harvester for the Russian dandelion. The German 

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) supports 

the work under the Renewable Resources Promotion Programme. 

The Bavarian State Research Centre for Agriculture 

contributes its experience in the field of root harvesting of 

special crops, including horseradish, gentian and valerian, 

to the project. The company Holmer Maschinenbau in turn 

is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of sugar beet 

harvesting technology. Continental Reifen Deutschland 

GmbH, as part of the Tyres Division of Continental AG, has 24 

production and development sites worldwide. The division is 

one of the technology leaders in the field of tyre production 

and offers a wide range of products for passenger cars, 

commercial vehicles and two-wheelers. 

Natural rubber is a very elastic biopolymer that, until 

today, cannot be replaced in many applications. The 

demand for natural rubber is increasing worldwide, while 

the main supplier, the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis, is only 

growing in a narrow geographical belt around the equator. 

Researchers and companies in various countries are 

therefore looking for alternatives. In Germany, the Federal 

Ministry of Food and Agriculture - BMEL has been funding 

work on the Russian dandelion since 2011. The TAKOWIND 

I and II projects were or are concerned with breeding 

optimization, cultivation and the products rubber and latex 

that can be extracted from the plant root. In the recently 

started TAKOROD project, the focus is now on harvesting 

technology, as cultivation trials have already shown that 

conventional machines cannot optimally clear the roots of 

this plant. The three partners hope to change this by the 

end of the TAKOROD project in 2022. 

This development is so important, as Continental 

(Hanover Germany), technology company and manufacturer 

of premium tyres, needs an efficient harvesting process for 

the test cultures of the Taraxagum ® Lab Anklam, Germany. 

This research laboratory was officially inaugurated and 

presented it to the public in December of last year. After the 

ground-breaking ceremony in November 2017, the building 

covering an area of 30,000 m² is ready for occupation just one 

year later and has therefore been completed on schedule. 

It is set as base for future research on farming and the 

extraction process of Russian dandelion as an alternative 

raw material source to the rubber tree in the tropics. In case 

of positive test results, the tyre manufacturer is planning 

to introduce the raw material into serial production within 

ten years, in order to obtain an increasing proportion of its 

natural rubber demand from the dandelion plant. 

At the opening, Nikolai Setzer, member of the Executive 

Board of Continental AG and head of the Tyre division, said, 


Materials 

Holmer harvesting machines for sugar beet 

“We are proud to inaugurate this lighthouse project today. 

We are the first tyre manufacturer in the world to invest such 

a significant amount in industrializing dandelion rubber. 

We see Russian dandelion as an important alternative and 

complementary to conventional natural rubber from hevea 

brasiliensis allowing us to meet rising global demand in an 

environmentally compatible and reliable way.” Additionally, 

the investment in the new research laboratory is another 

technological milestone on the road to implement the Vision 

2025 Continental has developed for its tyre business. “As 

part of our Vision 2025 strategy, we have invested far more 

than € 2 billion in production, research, and development 

as well as in jobs and new products worldwide since 2011. 

2018, Anklam now features prominently in the series of 

unique projects in Europe, America, and Asia,” highlighted 

Setzer. 

“We have been working to understand the molecular 

basis of the rubber biosynthesis in the dandelion plant for 

many years. This biological understanding has now brought 

industrial use within reach. With the new test laboratory, 

Continental has broken new ground that makes this transfer 

concept highly visible,” emphasized Dirk Prüfer, Professor 

of Plant Biotechnology at the University of Münster and site 

director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology 

and Applied Ecology IME, Münster branch. 

Continental had presented the plans for the laboratory in 

August 2016 and began construction in Anklam in November 

2017. The tyre manufacturer has been conducting research 

into replacing natural rubber from the tropics with plants 

which can be grown at moderate climates since 2011 in 

collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute IME in Münster, 

the Julius Kühn-Institute in Quedlinburg, the plant breeder 

ESKUSA in Parkstetten and other partners in various 

research projects with support from the German Federal 

Ministry of Education and Research as well as the German 

Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The first sample 

of a premium winter tyre featuring a tread made from pure 

dandelion rubber was brought onto the road in 2014. The 

first truck tyre with a tread made from Taraxagum then 

followed at International Automobile Fair (IAA) 2016. MT 

www.taraxagum.com | www.continental-corporation.com | 

www.lfl.bayern.de/ | www.holmer-maschinenbau.com 

Info 

See a video-clip at: 

tinyurl.com/videotaraxagum 

Birth of the first Taraxagum tyre 

Winter-testing of Taraxagum tyres in Finland 

(these photos: Continental - from video clip) 



Biocomposite made from 

sunflowers 

With the scientific expertise of the ENSIACET laboratory 

(Toulouse, France), Studio Thomas Vailly (Eindhoven, 

The Netherlands) investigated for Atelier Luma (Arles, 

France), the potential of sunflower leftovers to create novel 

applications. Focusing on the transformation of biobased matter, 

this project explores the potential of sunflower residues to create 

new applications and prototypes embedded in sustainable, 

innovative production systems. Such potential applications include 

for instance, panels for architectural designs (Fig. 1) 

Sunflowers are commonly farmed to produce oil, seeds or biofuel. 

After pressing the oil out, a part can be used as animal feed 

– the presscake - but most of the crop remains unused. The stalk’s 

foamy structure, the strong fibre of the bark or the flower’s dark 

brown proteins are left behind. These agro-wastes can be valuable 

resources to produce novel biomaterials. 

Based on scientific papers [1, 2, 3] a system of bio-materials 

using exclusively sunflower by-products has been investigated 

and designed. No petroleum based binder, no toxic varnish, all the 

necessary ingredients are extracted from the sunflower crop. The 

presscake – the remain of sunflower seed after the oil has been 

extracted - is turned into a waterbased glue and heat pressed into 

a thin and flexible film resembling leather (Fig. 2). 

Traditionnaly, only the flower head is harvested in late summer. 

However, the stalk of the plant can also be used. Harvested a 

month after the flower head, the bark–fibers can be separeted 

from the structural foamy marrow. The bark’s fibers are heat 

pressed into hardboard while the marrow is shaped into an 

aggregate, a natural alternative to polystyrene. 

These different bio-materials can be coated with a Sunflower 

varnish to enhance their resistance to water. The glue extracted 

from the seeds is the perfect adhesive to assemble these different 

materials. The Sunflower crop offers a unique range of bio-based 

and bio-degradable material. Entering the realm of bioplastics, 

a vast number of applications of what was previously considered 

waste becomes possible: from a tiny bolt to a large insulation 

panel, from a bio-board to a smartphone case. MT 

[1] Marechal, V. ; Rigal, L., 1999. Characterization of by-products of sunflower 

culture - commercial applications for stalks and heads. Industrial Crops and 

Products, 10 (3): 185-200 

[2] Evon, Philippe & Vandenbossche, Virginie & Pontalier, Pierre-Yves & Rigal, 

Luc. (2014). New thermal insulation fiberboards from cake generated during 

biorefinery of sunflower whole plant in a twin-screw extruder. Industrial Crops 

and Products. 52. 354-362. 10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.10.049. 

[3] Rouilly, Antoine & Mériaux, Alexandra & Geneau-Sbartaï, Céline & Silvestre, 

Françoise & Rigal, Luc. (2006). Film extrusion of sunflower protein isolate. 

Polymer Engineering and Science. 46. 10.1002/pen.20634. 

http://www.vailly.com/projects/sunflower-entreprise-/ 

Fig 1 : Architectural design possibilities 

(Photo : Studio Thomas Vailly, Atelier Luma) 

Fig 2. : Sunflower protein leather 

(Photo: atelierLUMA-Victor Picon) 

Info: 

Concept & design by studio Thomas Vailly 

Project management by Atelier Luma 

In collaboration with the INRA/INP-ENSIACET laboratory. 

Made possible with the generous funding from the Luma 

Foundation and Stimuleringsfonds creative industrie 


Materials 

First 

plant-based 

pouches 

with 

BOPEF film 

Resulting from an application demonstration project 

with various collaboration partners, Avantium’s 

business unit Synvina (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) 

has produced the first plant-based pouches using its 

biaxially oriented polyethylene furanoate (BOPEF) film. 

Avantium has jointly developed BOPEF film together with 

Toyobo (Headquartered in Osaka, Japan). The pouches 

consist of a two-layer laminate of a BOPEF layer and a 

plant-based polyethylene (PE) sealing layer. 

The BOPEF-pouches differentiate from many other 

plant-based pouches by their exceptional fit with the 

current practice for BOPET printing and pouch conversion, 

while offering over 10 times higher O 2 

barrier. BOPEF/PE’s 

inherent oxygen permeability of about 10 cm³/m 2·day·atm 

fits well with oxygen-sensitive products such as cheese 

& dairy, dry snacks, sauces and cosmetics, which today 

employ more complex multilayer structures like PVDCcoated 

BOPET or EVOH-containing sealant film. Besides 

the reduced complexity, BOPEF/PE pouches offer excellent 

toughness and clarity, and are suitable for dry and liquid 

products. 

Over 50 billion stand-up pouches are sold every year, 

with an expected CAGR of 5.6 %. Circular economy remains 

an important goal of the packaging industry, although in 

comparison to rigid packaging an effective post-consumer 

economy for flexible packaging is still in an early stage. 

Multilayer structures required for highly sensitive products 

are particularly challenging to recycle. End-of-life solutions 

for the mid-barrier BOPET/PE segment are under 

development and based on the chemical similarity between 

PEF and PET such solutions may well be applied to highbarrier 

BOPEF/PE film structures. Therefore, BOPEF/PE 

pouches are coming at the right time. 

Avantium (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) produces 

FDCA and PEF based on the proprietary YXY technology 

in its pilot plant in Geleen (NL) since 2011, which after its 

expansion in 2016 is operated by its business unit Synvina. 

Avantium furthermore pilots technologies for plant-based 

ethylene glycol and 2G industrial sugars, which can also be 

used for PEF in addition to wider market uses. The pouches 

are an example of the versatility of PEF for additional 

applications to bottles, including higher-value applications. 

In the process of demonstrating its YXY technology for a first 

commercial plant, Avantium and Synvina are increasing its 

efforts in finding additional customers and partners. 

The pouches in this work were made using BOPEF 

jointly developed with Toyobo and a commercial 55 % 

plant-based PE sealant film formulation, though higher 

plant-based contents are feasible based on commercial 

plant-based -PE availability. Ongoing development focuses 

on broader applicability of BOPEF as well as metallization 

and transparent (AlOx/SiOx) vapor coating to obtain higher 

barriers than incumbent vapor coated films. As such, 

BOPEF could enter into many more flexible film segments 

and expand the market with simplified structures. 

www.synvina.com | www.avantium.com 

Table – Typical properties of BOPET and BOPEF film 

By: 

Jesper van Berkel 

Technical Application Manager 

Avantium, BU Synvina 

Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

Biaxially Oriented film BOPET BOPEF 

Gauge (μm) 12 16 12 16 

Strength (MPa) 230 260 

Break elongation (%) 100 47 

Oxygen transmission (cm³/m2.day.atm) 120 90 11 9 

Moisture transmission (g/m2.day) 50 38 15 11 



PLA based 

edgebanding 

The patented, ecofriendly and 

green alternative to PVC/ABS/PP 

edgebanding 

BioEdge ® is the trade name for the biopolymer 

edgebanding product made with BioBest ® , a proprietary 

PLA (Polylactic Acid) based bioplastic material sourced 

from sugar cane, which has been grown supporting the 

principles of sustainable agriculture. It is currently the only 

biobased and biodegrabale edgeband option available today. 

BioEdge is manufactured in the United States and has been 

produced by Bio-Plastic Solutions, LLC of Blooming Prairie, 

Minnesota since 2012. The material make-up is patented by 

BioPlastic Solutions for use in the building and trade industry. 

BioEdge edgebanding is a biobased an biodegradable 

alternative and replacement for PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), 

ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene styrene), and PP (Polypropylene) 

edgebanding to give any building project a green story. This 

edgebanding is price competitive with and performs as well 

as PVC, ABS, or PP, plastics without containing the hazardous 

chemicals of some of these petroleum-based materials. 

Increasingly over the last few years, governments, 

organizations, and businesses have publicly committed to 

reducing the use of environmentally sensitive products and 

processes. Paired with a multitude of available green building 

certifications (LEED, WELL, BREEAM etc.), the demand for 

eco-friendly building materials has never been greater. 

BioEdge edgebanding is made from sustainably produced 

PLA from annually renewable crops and is the clear 

choice for environmentally-conscious architects, builders 

millwork/casework producers and furniture manufacturers. 

BioEdge contains as much as 90 % of non-hazardous PLA. 

The remaining components are free from volatile organic 

compounds (VOC’s) and any items on known red and black 

lists of hazardous materials for building interiors. 

PVC plastic contains vinyl chloride and other toxic and 

carcinogenic plasticizers and additives. According to the 

US Green Building Council (USGBC), ABS utilizes several 

hazardous chemicals in its production. Standard plastic 

hazard classifications show ABS is only slightly less 

hazardous than PVC. PLA on the other hand does not include 

any of these same hazardous materials. 

BioEdge edgebanding does not emit toxic volatile 

organic compounds (VOC’s), has a low smoke index, and 

is mechanically and thermally stable. It is the sensible and 

environmental replacement for PVC, ABS or PP edgebanding 

and is an ideal fit for standard or green projects in health 

sensitive facilities such as schools, hospitals, universities, 

hotels, apartments/dorms, senior centers, and restaurants. 

It is already in use in many of these facilities across the 

United States and Canada. 

BioPlastic Solutions has completed durability testing 

for this product through a third party. The standard 

BioEdge recipe was compared in abrasion testing with 

PVC edgebanding. While both BioEdge and the basic PVC 

edgebanding tested within one point of each other in average 

shore D hardness, the PVC edgebanding degraded at over 

four times the rate of BioEdge patented edgebanding on 

average. This testing proves out yet another advantage of 

BioEdge to PVC edgebanding. 

On top of the environmental advantages of BioEdge over 

traditional petroleum-based edgebanding on the market 

today, BioEdge can be produced in small batches with a 

minimum order of one spool (as little as ~75 m or 250 feet). 

Most large producers require minimum orders of at least 

1,500 m (5,000 ft) of edgebanding for large scale building 

and renovation projects, providing another advantage with 

purchasing BioEdge through BioPlastic Solutions. 

The company currently offers its standard range of solid 

colors along with industry standards they have previously 

matched for other projects. Lead time for production can be 

as low as two weeks for small batch orders (under 1,500 m) 

of standard colors and colors previously matched to other 


Last minue News 

Kick-off 

Global PHA 

Organization: 

GO!PHA 

industry standards. For custom color matches, lead 

time grows to three and a half to four weeks due to 

timing of matching the color through one of BioPlastic 

Solutions’ colorant providers. Large scale orders (1,500 

m and above) will also fit into the three and a half to 

four-week timeframe for production, often beating 

industry competition as well. 

BioEdge is produced in all industry standard widths 

up to 15 cm (six inches) and in thicknesses of 0.5mm, 

1mm, 2mm and 3mm. For special projects in which a 

non-standard size is needed, tooling can be created with 

a lead time of three weeks to be ready for production. 

In early 2019, BioPlastic Solutions moved into a new 

production facility three times the size of the previous 

facility. The company is looking at adding new equipment 

to its production line, including offering printing of 

woodgrains and patterns by mid-2019. BioEdge is also 

looking to complete Greenguard certification through 

the Greenguard Environmental Institute for indoor air 

quality in mid-2019. 

BioEdge has many clear advantages over standard, 

petroleum-based edgebanding options on the market 

today and is the only biobased option available. MT 

www.bioplasticsolutions.com 

In line with increasing awareness and urgency to work 

towards a circular economy, companies are continuously 

looking for suitable alternatives to conventional plastic 

solutions. 

In the course of the last 40 years, polyhydroxyalkanoates 

(PHA) have increasingly gotten attention as a materialplatform 

that has a big role to play. PHAs are renewable and 

biodegradable polymers that can add value in numerous 

applications and end-markets. 

Following the 1 st PHA Platform World Congress in September 

2018, organized by bioplastics MAGAZINE, Jan Ravenstijn, Rick 

Passenier, Anindya Mukherjee, Michael Carus, and Deebie 

Symmes have worked together with a leading group of PHA 

producers and users to create the Global Organization for 

PHA; GO!PHA; a non-profit organization with the purpose 

to accelerate the adoption of PHAs across industries and 

product segments globally. 

During the kick-off meeting on 21 st March 2019, GO!PHA 

and its first 18 members, consisting of PHA manufacturers, 

compounders, research institutes and brand owners, aligned 

on the concrete contribution areas and its first action agenda. 

GO!PHA will provide a platform for sharing experiences, 

knowledge and developments, and will lead initiatives for PHA 

industry development focusing on: 

• Communication, policy and legislation 

• Technical & scientific knowledge advancement 

• Market perception & proliferation 

As part of an action-oriented approach, GO!PHA will also 

engage in common interest research activities that contribute 

to understanding the potential of PHA as polymer, as 

ingredient and for specific applications. 

GO!PHA welcomes all parties that have an interest in PHA 

and is looking forward to collaborate with other organizations 

that have similar objectives and are engaged in similar 

activities. MT 

Become a member at: www.gopha.org 

For inquiries and collaborations: info@gopha.org 

www.gopha.org 


Show Automotive Preview 

CHINAPLAS 2019 Preview 

Shaping a brilliant future for the packaging 

industry 

CHINAPLAS, now on a par with K Show in Düsseldorf/ 

Germany, as organizer Adsale Exhibitions stated, will 

return to the China Import and Export Fair Complex, 

Pazhou, Guangzhou, China. The show (May 21 to May 24) will 

focus on “Smart Manufacturing”, “Innovative Materials”, 

“Green & Circular Solutions” to effectively address the 

exact need of high-end downstream buyers, presenting a 

high-quality and high-standard extravaganza of the plastics 

and rubber industries with an exhibition space of more than 

250,000 m². The show will bring together more than 3,500 

leading exhibitors from all over the world, more than 1,800 

of which are active in the packaging industry. It is expected 

that CHINAPLAS 2019 will attract more than 180,000 

professional visitors from 150 countries and regions. 

Driven by the dynamic economic development, accelerating 

urbanization and improvement in people’s quality of life, the 

consumer market has a surging demand for safe, convenient, 

unique and environmentally friendly packaging. Meanwhile, 

the packaging industry is in a difficult position due to more 

stringent VOC regulations, fluctuating raw material prices, 

regional industrial transfer, uncontrollable costs, and 

recruitment difficulty. Considering the increasingly diverse 

user requirements and fierce market competition with 

more homogeneous products, the packaging industry has a 

pressing need for transformation and upgrading. 

With the growing complexity of the business environment, 

how can one read the market trend, adapt to changes with 

technological innovations, and thus find a way out? Chinaplas 

2019, a technology-oriented and innovation-driven trade 

fair, provides an international platform for showcasing and 

exchanging advanced technology. The show has a large display 

of innovative solutions featuring cutting-edge materials, 

machines, and technology, spotlighting customized, green, 

functional and intelligent manufacturing with reduced cost 

and improved efficiency, which helps packaging enterprises 

stand out. 

Customized packaging in great demand 

The packaging industry is playing an increasingly critical 

role across various sectors. Brands are looking for crowdpulling 

customized packaging. Whether packaging can serve 

as the driving force behind a brand and how it becomes an 

important means for enterprises to implement their business 

strategies are currently hot topics in the industry. 

Compared to Europe, the USA, Japan, and other countries, 

China is a late starter in the packaging industry, which, 

however, has grown to a fairly large-scale industry over the 

past few decades. And thanks to China’s 40 years of reform 

and opening-up, the income and living standard of people 

in the country have improved significantly. As a result, the 

market has a rising demand for technology that helps deal 

with small and customized orders in a precise, quick and 

flexible manner, and brands are going through substantial 

upgrades with unprecedented frequency. The importance of 

packaging to products is growing exponentially. 

Towards a green and sustainable development 

path 

Under the rapid emergence of the e-commerce industry 

and continuous changes in the business environment, 

consumer’s demographics and marketing channels, a 

“packaging revolution” triggered by the “consumption 

transformation” is taking place quietly. According to 

figures of the National Bureau of Statistics, the quantity of 

courier packages in China has topped the world ranking 

for consecutive years and increased more than twentyfold 

over the past decade. Behind the rapid growth, however, is 

a shocking waste of packaging materials, which are usually 

non-degradable. At the same time, the total recycling rate of 

packaging waste materials in China is less than 20%, which 

is disappointing. How to protect the nature while developing 

the economy and reduce the burden of logistics packaging on 

the environment has been a public concern in recent years. 



Hubei Guanghe Biotechnology Co., Ltd. 

Hubei Guanghe Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is a major player 

in an environmental protection campaign of Alibaba Group. 

The exhibitor will display a fully biodegradable material, 

GH7-1-360, and a bio-based material with a biogenic carbon 

content of almost 20 %, JH330-D16A, which were developed 

in collaboration with the Changchun Institute of Applied 

Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The materials, 

designed for courier bags and bubble courier bags, have 

passed the European DIN CERTCO’s certification for fully 

biodegradable and bio-based products. 

www.ghbt.com.cn 13.2L45 14 

In addition to a “Recycling Technology Zone” and a 

“Recycled Plastics Zone” Chinaplas 2019 will again 

also feature a special “Bioplastics Zone” to address 

the industry’s need for green and circular solutions. 

Packaging innovations meeting 

consumers’ needs for freshness, taste 

and aesthetics 

Consumers care about the freshness and taste of 

their food and drinks. They think that the packaging 

should not spoil or alter the taste but retain nutrients 

in a product. Concerning the loss of taste and 

nutrients of food and drinks upon exposure to light 

and air, innovative packaging solutions can keep 

products fresh without adding preservatives. 

Suzhou Hanfeng New Material Co., Ltd. 

The bio-based and compostable material of Suzhou Hanfeng 

New Material Co., Ltd. has changed the situation of traditional 

plastics being difficult to degrade and combustion producing 

harmful gases. With the technology for blending PLA and PBAT, 

customers’ various requirements for the physical properties of 

products and cost control can be satisfied, and the softness 

and environmental friendliness of products will be enhanced. 

Users can opt for such degradable and non-toxic packaging 

with higher quality when purchasing products in the future. 

The material can be used to manufacture green courier bags, 

disposable lunch boxes, bowls, cups, supermarket shopping 

bags, bags on a roll, flat-top bags and so on. 

NatureWorks LLC 

NatureWorks LLC will showcase a new generation 

of tea and coffee bags made of Ingeo PLA-based 

biopolymer, which is not only compostable but also 

helps improve consumer experience in terms of 

flavor and aroma with better organoleptic properties. 

The product is applicable to various fields. 

www.natureworksllc.com 13.2L41 24 

www.biohf.com 13.2L49 30 



Jandi’s Industrial Co., Ltd. 

Jandi’s Industrial Co., Ltd. will showcase their 

manufacturing line for biodegradable T-shirt bags, where 

the steps of processing raw materials, film blowing, 

printing, bag manufacturing, recycling of residual 

materials and automatic packing all take place in a 

single production line, reducing workspace, managing 

costs, and human errors. As hot films are immediately 

processed, the sealing quality is satisfactory. The 

residual materials are recycled right away as well. Green 

materials are an excellent option because they are clean, 

simple, economical and energy-saving, resulting in lower 

carbon emission and carbon footprint. The solution can 

be used for single-layer blown films, high/low-density 

polyethylene, biodegradable raw materials or ABA threelayer 

blown films. 

www.inflationmachine.com 8.1B01 

HEXPOL TPE 

Epseal thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) of Hexpol TPE 

are custom-made liner sealing compounds for the food 

and beverage industry. They are PVC free and conform 

to FDA and EU regulations. They offer consistent short, 

medium and long term opening torques, which provides 

consumer-friendly functionality, making it easier for 

children and senior citizens to open the bottles. Each 

individual sealing packaging system has extraordinary 

sealing property, great elasticity, and necessary flexibility 

and is shown in an organoleptic evaluation with the 

capability to preserve the original taste. The solution can 

be used for carbonated soft drinks, beer, wine, juice and 

milk-based beverages, and still performs satisfactorily 

after cold fill, hot fill, pasteurization or sterilization 

processes. 

Dryflex Green is a family of biobased thermoplastic 

elastomer (TPE) compounds. A range of options has 

been developed containing raw materials from renewable 

resources that have been responsibly grown. Raw 

materials can be produced from various renewable 

sources, these include products and by-products from 

agricultural that are rich in carbohydrates, especially 

saccharides such as grain, sugar beet, sugar cane, 

etc. The biobased content could derive from different 

raw materials such as polymers, fillers, plasticizers or 

additives. The Dryflex Green family includes compounds 

with amounts of renewable content up to 90 % (ASTM D 

6866-12) and hardness from 30 Shore A to 50 Shore D. 

Amut Group spa 

Italian Amut Group will present equipment from 

its Packaging Film Division, its Extrusion Division, its 

Recycling Division and its Thermoforming Division. 

“Go Green” is the motto adopted by Amut to enforce 

the recent circular economy trend to support the use 

of materials in extrusion and thermoforming process 

with low environmental impact. The ACF 820-PLUS 

thermoforming machine will be in operation at the booth 

using r-PET foil made with Amut-Erema extrusion line 

and Ingeo foil. Ingeo is the PLA provided by NatureWorks 

company. NatureWorks and Amut have recently started a 

collaboration to propose PLA for food contact packaging. 

www.amut.it 4.1C55 

www.hexpoltpe.com 13.2E51 



Spectalite Group 

Spectalite, headquarted in Heidelberg, Germany with 

manufacturing units in Quzhou, Zhejiang, PR China, 

is a global supplier of natural fiber reinforced material 

compounds and sheets for applications in the automotive, 

personal care, houseware, toys, agriculture and gardening 

industry. Spectalite is manufacturing durable grades with 

traditional thermoplastics (Spectadur) as well as 100 % 

biodegradable and biobased materials (Spectabio). The 

material comes in compounds and sheets. All grades 

are reinforced with mechanically extracted, performance 

bamboo fibers, rice husk, wheat straw/husk or other 

natural fibers; they are available for injection, extrusion, 

thermoforming and press moulding. 

Spectalite and Evegreen, a bioplastics manufacturer 

out of Slovenia, jointly developed a series of 100 % 

biodegradable products to replace single-use items 

made out of non-biodegradable plastics in the gardening, 

agricultural and hydroponics aindustry. The use of 

Spectalite´s Spectabio material effectively reduces the 

constantly rising traditional plastics accumulation in the 

environment. 

Spectalite´s fiber reinforcements in their proprietary 

material formulations do not only improve the mechanical 

performance of the final part, they also help to adjust 

the speed of biodegradation to customer expectations. 

Finally, the reinforcements decrease the material cost 

significantly compared to similar materials that are 

made out of biopolymers only. Only when end-consumer 

products, like plant or hydroponic pots, come with a really 

attractive price, end customers will accept eco-friendly 

solutions on a mainstream scale. 

Sneak Peek at Concurrent Events 

The show will not only feature more than 3,500 exhibitors 

but also will organize a series of concurrent events to 

explore how upstream and downstream enterprises can 

work together to overcome business hardships, enabling 

the packaging industry to flourish. 

• With “consumption upgrade” and the rapid growth 

of the young population, consumers look for 

aesthetically pleasing, environmentally friendly 

and healthy products of better quality which can fit 

their needs. Experts from different fields, such as 

world-leading suppliers of green materials, major 

manufacturers of the flexible packaging industry and 

product brands will be invited to the forum “Innovative 

Development of Packaging Materials under the 

New Consumption Trend” to explore how innovative 

development of functional packaging materials can 

respond to the new consumption trend. 

• The “Plastics Recycling & Circular Economy 

Conference and Showcase” will be held in Guangzhou 

on May 20, 2019 (a day before the opening of 

CHINAPLAS) with the themes of “Material Science 

for Sustainability”, “Recycling Technology” and 

“Environmental Packaging”, focusing on issues which 

participants in the industry are concerned with. 

Visitors can enjoy admission discount through online 

pre-registration from now till May 13, 2019, at an earlybird 

rate of USD 7.5 for a four-day pass. To pre-register, 

please visit www.ChinaplasOnline.com/prereg. 

www.ChinaplasOnline.com 

www.spectalite.eu | www.bioplasticpot.com 5.1C27 


Booth Company Location (12.2) 

13.2M65 Anhui Jumei Biological Technology 1 

9.3J61 Anhui Tianyi Environmental Protection Technology 

9.2G45 Apply Carbon 

13.2K55 Arctic Biomaterials 2 

10.3R47 Auserpolimeri 

11.2A41 BASF (China) 

13.2L55 Biologiq Limited 3 

13.2L65 bioplastics MAGAZINE bM 

13.2T23 Bright Direction Plastic Technology 4 

10.3J65 Cathay Industrial Biotech 

11.2M31 CGN Juner New Materials 

13.2P69 Chiao Fu Material Technology 5 

11.3D59 Chongqing Aocai New Material 

13.2T27 Doil Ecotec 6 

13.2T31 Dongguan Mingfeng Biomass Technology 7 

13.2M49 Dongguan Xinhai Environmental-Friendly Materials 8 

11.2A31 Dupont China Holding Shanghai Branch 

10.2A61 Emery Oleochemicals Hk Ltd 

13.2P71 Gehr Plastics Hongkong 9 

13.2T33 Gianeco 10 

13.2M47 Gio-Soltech 11 

11.3K41 Guangdong Caihong Masterbatch Limited Company 

13.2M61 Hangzhou Xinfu Technology 12 

9.3K39 Hebei Jingu Plasticizer 

13.2E51 Hexpol Compounding (Foshan) 

13.2M69 Huainan An Xin Tai Science & Technology 13 

13.2L45 Hubei Guanghe Biotech 14 

13.2K51 Jiangsu Jinhe Hi-Tech 15 

13.2L71 Jiangsu Torise Biomaterials 16 

13.2K59 Jiangxi Hrs Biotech Material 17 

13.2M45 Jiangxi Keyuan Bio-Material 18 

13.2L59 Jindan New Biomaterials 19 

13.2L61 Jinhui Zhaolong High-Tech 20 

11.2T41 Kraiburg TPE Technology 

13.2L69 Liaoning Jm Technology 21 

10.2G41 Lotte Chemical Corporation 

11.2D41 Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation 

13.2L75 Multiplex Screen Supplies 22 

11.2C61 Nanjing Julong Science & Technology 

13.2T41 Nanjing Juying Science And Technology Development 35 

11.2L51 Nanjing Lihan Chemical 23 

13.2L41 Natureworks 24 

10.3D25 Orinko Advanced Plastics 

11.2L71 Plenty Polymeric Technology 

13.2T21 Pujing Chemical Industry (Sha) 25 

12.2S15 Quatek inc. (shanghai) 

13.2A15 Rikevita Fine Chemical & Food Industry (Shanghai) 

13.2K41 Roquette 26 

11.2C31 Samyang Corporation 

13.2L21 Shandong Jiqing Chemical 

13.2T25 Shandong Landian Biological Technologies Corp. 27 

10.2G01 Shenzhen Korllin Ecoplastics 

13.2T37 Shenzhen Polymer Industry Association 28 

5.1C27 Spectalite 

13.2K45 Stora Enso 29 

13.2L49 Suzhou Hanfeng New Material 30 

11.2K41 Teijin Kasei (HK) 

13.2T39 Tianjin Plastics Research Institute 31 

10.2C67 Tongxiang Small Boss Special Plastic Products 

13.2T35 TÜV Rheinland (Shanghai) 32 

9.3A05 Weifang Graceland Chemicals 

12.2B71 Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Energy 

13.2L51 Yat Shun Hong Company 23 

9.3D67 Yingkou Dazheng Plastics Technology 

11.3K43 Yun Fu Hong Zhi New Materials 

13.2L79 Zhejiang Guzhiyuan Biotechnology 33 

13.2M41 Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials 34 

Hall 13.2 号馆 

Show Gui 

26 24 

bioplastics MAGAZ 

14 

29 

30 

15 

2 

23 

3 

17 19 

25 4 27 6 7 10 32 28 3 

30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 

In this Show Guide you find the majority of compa 

compounds, additives, semi-fini

de 

INE 

20 

34 

18 

12 

1 

110 pages full 

color, paperback 

ISBN 978-3- 

9814981-1-0: 

Bioplastics 

ISBN 978-3- 

9814981-2-7: 

Biokunststoffe 

2. überarbeitete 

Auflage 

bM 

21 

11 

8 

13 

P 

5 

‘Basics‘ book 

on bioplastics 

1 

16 

22 

33 

35 

P71 

9 

This book, created and published by Polymedia 

Publisher, maker of bioplastics MAGAZINE is 

available in English and German language 

(German now in the second, revised edition). 

The book is intended to offer a rapid and uncomplicated 

introduction into the subject of bioplastics, and is aimed at all 

interested readers, in particular those who have not yet had 

the opportunity to dig deeply into the subject, such as students 

or those just joining this industry, and lay readers. It gives 

an introduction to plastics and bioplastics, explains which 

renewable resources can be used to produce bioplastics, 

what types of bioplastic exist, and which ones are already on 

the market. Further aspects, such as market development, 

the agricultural land required, and waste disposal, are also 

examined. 

An extensive index allows the reader to find specific aspects 

quickly, and is complemented by a comprehensive literature 

list and a guide to sources of additional information on the 

Internet. 

Layout Plan courtesy Adsale Exhibition Service 

The author Michael Thielen is editor and publisher 

bioplastics MAGAZINE. He is a qualified machinery design 

engineer with a degree in plastics technology from the RWTH 

University in Aachen. He has written several books on the 

subject of blow-moulding technology and disseminated his 

knowledge of plastics in numerous presentations, seminars, 

guest lectures and teaching assignments. 

Order now for € 18.65 or US-$ 25.00 

(+ VAT where applicable, plus shipping and handling, 

ask for details) order at www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/ 

books, by phone +49 2161 6884463 or by e-mail 

books@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Or subscribe and get it as a free gift 

(see page 57 for details, outside Germany only) 

nies offering bioplastic products, such as resins, 

shed products and much more.

Applications 

Biobased 

reusable 

cutlery 

This year’s BIOFACH trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany 

saw the debut of the new, biobased and biodegradable 

reusable cutlery produced by Bremen, Germanyheadquartered 

company Bionatic. The products are made 

from a biobased compound that comprises up to 80% 

renewable raw materials. 

In February 2017, Bionatic and a professor in paper 

technology at Tech. Univ. Dresden launched a joint research 

project with as goal: the development of an innovative 

composite material based on renewable raw materials 

from which reusable and biodegradable products could be 

made. The project was funded by the Programm Zentrale 

Innovation Mittelstand (ZIM), which is managed by the 

German Federal Ministry for the Economy and Energy. 

“ZIM enables us to carry out this project and complete it 

successfully. We are very proud of the result and wish to 

thank all involved in the project,” said Robert Czichos, 

founder and CEO of Bionatic. 

The composite material developed comprises natural 

fiber and a blend of different bioplastics. “The natural 

fiber is a byproduct of cellulose industry which we use to 

reduce the amount of bioplastic in our reusable bio cutlery,” 

explains Frederik Feuerhahn, Development Manager at 

Bionatic. 

The sustainable alternative to disposable plastic 

cutlery 

With its reusable bio cutlery, Bionatic offers a sustainable 

alternative to conventional plastic cutlery, which will be 

banned in the EU from 2021. “Our research in this field began 

a long time ago, before the EU had even considered a ban 

on disposable plastic. For some time, Bionatic has offered 

sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives to 

petroleum based plastic packaging. Our new reusable bio 

cutlery is therefore a perfect addition to our range,” says 

Robert Czichos. 

Yet though the material is biodegradable, the main point 

stressed by the company is the fact that it is derived from 

renewably sourced raw materials. 

“Thus, the use of finite fossil resources is minimized 

and the wood powder reduces the amount of bioplastic 

needed,” says Dirk Brunne, Head of Corporate 

Communication at Bionatic. Due to the wall thicknesses, it 

is not exactly compostable. “But if it accidentally ends up 

in the environment, it will not disintegrate into persisting 

microplastic but completely degrade into CO 2 

, water and 

biomass over time,” Dirk adds. “And in a thermal recycling 

process via waste-to-energy incineration it will burn carbon 

neutral and pollution-free”. 

While Bionatic has long operated as a distributor of 

sustainable food service packaging, the company is 

now also venturing for the first time into production and 

manufacturing the new cutlery itself. All production is in 

Germany, which enables the company to offer very high 

availability with very short transportation distances. “It’s 

really important to leave the lowest possible carbon footprint. 

Modern production facilities and short transportation 

distances help to keep emissions low,” says Czichos. CO 2 

emissions produced by all the products are offset through 

an internationally recognised climate protection project in 

Kenya. This means that the whole range is climate neutral. 

MT 

www.bionatic.com 


Applications 

Arla’s 

wood-based 

beverage 

cartons 

Arla (Söderkulla, Finland) wants to provide consumers 

with new opportunities to choose more responsible 

products. This year, Arla has been the first company 

in Finland to use renewable wood-based bioplastics in 

gable top paperboard cartons for milk, yoghurt and cooking 

products.The tall oil-based raw material is a Finnish 

innovation by UPM. 

As a result of the revamp, more than 40 million Arla 

packages will become more environmentally-friendly in 

2019 to reflect consumers’ wishes. 

Bioplastic is well suited to dairy product packaging as it 

has the same technical characteristics as the conventional 

plastic used in cartons. Like the old material, the new 

packaging can be recycled with cardboard. 

“When we have a liquid product such as milk, a thin plastic 

film is needed inside the carton for reasons of product 

safety and shelf life. In our new packaging, the source of 

plastic is now even more responsible because it is made of 

wood-based raw material,” says Arla’s Brand & Category 

Manager, Sanna Heikfolk. 

Wood-based bioplastic reduces carbon footprint 

UPM’s Lappeenranta (Finland) biorefinery utilises tall 

oil that is a residue of pulp production in the raw material 

for the new bioplastic cartons. The packaging is made by 

Elopak (headquartered in Oslo, Norway), and the Dow 

Chemical Company (headquarters in Midland, Michigan, 

USA) is also involved in the collaboration. The use of woodbased 

bioplastics in Arla’s gable top cartons reduces the 

need for fossil-based plastics by 180,000 kilogrammes per 

year while also reducing the packaging’s carbon footprint 

by about a fifth. 

Launching more environmentally-friendly packaging in 

the food industry and for consumers has been a shared 

goal of Arla, Elopak and UPM. Arla and Elopak have been 

working together in this field since 2014, and now was the 

time to take the next step in the packaging development 

process. 

“A conventional milk carton is usually about 85 % 

paperboard. We wanted to launch a type of packaging that 

would be 100 % wood-based and in which the plastic would 

also be wood based,” says Elopak’s Managing Director, 

Juha Oksanen. 

Finnish innovation from forest to table 

With Arla’s new packaging, UPM’s excellent woodbased 

innovation, UPM BioVerno naphtha, can be used in 

bioplastics for paperboard packaging. UPM’s innovation 

has the Key Flag Symbol to prove its Finnish origin. 

“We are very pleased to be working with a pioneer such as 

Arla, with whom we can further reduce the carbon footprint 

of paperboard packaging for liquids using our renewable 

raw material, and this applies to the whole chain, up to the 

consumer. Also, by using wood-based raw materials we are 

not competing for raw materials with the food production 

industry, because tall oil is a residue of pulp production,” 

says Sari Mannonen, Vice President at UPM Biofuels. 

Mass balance approach 

The Polyethylene used by Elopak for the Arla gable top 

paperboard cartons is only one biobased plastic product 

that can be made with UPM BioVerno naphtha. This 

biobased naphtha can be also used for production of other 

types of plastics such as polypropylene depending on the 

customer need. 

The application example in this article, as well as other 

cases published so far with Dow, Elopak and later with Arla 

“are all based on a mass balance approach,” as Maiju Helin, 

Senior Manager, Sustainability and Market Development of 

UPM told bioplastics MAGAZINE. “All naphtha used in polymer 

industry cannot yet be replaced by biobased alternatives 

due to limited supply. Therefore, mass balancing is needed 

to allow gradual transition from fossil to bioeconomy.” she 

added. 

A plastic product produced based on mass balance system 

means that the physical renewable content in product may 

be low, but a similar amount of renewable and sustainable 

feedstock has been used in the production. Each tonne of 

renewable naphtha replaces one tonne of fossil naphtha 

saving fossil resources and emissions. 

“In the polymer industry, intermediate products such as 

naphtha are supplied in bulk and all feedstock streams are 

mixed during the cracking process. Mass balance makes 

it possible to bring the benefits of sustainable renewable 

feedstock to end users. Simultaneously the known and safe 

physical properties of the end product are maintained,” as 

Maiju explained. MT 

www.arla.com | www.upmbiofuels.com 


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Applications 

Multiwall sheet applications 

E 

xotic fruits, flowers, fish – there is a broad selection 

of these in our supermarkets. For this variety, 

fresh food has to be transported safely over long 

distances. Transport boxes made of hollow-chamber multiwall 

sheets are particularly suitable for this. They resemble 

corrugated cardboard boxes but are waterproof. Until now, 

multiwall sheets could not be made from bioplastics. Together 

with international partners, the Fraunhofer Institute 

for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT 

has now developed a biobased and biodegradable material 

that can withstand the complex requirements in sheet production 

and replace fossil plastics in the future. 

Currently, multiwall sheets are manufactured from fossilbased 

plastics, mostly polypropylene (PP). An alternative 

based on renewable raw materials comes from Fraunhofer 

UMSICHT. The researchers have developed a tailor-made 

blend of bioplastics with similar properties to the PP blend 

to be replaced. The sheets made of the new material are 

lightweight and yet highly resilient. Unlike corrugated 

cardboard boxes, they are waterproof, water resistant and 

easy to clean. 

The challenge of profile extrusion 

Bioplastics blends available on the market have so far 

not been suitable for demanding profile sheet extrusion 

processes. It was a breakthrough when material properties 

were improved and processing behavior was adapted by 

developing a specific PLA-based formulation. “Particularly 

challenging was the high complexity of industrial profile 

extrusion,” explains Sengül Tolga, Department of Biobased 

Plastics at Fraunhofer UMSICHT, who was one of the 

researchers responsible for material development. “Our 

research also focused on the cost-effectiveness of the 

new material. Thus, we only used commercially available 

bioplastics and additives,” adds Hendrik Roch, also from 

the Biobased Plastics Department. 

The scientifically substantiated material development 

comprised of systematic investigations of the relationships 

between composition, melt properties and processing of the 

blend. The works took place at the Fraunhofer UMSICHT 

Plastics Technology Center in Willich, which is specialized 

in such bioplastics projects. For testing the processing of 

the new material, first demonstration experiments were 

carried out at a pilot plant (sheet width 450 mm) situated 

in the premises of a renowned manufacturer of hollowchamber 

profile tools. 

The project concluded with a successful pilot test in 

industrial scale (sheet width 2500 mm) at a Colombian 

partner company. The multiwall sheets manufactured can 

be used, for example, for the production of transport boxes 

for the export of flowers, perishable fruit or fish. In addition, 

the new material is to be developed further for other 

applications in the floriculture and horticulture sector. 

Successful international cooperation 

The material development was part of a research project 

within the Bioeconomy International Programme of the 

Germann Federal Ministry of Education and Research 

(BMBF). Under the leadership of Fraunhofer UMSICHT, 

four partners from Germany and Colombia shared their 

knowledge and experience in order to jointly develop the 

multiwall sheets made of bioplastics: 

• Fraunhofer-Institute for Environmental, Safety, and 

Energy Technology UMSICHT, Oberhausen, Germany 

• Instituto de Capacitación e Investigatción del Plástico y 

del Caucho (ICIPC), Medellín, Colombia 

• FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, Willich, Germany 

• Compañía de Empaques S.A., Medellín, Colombia. 

The combined expertise of the two research institutes 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT and ICIPC was of great value for 

the development of this innovative bioplastic for use in 

the demanding industrial extrusion of multiwall sheets. 

The close cooperation with the industrial partners made it 

possible to realize a quick and practical implementation. MT 

www.fkur.com | www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de 

Transport box made of multiwall sheets produced from bioplastics 

Multiwall sheet extrusion line 


Application News 

Automotive 

Reusable, biobased and biodegradable nets 

Wood-based fibre specialist Lenzing Group (Lenzing, 

Austria) has joined forces with Billa, an Austrian 

supermarkert chain with more than 1,088 stores in 

Austria, to offer consumers reusable, biobased nets 

as alternative to conventional plastic packaging. The 

newly launched nets for fruit and vegetables, made 

from Lenzing Modal fibers, have proven to be a hit, 

with over 150,000 already 

having been sold by Billa, 

Merkur And Adeg since 

the introduction of the 

nets in November 2018. 

Due to high demand, 

the environmentally 

friendly packaging has 

been available in all Billa 

stores throughout Austria 

since the beginning of 

February 2019. 

The reusable nets are 

produced from Modal 

fibres (regenerated 

cellulose based on the 

viscose process) and offer 

a significant ecological advantage over conventional 

plastic bags for fruit and vegetables: not only are they of 

natural origin, they are biodegradable and compostable 

when disposed of in waste. Microparticles ending up in 

the waste water when washing the nets, quickly become 

part of the natural cycle, leaving no harmful residues in 

rivers or seas (certified by TÜV Austria). 

“Sustainability is comprehensively anchored in Billa’s 

corporate strategy. Hence we are pleased to be able to offer 

an alternative to plastic with this innovative packaging solution 

and to actively work with our customers on protecting the 

environment “, says Robert Nagele, Chairman of the board at 

Billa. 

“Consumers can buy 

the reusable nets for 

vegetables and fruit made 

from fibres produced by 

the Lenzing Group with a 

clear conscience. They are 

not only practical, but also 

contribute significantly 

to the protection of 

the environment. They 

are an expression of 

Lenzing’s leading role in 

sustainability in the entire 

fiber industry”, says Stefan 

Doboczky, CEO of Lenzing. 

The reusable nets 

are ideally suited for 

food because, as confirmed by the manufacturer VPZ 

Verpackungszentrum GmbH (Graz, Austria), the breathable 

and moisture-regulating properties keep fruit and vegetables 

fresh for up to three days longer than conventional packaging. 

The sustainable nets have already been awarded the State 

Prize for Smart Packaging by the Austrian Ministry of Digital 

and Economic Affairs in cooperation with the Ministry for 

Sustainability and Tourism. MT 

www.lenzing.com | www.billa.at 

Samsung to switch to sustainable packaging 

Samsung Electronics announced earlier this year 

that the packaging used currently for their products and 

accessories – ranging from mobile phones and tablets to 

home appliances – will be substituted with environmentally 

sustainable materials like recycled/biobased plastics. 

For mobile phone, tablet and wearable products, Samsung 

will replace the plastic used for holder trays with pulp molds, 

and bags wrapping accessories with eco-friendly materials. 

Samsung will also alter the phone charger design, swapping 

the glossy exterior with a matte finish and eliminating plastic 

protection films, reducing the use of plastics. 

The plastic bags used to protect the surface of home 

appliances such as TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and 

washing machines as well as other kitchen appliances will 

also be replaced with bags containing recycled materials and 

bioplastics, which are respectively made from plastic wastes 

and non-fossil fuel materials like starch or sugar cane. 

“Samsung Electronics is stepping up in addressing 

society’s environmental issues such as resource depletion 

and plastic wastes,” said Gyeong-bin Jeon, head of 

Samsung’s Global Customer Satisfaction Center. “We are 

committed to recycling resources and minimizing pollution 

coming from our products. We will adopt more environmentally 

sustainable materials even if it means an increase in cost.” 

Under the company’s circular economy policy, Samsung 

Electronics has set a mid-term implementation plan to only use 

paper packaging materials certified by forestry initiatives by 

next year. By 2030, Samsung aims to use 500 thousand tonnes 

of recycled plastics and collect 7.5 million tonnes of discarded 

products (both cumulative from 2009). MT 

www.samsung.com 


Application News 

PHA water bottle 

coming soon 

It may sound like California Dreamin’ but the new bottle, 

launched under the brand name Cove, is the first water 

bottle of water made of PHA. 

The material the bottle is made of is PHA 

polyhydroxyalkanoate, an FDA-approved, naturally occurring 

biopolymer. It’s biodegradable, compostable, produces zero 

toxic waste, and breaks down into CO 2 

, water, and organic 

waste. This will happen in compost or a landfill, and even in 

the ocean, says Alex Totterman, Cove’s CEO. 

Cove PBC (Venice, California, USA) is not yet producing at 

scale. However, according to the company, all manufacturing, 

filling, and packing for the California launch will take place 

in Los Angeles (USA) to minimize the environmental impact 

of the bottle’s production. 

“As Cove expands, we will set up multiple manufacturing 

and packing facilities across the US. 

This will allow us to localize production 

and minimize transportation. Cove 

is not interested in shipping bottled 

water across oceans and continents,” 

said the company. 

Cove is launching in California in 2019. MT 

www.drinkcove.com 

Biodegradable 

Mardi Gras Beads 

When Cologne (Germany) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 

celebrate their carnival, New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) 

has its Mardi Gras. And beads are an important part of it. 

However, after the parades ten thousands of kilograms (46 

tonnes in 2017 according to Reuters) of Mardi Gras beads and 

doubloons enter the environment each year. 

Professor Naohiro Kato, a biologist at Louisiana State Univ. 

is now developing an innovative way to solve this problem by 

creating biodegradable Mardi Gras beads. 

One of his students accidentally discovered the basic 

ingredients Kato has refined to produce biodegradable Mardi 

Gras beads: microalgae. Kato got down to work growing a 

large quantity of microscopic algae. Louisiana’s warm climate, 

sunshine, water and nutrients, such as fertilizer, make it an 

ideal environment to naturally mass-produce microalgae. He 

grows a species of microalgae that is easy to grow, strong 

and profitable, especially for 

the nutraceutical industry, 

which produces vitamins and 

supplements. Nutra-ceutical 

companies can use microalgae 

to market their products 

vegetarian or vegan. MT 

www.lsu.edu 

Biodegradable Mardi Gras beads 

and doubloons (Paige Jarreau, LSU) 


Applications 

A five year journey taken by 

Tetra Pak to enhance renewable polymer sourcing 

By: 

Julian Fox 

Director, Sourcing & Manufacturing 

Tetra Pak 

Lund, Sweden 

Reduced carbon footprint and positive impact 

By using renewable materials, Tetra Pak minimises the 

use of fossil carbon-based materials. Indeed the company 

insists that their renewable materials derive from responsibly 

managed sources to ensure that biodiversity, ecosystem 

functions and high conservation values are maintained, and 

that social benefits are created from responsible material 

stewardship. 

Since 2014, Tetra Pak has seen significant growth in the 

volume of renewable polymer being used, sourced from sugar 

cane in Brazil. The renewable polyethylene is used both for the 

extrusion coating of liquid packaging board (LDPE) and caps 

(HDPE). 

Caps moulded from renewable polymers are now deployed 

to 37 countries, mainly in US and Europe, and the use of 

renewable polymer coating also follows this deployment 

pattern. 

Traceability to source 

Tetra Pak’s position on biobased polymers is that they 

shall be wholly constituted from renewable bio-feedstock 

and always traceable to source. Independent third-party 

verification of biogenic origin of the polymer is through the 

certification system, TÜV-Austria ‘OK Biobased’ (formerly 

Vinçotte), specifying and validating the amount of biomass in a 

biobased product, based on the European standard EN 16785- 

1:2015 in which 14 C content is assessed. 

The decision not to source ‘mass-balanced’ blends of 

biobased and fossil-based polymer was taken as it would 

not have produced a significant shift in the polymer industry 

towards renewability. It also allows renewable polymer 

to be traced directly to the packages. In the region of 

35,000 tonnes of renewable polymer is currently sourced 

annually by Tetra Pak, and demand is projected to increase 

significantly in the medium term. 

Sustainable supply chains 

The journey to sustainable sourcing of this renewable 

polymer began in early discussions with the supplier, 

resulting in development of a code of conduct for bioethanol 

supply that was designed with the support of 

ProForest. Tetra Pak’s strategy for sustainable sourcing 

is wherever possible to use internationally-recognised 

and credible voluntary sustainability standards, certified 

by accredited auditors. This type of certification is already 

in place for the supply of liquid packaging board (Forest 

Stewardship Council) and for aluminium foil (Aluminium 

Stewardship Initiative); finding a relevant sustainability 

standard that creates positive impact for environment, 

social and economic criteria is the next step for Tetra Pak’s 

sourcing of renewable polymers. 

www.tetrapak.com 

Packs w. bio-based 

polymers coating 

Billion packs 

Figure 1 Volumes of packs and caps 

with renewable polymer 2014 to 2018 * 

Bio-based caps 

Billion caps 

% of caps sold 

10,0 

15,3 

0,1 0,4 

14,7 14,6 

0,7 

11,3 

6% 

2,1 

8% 

2,7 

9% 

3,0 

10% 

3,4 

11% 

4,2 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 

NC&SA, Brazil 

E&CA: TR, TB, TBA, TPA 

BioPE in Pack Mat: 

NC&SA stop Bio lamination on 

exports from Monte Mor & Ponta 

Grossa. 

E&CA over 50 % growth of TR bio 

based. Now 10 customers in Europe 

with bioPE on TB, TBA, TPA 

Bio-Based Caps: 

Stable growth, will increase 

more because of bio-based offer 

expansion on pack mat 

NC&SA = Business cluster North, Central & South America 

E&CA = Business cluster Europe & Cental Asia 

TB = Tetra Brik 

TBA = Tetra Brik Aseptic 

TPS = Tetra Prisma Aseptik 

* The fall in coating volumes from 2017 to 2018 was partly caused by a force majeure in the upstream supply chain 


Applications 

Eco Spacer for precast 

concrete products 

In the concrete industry, very considerable amounts of plastic 

pellets are used in the transport of the different products (e.g., 

when stacking concrete floor slabs or paving stones). The 

granules (usually LDPE) are used to protect packaged ceramic 

or concrete products from scratches and efflorescence. 

According to the instructions on the packaging, the LDPE 

granules must be disposed of properly after unpacking to 

ensure the granules are not blown away by the wind or swept 

into tile joints. Unfortunately, proper care is not always taken 

to prevent this happening, which means a significant amount 

of LDPE ends up in the environment, remaining there for 

hundreds of years, gradually fragmenting into microplastics. 

The market for granulate used for this purpose is about 500 

tonnes per year in Germany alone. 

Such concerns about the environment prompted Biofiobre 

(Straubing, Germany) to look for a suitable material, offering 

the required properties in terms of pressure, shape, elasticity, 

etc., but that was capable of fully degrading within a reasonable 

period in soil to ensure that even if it were to end up in the 

environment – as seems unavoidable – the impact will be 

negligible. In addition, the material was required to be largely 

Biobased. 

Factory applied scratch and layer protection 

with a biogenic content exceeding 95 % 

rough ground. The granules can be 

easily removed mechanically with 

a broom and collected for reuse 

or composting. In no case was 

brittle fracture behavior observed. 

The BPB eco spacer VP 5.0 shows 

a more homogeneous pressure 

pickup compared to the LDPE 

reference, due to the homogeneous 

dimensioning (low variation in 

height). 

The product is now available to customers in Germany and 

UK via BPB Beton- und Prüftechnik Blomberg. In 2019, almost 

500 tonnes of this eco spacer granulate are expected to be 

used, replacing non-degradable LDPE and diverting this from 

leaking into the environment. MT http://www.biofibre.de 

The newly developed “eco scattering granulate” (BPB ® ECO 

SPACER ® VP 5.0) is sprinkled between the stone or plate 

layers by an automated process directly before the flat shelf 

packaging. 

Without EcoSpacer 

With EcoSpacer 

The scattering granulate is a natural-fiber filled biopolyester 

product with a renewable content of more than 95 %, produced 

in a special compounding process. Due to its composition, 

it will biodegrade within a reasonable span of time in the 

environment. Moreover, it will leave no residue if industrially 

composted. 

When left to biodegrade in soil, the eco spacer granulate 

VP 5.0 will completely decompose to CO 2 

, water and biomass 

within 2 -5 years. 

The high proportion of biogenic material in the first product, 

Biofibre ® Silva, was certified by DIN Certco according to ASTM 

D 6866 and the European standard EN 16785. 

The advantages of complete biodegradability are 

accompanies by a few minor limitations compared to LDPE 

granules. Product life between the concrete layers is not 

unlimited, but Biofibre says that, based on their experience so 

far, at least 10 months can be expected. The packages must be 

protected from moisture, ideally stored in a covered area with 

a cover sheet (REBA cover). 

The BPB eco spacer VP 5.0 is suitable for use under very 

high pressure loads. The homogeneous granule dimension 

with low height variation leads to homogeneous pressure 

absorption. Deformation of the granules was observed only 

after undergoing extremely high pressure loads (> 10 t) on 

raw 

material 

MAXI DELUXE BPB ECO SPACER 

recycled LDPE recycled LDPE 

bio-polyester 

natural fibres 

colour grey black beige 

size - - approx 5.5 x 5.0 mm 

diameter ca. 5,7 mm ca. 4,9 mm - 

height ca. 2,7 mm ca. 1,6 mm ca. 2,1 mm 

shape of 

granules 

bulk 

density 

water 

absorption 

intrinsic 

moisture 

durability 

between 

the stone 

layers 

biodegradability 

round round round / oval 

0,494 kg/l 0,552 kg/l 0,536 kg/l 

0 % 0 % 16,0 % 

0 % 0 % 3,4 % 

unlimited 

None 

(fragmentation 

after 150 years 

expected) 

unlimited 

None 

(fragmentation 

after 150 years 

expected) 

10 month 

(Covered area 

and cover film as 

protection against 

moisture) 

2-5 years 


Opinion 

FKuR: Heading for a circular 

with biobased and bio 

As part of the current discussions regarding the 

ecological sense and consequences of the use of 

plastics, biobased as well as biodegradable plastics 

are taking on an as yet unidentified special status. As a 

responsible manufacturer and marketer, FKuR confirms both 

product groups have a great potential to meet the demands 

of the current EU directives in addressing this issue. The 

company emphasizes the excellent suitability of biobased 

thermoplastics for conventional material recycling, while 

it sees biodegradable plastics as an efficient and proven 

solution for those applications where this property generates 

added value for the end product. 

Carmen Michels, Managing Director of FKuR, said: “For 

decades, plastics have made a significant contribution to 

better living conditions, more sustainable products and waste 

prevention with their unique combination of light weight, 

versatility, performance, durability and cost-effectiveness. 

However, in the face of their omnipresence, industry, 

commerce and consumers alike are 

challenged to use, reuse, dispose of, 

recycle them and ultimately properly 

utilize them in a responsible way. 

Biobased and biodegradable plastics 

offer attractive opportunities to meet all aspects of this 

requirement.“ 

Closing loops with bioplastics 

A key element of the European Commission’s Circular 

Economy Package published in December 2015 is the shift 

from a linear economic model to a circular economy. As a 

result, at the beginning of 2018 the Commission developed a 

„EU Strategy for Plastics in the Circular Economy“. According 

to these plans, from 2030 all plastic packaging on the EU 

market will be recyclable and the consumption of disposable 

plastics will be reduced. 

For Patrick Zimmermann, Director of Sales & Marketing 

at FKuR, bioplastics play a key role in the implementation 

of the EU directives: “Especially with drop-in bioplastics it 

is possible to implement sustainable concepts in two ways, 

firstly the bioplastic product itself is made from renewable 

raw materials and secondly, it can be recycled after use via 

existing recycling systems. 

Thus, not only are fossil resources 

saved but packaging, for example, 

can also become a valuable material 

Two proven ways to reduce environmental impact: Biobased plastics, which are 

generally drop-in products for their petroleum based counterparts, are adequate for 

material recycling, whereas biodegradable plastics are intended for organic recycling. 

Picture © FKuR 


Opinion 

economy and sustainability 

degradable plastics 

for the manufacture of other products. We therefore warmly 

welcome the EU’s request to the Member States to support 

the use of biobased materials in the manufacture of packaging 

and to improve the market conditions for such products.“ 

Organic and matrial recycling are workable ways 

For bioplastics, both material and organic recycling can 

prove useful. 

• The resource-saving material recycling established for 

conventional (petroleum-based) plastics can also be used, 

without any restrictions, for the biobased alternatives 

which are often used as direct drop-in products (such as 

Bio-PE or Bio-PET). Recyclates can be returned to the 

recycling cycle as often as possible products can be used 

and, in the end, will have to be ultimately used for energy 

recovery. Thus, biobased plastics can be used to generate 

renewable energy that does not produce any additional 

harmful CO 2 

, a closed CO 2 

cycle, which is in-line with 

nature’s model. 

• Biodegradable plastics that comply with the standard for 

industrial compostability (e.g. EN 13432) can be organically 

recycled. This is particularly useful when plastic products 

are contaminated with food where material recycling 

would be unreasonably expensive. Simple and hygienic 

handling of biowaste using compostable bags for example, 

ensures that less valuable waste is disposed of via the 

residual waste bin. This gives the potential to increase the 

amount of biowaste collected separately, and at the same 

time, increases the yield of valuable compost. This can 

be used later as fertilizer for those crops that are at the 

beginning of this cycle. 

Full service for customers 

As a full-range supplier with a broad product portfolio, 

FKuR also advises on the selection of the most suitable 

biobased or biodegradable plastic for specific requirements. 

In addition, the company offers extensive technical support 

in the implementation phase of projects and can advise on 

marketing taking into account special consideration of the 

bioplastic aspects. FKuR works together with its customers 

on solutions to make plastic products suitable for recycling. 

In addition, by continuously improving the material properties, 

it is also possible to reduce the required thickness of film 

products. 

www.fkur.com 

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May, 21 - 24 2019 

Guangzhou, China 

Hall 9.2 | Booth A41 

Whether it is inhouse, postconsumer 

or bottle recycling: 

you can only close loops in a 

precise and profitable way if 

machines are perfectly tuned 

for the respective application. 

Count on the number 1 

technology from EREMA 

when doing so: over 5000 

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tonnes of high-quality pellets 

like this every year – 

in a highly efficient and 

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That’s Careformance! 

CAREFORMANCE 

We care about your performance. 

1902016ERE_ins_bioplastics magazine.indd 1 bioplastics MAGAZINE 26.02.19 [02/19] Vol. 10:2514 

41

Natural Rubber © -Institut.eu | 2018 

Starch-based Polymers 

Lignin-based Polymers 

Cellulose-based Polymers 

© 

PBAT 

PET-like 

PU 

APC 

PTT 

PLA 

PU 

PA 

PTF 

PHA 

-Institut.eu | 2017 

PMMA 

HDMA 

DN5 

PVC 

Isosorbide 

1,3 Propanediol 

Caprolactam 

UPR 

PP 

Propylene 

Vinyl Chloride 

Ethylene 

Sorbitol 

Lysine 

MPG 

Epoxy resins 

Epichlorohydrin 

EPDM 

Ethanol 

Glucose 

PE 

MEG 

Terephthalic 

acid 

Isobutanol 

PET 

p-Xylene 

Starch Saccharose 

Fructose 

Lignocellulose 

Natural Rubber 

Plant oils 

Hemicellulose 

Glycerol 

PU 

Fatty acids 

NOPs 

Polyols 

PU 

PU 

LCDA 

THF 

PBT 

1,4-Butanediol 

Succinic acid 

3-HP 

5-HMF/ 

5-CMF 

Aniline 

Furfural 

PA 

SBR 

Acrylic acid 

2,5-FDCA/ 

FDME 

PU 

PFA 

PU 

PTF 

ABS 

PHA 

Full study available at www.bio-based.eu/reports 

Full study available at www.bio-based.eu/reports 

PEF 

PBS(X) 

© 

-Institut.eu | 2017 

Full study available at www.bio-based.eu/markets 

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7 th 

Bio-based Polymers & Building Blocks 

The best market reports available 

Commercialisation updates on 

bio-based building blocks 

7 th 1 

Data Data for for 

2018 2018 

UPDATE 


UPDATE 


Bio-based Building Blocks 

Bio-based Building Blocks 

and Polymers – Global Capacities 

and Polymers – Global Capacities 

and Trends 2018-2023 

and Trends 2017-2022 

Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) as chemical 

feedstock for polymers – technologies, 

polymers, developers and producers 

Succinic acid: New bio-based 

building block with a huge market 

and environmental potential? 

Million Tonnes 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

2011 

Bio-based polymers: 

Evolution of worldwide production capacities from 2011 to 2022 

Lactic 

acid 

Adipic 

acid 

Methyl 

Metacrylate 

Itaconic 

acid 

Furfuryl 

alcohol 

Levulinic 

acid 

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 

Dedicated 

Drop-in 

Smart Drop-in 

Superabsorbent 

Polymers 

Pharmaceutical/Cosmetic 

Acidic ingredient for denture cleaner/toothpaste 

Antidote 

Calcium-succinate is anticarcinogenic 

Efferescent tablets 

Intermediate for perfumes 

Pharmaceutical intermediates (sedatives, 

antiphlegm/-phogistics, antibacterial, disinfectant) 

Preservative for toiletries 

Removes fish odour 

Used in the preparation of vitamin A 

Food 

Bread-softening agent 

Flavour-enhancer 

Flavouring agent and acidic seasoning 

in beverages/food 

Microencapsulation of flavouring oils 

Preservative (chicken, dog food) 

Protein gelatinisation and in dry gelatine 

desserts/cake flavourings 

Used in synthesis of modified starch 

Succinic 

Acid 

Industrial 

De-icer 

Engineering plastics and epoxy curing 

agents/hardeners 

Herbicides, fungicides, regulators of plantgrowth 

Intermediate for lacquers + photographic chemicals 

Plasticizer (replaces phtalates, adipic acid) 

Polymers 

Solvents, lubricants 

Surface cleaning agent 

(metal-/electronic-/semiconductor-industry) 

Other 

Anodizing Aluminium 

Chemical metal plating, electroplating baths 

Coatings, inks, pigments (powder/radiation-curable 

coating, resins for water-based paint, 

dye intermediate, photocurable ink, toners) 

Fabric finish, dyeing aid for fibres 

Part of antismut-treatment for barley seeds 

Preservative for cut flowers 

Soil-chelating agent 

Authors: 

Raj Authors: Chinthapalli, Raj Chinthapalli, Dr. Pia Skoczinski, Michael Carus, Michael Wolfgang Carus, Wolfgang Baltus, Baltus, 

Doris Doris de de Guzman, Harald Harald Käb, Käb, Achim Achim Raschka, Jan Jan Ravenstijn, 

April 2018 


This and other reports on the bio-based economy are available at 

This www.bio-based.eu/reports 

and other on the bio-based economy are available at 

www.bio-based.eu/reports 

Authors: Achim Raschka, Dr. Pia Skoczinski, Jan Ravenstijn and 

Michael Carus 

nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

February 2019 



Authors: Raj Chinthapalli, Dr. Pia Skoczinski, Achim Raschka, 

Michael Carus, nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

Update March 2019 

This and other reports on the bio-based economy are available 

at www.bio-based.eu/reports 

Standards and labels for 

bio-based products 

Bio-based polymers, a revolutionary change 

Comprehensive trend report on PHA, PLA, PUR/TPU, PA 

and polymers based on FDCA and SA: Latest developments, 

producers, drivers and lessons learnt 

million t/a 

Selected bio-based building blocks: Evolution of worldwide 

production capacities from 2011 to 2021 

3,5 

actual data 

forecast 

3 

2,5 

Bio-based polymers, a 

revolutionary change 

2 

1,5 

Jan Ravenstijn 2017 

1 

0,5 

Picture: Gehr Kunststoffwerk 

2011 

2012 

2013 

2014 

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 

2021 

L-LA 

Epichlorohydrin 

MEG 

Ethylene 

Sebacic 

acid 

1,3-PDO 

MPG 

Lactide 

E-mail: 

j.ravenstijn@kpnmail.nl 

Succinic 

acid 

1,4-BDO 

2,5-FDCA 

D-LA 

11-Aminoundecanoic acid 

DDDA 

Adipic 

acid 

Mobile: +31.6.2247.8593 

Author: Doris de Guzman, Tecnon OrbiChem, United Kingdom 

July 2017 



Authors: Lara Dammer, Michael Carus and Dr. Asta Partanen 

nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

May 2017 



Author: Jan Ravenstijn, Jan Ravenstijn Consulting, the Netherlands 

April 2017 



Policies impacting bio-based 

plastics market development 

and plastic bags legislation in Europe 

Asian markets for bio-based chemical 

building blocks and polymers 

Market study on the consumption 

of biodegradable and compostable 

plastic products in Europe 

2015 and 2020 

Share of Asian production capacity on global production by polymer in 2016 

100% 

A comprehensive market research report including 

consumption figures by polymer and application types 

as well as by geography, plus analyses of key players, 

relevant policies and legislation and a special feature on 

biodegradation and composting standards and labels 

80% 

60% 

Bestsellers 

40% 

20% 

0% 

PBS(X) 

APC – 

cyclic 

PA 

PET 

PTT 

PBAT 

Starch 

PHA 

PLA 

PE 

Blends 

Disposable 

tableware 

Biowaste 

bags 

Carrier 

bags 

Rigid 

packaging 

Flexible 

packaging 

Authors: Dirk Carrez, Clever Consult, Belgium 

Jim Philp, OECD, France 

Dr. Harald Kaeb, narocon Innovation Consulting, Germany 

Lara Dammer & Michael Carus, nova-Institute, Germany 

March 2017 



Author: Wolfgang Baltus, Wobalt Expedition Consultancy, Thailand 



Authors: Harald Kaeb (narocon, lead), Florence Aeschelmann, 

Lara Dammer, Michael Carus (nova-Institute) 

April 2016 

The full market study (more than 300 slides, 3,500€) is available at 

bio-based.eu/top-downloads. 


1 


Opinion 

No solution for pollution? 

Will PLA solve the plastic pollution problem in island 

countries like Singapore? 

Global concern over single-use plastics escalated 

recently after the European parliament 

- in a bid to stop pollution of the 

oceans - voted in October 2018 to ban the use of 

these plastics in products such as straws and 

cutlery [1]. 

In southeast Asia, Bee Yin Yeo, Malaysia’s 

new science and environmental minister, was 

selected as one of Nature’s top 10 “people who 

mattered” in 2018 , in acknowledgment of her 

strong stance against plastics pollution [2]. A 

heated discussion about the very low plastics 

recycling rate (6% according to the latest data 

released [3]) was unleashed in newspapers 

in Singapore; and a new non-profit and nongovernmental 

organisation (Zero Waste SG) [4] 

was established in 2018 dedicated to helping 

Singapore eliminate waste, including plastics 

waste, and to accelerate the shift towards zero 

waste and the circular economy. Unsurprisingly, 

the idea of biodegradable plastics, as an alternative to 

single-use plastics, has become a highly popular one, not 

only in scientific research, but also among policymakers. 

PLA is widely regarded as the most promising, because of 

its unique properties and relatively low price. PLA accounted 

for 24% of the global production capacity for biodegradable 

polymers, just after starch blends (44%). Yet while PLA 

has indeed passed the standardized biodegradation tests 

required by ASTM and OECD, the fact that its biodegradation 

rates are highly dependent on humidity, temperature as well 

as concentrations of microorganisms was largely ignored. 

Recently, Frederik R. Wurm, head of the research 

group “Functional Polymers” at Germany’s Max Planck 

Institute for Polymer Research, examined the impact of 

biodegradable polymers, including PLA, on the environment 

and on society. In his critical review [5], he pointed out 

that PLA is non-degradable in water or in seawater. I fully 

agree with his view that it is our duty as scientists to take 

part in the general discussion and to inform the public in 

a responsible and honest way about the possibilities and 

limitations of biodegradable plastics. To that end, I extracted 

the information about PLA degradation from this review 

and conducted a search on Google Scholar for the term of 

“biodegradation of PLA” or “biodegradation in seawater”, 

in order to ascertain whether PLA can solve the problem 

of plastics pollution in island countries like Singapore (with 

Singapore as an example for analysis). 

End up environment of plastics waste in 

Singapore 

According to local media reports [6,7], only 6 % of the 

locally produced plastic waste is currently recycled. The 

remainder, for the most part, is incinerated. However, 

By: 

Liuqun Gu 

Department of 

Biomedical Engineering 

Jinan University 

Guangzhou, China 

whatever is left is either exported or is leaked into 

the environment, ending up in the ocean and causing 

plastic waste pollution. Hence it is easy to conclude 

that the problem of plastic pollution in Singapore is 

the plastic polluting the ocean. 

If the problem of ocean waste plastic is to 

be solved, the plastics used in the future 

must be biodegradable in seawater and 

marine environment. 

PLA was shown to degrade quickly under industrial 

composting conditions and was degradable at a 

slower rate in soil conditions or landfill. However, it 

is not degradable at all in fresh water or seawater 

(in test conditions varying from several month to one 

year) according to three academic studies [8,9,10] 

and a research report by the state of California [11]. 

Although the artificial seawater used in a few of the 

tests might not be exactly the same as the seawater 

near Singapore or other island countries, the inertness 

of PLA is still a point that is well worth special consideration. 

In summary, replacing single-use commodity plastics with PLA 

is unlikely to solve the problem of waste plastic pollution in island 

countries like Singapore, because PLA will not degrade in fresh 

water or seawater. In addition, the label of “biodegradable” or 

“disposable” might encourage irresponsible disposal by members 

of the public, as most people believe that “bioplastics” are 

biodegradable under any conditions. 

linkedin.com/in/liuqun-gu-b1401472/ 

References 

[1] Single-use plastics ban approved by European Parliament, BBC news on 24 Oct. 

2018; www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45965605 

[2] Bee Yin Yeo: force for the environment; www.nature.com/immersive/d41586- 017- 

07763-y/index.html 

[3] www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overallrecycling 

[4] http://www.zerowastesg.com/ 

[5] T. P. Haider, C. Volker, J. Kramm, K. Landfester, and F. R. Wurm, Plastics of the 

Future? The Impact of Biodegradable Polymers on the Environment and on 

Society Angew., Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 50–62. 

[6] Have our recycling efforts in Singapore gone to waste? 

https://thepeakmagazine.com.sg/lifestyle/have-our-recycling-efforts-insingapore-gone- 

to-waste/. 

[7] Plastics still pose a problem for Singapore; www.businesstimes.com.sg/ 

consumer/plastics-still-pose-a-problem-for-singapore 

[8] J. Greene, Biodegradation of Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics under 

Industrial Compost, Marine and Anaerobic Digestion, SciEnvironm, 2018, 1, 13- 

18. 

[9] A. R. Bagheri, C. Laforsch, A. Greiner, and S. Agarwal, Fate of So-Called 

Biodegradable Polymers in Seawater and Freshwater, Global Challenges, 2017, 1, 

1700048. 

[10] R. T. Martin, L. P. Camargo and S. A. Miller, Marine-degradable polylactic acid, 

Green Chem. 2014, 16, 1768. 

[11] Report Topic: PLA and PHA Biodegradation in the Marine Environment by 

Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, State of California, March 5, 

2012. 


By: 

Barry Dean, 

Naperville, Illinois, USA 

Bioplastic Patents 

new 

series 

U.S. Patent 9,914,832 (March 13, 2018), ”Articles Produced 

By Thermoforming”, Maximillian Lehenmeier, Gabriel 

Skupin, Martin Bussmann, (BASF SE, Ludwigshafen DE) 

Ref: EP 2015/059301 

The patent illustrates and teaches thermoforming 

compositions that improved impact strength based on 

blending compositions comprising a biodegradable polyester 

from succinic acid and 1,3 propanediol or 1,4 butanediol, 

an aliphatic-aromatic polyester from C6 – C18 dicarboxylic 

acid and terephthalic acid based on 1,3 propanediol or 1,4 

butanediol, polylactic acid and at least one mineral filler, 

e.g. talc. The ratio of the degradable polyester from succinic 

acid and the diol to the polylactic acid component is from 

2.5 – 3.1. The improved impact strength is taught to be a 

function of the level of the aliphatic-aromatic polyester 

used at levels of 5 to 14 percent. 

Thermoforming is a process where a sheet is heated 

a temperature to enable pliable forming of a shape (e.g., 

tray, cup, lids, containers etc). Polymer composition 

consistency and viscosity stability are key for shape 

integrity, reproducibility and scrap recycle. The performance 

feature taught in the above patent, improved impact is 

also dependent of polymer composition consistency and 

viscosity stability. 

The thermoforming compositions have polymeric content 

that is compostable and offers options for recycling. 

This section highlights recently granted patents 

that are relevant to the specific theme/focus of 

the Bioplastics Magazine issue. The information 

offered is intended to acquaint the reader with 

a sampling of know-how being developed to 

enable growth of the bioplastics markets. 

U.S. Patent 9,687,585 (June 27, 2017), “Thermoformed 

Poly-4-Hydroxybutyrate Medical Implants”, Matthew 

Bernasconi, Dennis Connelly, Said Rizk, David Martin, 

Simon Williams (Tepha, Inc Lexington, MA, USA) 

This patent teaches methods for producing thermoformed 

articles or precursors from poly-4-hydroxy alkanoate (P4HB) 

for medical applications. For example a film or sheet based 

on P4HB is thermoformed into a laminate from film and 

a mesh. The laminate can be used for a variety of devices 

directly implanted in the body for soft and hard tissue repair 

(wound management, reconstructive surgery, orthopaedic 

surgery). The inherent improved toughness of P4HB (Tg 

= - 45 to – 65 C) relative to other polyhydroxyalkanoates 

is taught as key for preventing breakage during the 

implantation and for part integrity during the healing 

process in vivo. The thermoformed parts can be further 

machined to produce the desired implant shape. Physical 

properties of the thermoformed mesh and mesh laminate 

show no detrimental effects from sterilization cycles. 

Viscosity consistency and control is key as with other 

materials in thermoforming processes; this technology 

calls out the need for intrinsic viscosity of < 3.5 dL/g but > 

0.35 dL/g 


U.S. Patent 10,214,316 (Feb 26. 2019), “Method For 

Manufacturing Biodegradable Packing Material, and 

Packages and Containers Made Thereof”, Kimmo 

Nevalainen, Ville Ribu, Jurkka Kuusipalo, Sami Kotkamo 

(Stora Enso OYJ Helsinki FI) 

Ref: PCT/FI2013/050997 

The patent teaches multilayer biodegradable coating on 

a fibrous material, e.g. packing paper or packing board 

to enable heat sealing while providing biodegradable 

characteristics to the package coating. Typically 

polyethylene is used, but polyethylene is not biodegradable. 

This technology teaches using a multilayer co-extrusion 

where the innermost layer is a blend of polylactic acid 

and another biodegradable polymer (e.g. polybutylene 

succinate), a middle layer of polylactic acid and outer layer 

of polylactic acid and another biodegradable polymer, again 

a polybutylene succinate. This technology teaches that the 

melt index(viscosity) of the PLA and the ratio of the PLA: 

PBS significantly impact adhesion, heat seal temperature 

and co- extrusion line speed all of which are key to economic 

viability. 

The incorporation of biodegradable multilayer renders 

the package compostable and offers options for packaging 

recyclability. 

COMPEO 

Leading compounding technology 

for heat- and shear-sensitive plastics 

U.S. Patent 10,093,579 (Oct 9, 2018), “Process For The 

Production of Cementitious Material”, Hendrik Marius 

Junkers, Renee Maria Mors; (Green-Basilisk BV, Delft NL) 

Ref: PCT/NL2015/050526 

The patent teaches a process for the production of 

cementitious materials comprising mixing cement 

starting material, a healing agent inclusive of a bacterial 

agent and a fibrous reinforcing material based on 

a biodegradable polymer with specific molecular 

weight and fiber length/diameter ratio. The technology 

illustrates using biodegradable polymers (polylactic acid, 

polyhydroxyalkanoate or polybutylene succinate) in fiber 

form serving two purposes; 1) assist in generating a strong 

material during the hardening process and 2) serving as 

the source for bacterial conversion to bio minerals which 

aid in crack repair/crack healing. The patent illustrates the 

bacterial agent can be aerobic or anaerobic in character. 

U.S. Patent 10,195,821 (Feb 5, 2019), “Bamboo Laminated 

Construction Panel and Method of Manufacture”, William D 

McDonald (Bamcore LLC Windsor, CA, USA) 

This patent teaches a bamboo laminated construction 

panel where at least two layers of prepared bamboo are 

laminated together with wood veneer outer layers. Bamboo 

as the core offers higher vertical load bearing strength, 

higher compressive strength and higher stiffness than 

other wood based building materials. In addition, bamboo 

offers faster growth cycles to timber grade material as well 

as better rot and insect infestation resistance to wood. 

The bamboo laminate construction can reduce the 

number studs required in other wood frame construction. 

Uniquely efficient. Incredibly versatile. Amazingly flexible. 

With its new COMPEO Kneader series, BUSS continues 

to offer continuous compounding solutions that set the 

standard for heat- and shear-sensitive applications, in all 

industries, including for biopolymers. 

• Moderate, uniform shear rates 

• Extremely low temperature profile 

• Efficient injection of liquid components 

• Precise temperature control 

• High filler loadings 

www.busscorp.com 


Basics 

The future of 

W 

orldwide, more and more packaging is being 

used. Seeking to reduce this, various European 

member states are looking into options for 

Plastic Pacts: agreements between governments and the 

packaging industry to rethink the way we make, use, and 

reuse plastics and packaging. What does this mean for the 

future of biobased packaging? 

The focus of these agreements in the coming period will 

be mainly on the re-usability of packaging. An example 

is the new circular online platform Loop, developed by 

TerraCycle. The platform aims to reduce packaging waste 

by adopting reusable packaging and a special delivery and 

return bag. A pilot will be launched this year in collaboration 

with Unilever, Nestle, Procter and Gamble and various other 

partners. 

In addition, considerable effort is being put into measures 

such as reducing the amount of packaging material used, 

stimulating the development of mono material solutions 

and the redesign of packaging. But the primary focus in 

these agreements is that packaging must be recyclable. 

Increasingly, attention is being given to the end-of-life phase 

of packaging products, with a view to keeping valuable 

resources in circulation, reducing our dependence on fossil 

resources and achieving a smaller CO2 footprint. 

Recyclable packaging 

Under the current agreements, the plastic chain will have 

to become simpler, with as ultimate goal to close the plastics 

packaging chain – a goal that can be achieved, among 

others, by requiring that that all packaging be recyclable. 

Packaging design also plays an important role. This could 

be improved through, for example, the development of 

mono material solutions, i.e., ensuring caps and labels are 

made of the same material or of materials that are easy to 

separate in order to avoid as far as possible contamination 

of the recycling stream. 

The requirement that packaging be recyclable can refer 

to recycling via a mechanical, chemical or thermal process. 

Chemical recycling involves breaking down or dissolving the 

Recyclable biobased 

milk can Farm 

Dairy, nominated for 

the NL Packaging 

Award 2019 

polymers into their original building blocks. Following 

depolymerization, the monomers can be reused to 

make new , virgin-quality materials. PLA, for example, is 

currently neither sorted nor recycled, although this has 

been shown to be technically feasible. For this reason, 

PLA is considered to be recyclable. 

Compostable packaging 

The present agreements do not favour the use of 

compostable plastics for retail packaging. The reasoning 

is that these materials do not contribute to the circularity 

of the plastic materials chain, nor do they contribute to 

the quality of the compost. However, packaging made 

from a material like PLA, that is ‘recyclable’ in design, 

will in the future be regarded as recyclable packaging 

that is not intended to end up in composting facilities at 

the end of life. 

Recyclable and compostable PLA meat tray (Bio4Pack) 

If better sorting and thermal recycling are possible, there 

will also be additional opportunities for biodegradable 

packaging. This route is certainly interesting for difficult 

laminates that are not mechanically recyclable but are 

litter-sensitive, such as single-portion potato chip packs. 

Biobased plastics 

In view of the potential environmental benefits, the 

primary focus will be on the use of recycled materials 

and on minimizing the use of virgin fossil-based 

materials. Biobased plastics can offer a solution in cases 

where recycled material cannot be used, such as for food 

packaging, where food contact regulations prohibit the 

use of recycled plastics. In addition, recyclable, biobased 

food packaging offering good barrier properties offer 

promising possibilities, now or in the future. 

Recyclate versus biobased content 

By 2025, packing manufacturers aim to produce 

packaging containing 35 % recycled or biobased 


Basics 

biobased packaging 

By: 



and co-organizer bio!PAC 2019 

Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

materials. If proven to be more sustainable, priority 

should be given to the use of biobased plastics over 

petroleum-based virgin or recycled plastics. 

Biobased raw materials should also be considered 

if degradation has affected the quality of the recycled 

material or certain specifications are no longer able to 

be met. 

Conclusion 

There are certainly opportunities for biobased retail 

packaging in Europe. The questions about responsible 

land use, energy and water consumption, confusing 

communication about waste management and the 

current limited possibilities to recycle (biobased) 

packaging will undoubtedly provide food for discussion in 

the coming years, although one thing is certain: biobased 

packaging will be part of the circular future. 

Join the discussion at the upcoming bio!PAC conference, 

where these and other issues will be highlighted and 

further explored, The bio!PAC conference will take place 

in Düsseldorf, Germany on 28th-29th of May. 

www.greenserendipity.eu | www.bio-pac.info | 

tinyurl.com/terracycle-2019 | tinyurl.com/farmdairy | 

tinyurl.com/bio4pack 

Caroli Buitenhuis is co-organizer of the bio!PAC 2019 conference 

and driving force behind Green Serendipity: a consultancy for 

renewable materials, biobased packaging and circular concepts 

with the focus on sustainable chain innovation. Caroli is chain 

innovator and consultant and also educated as packaging expert. 

She has brought divers biobased packaging innovations effectively 

into implementation (including several award winning innovations 

together with brand owners). 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 

WORLDWIDE BIOECONOMY 

Sponsor Innovation Award: 

VOTE FOR 

the Innovation Award 

“Bio-based Material 

of the Year 2019”! 

• Vision & Policy 

• Bio-based Building Blocks 

• Bio-based Polymers 

• Biodegradable Solutions 

• Industrial Biotechnology 

• Biorefineries 

• NEW Bio-based Fine Chemicals (Food Ingredients, 

Flavours, Body Care, Cosmetics, Pharmaceuticals) 

• Innovation Award 

„Bio-based Material of the Year 2019“ 

• Five Additional Workshops 

Organiser: 

Institute 

for Ecology and Innovation 

www.nova-institute.eu 

Contact 

Dominik Vogt 

Conference Manager 

+49 (0)2233 4814-49 

dominik.vogt@nova-institut.de 

Find more information at: 

www.bio-based-conference.com 


Plastics, made by nature, for cosmetics packaging 

10 Years ago 

10 

Years ago 

Cosmetics Pen made of Bio-Flex F 6510 

Beautiful Plastics Made by Nature 

Just a few cosmetics can be found in pure powder form. A lot of 

cosmetics are a mixture of chemical substances held in aqueous 

solutions or alcohol-based solvents. So, resistance and a high barrier 

against water and alcohol are often basic requirements for any plastics 

used in cosmetics packaging. 

Polylactic acid (PLA) and cellulose acetate (CA) are often chosen as 

raw biopolymers for bioplastics. PLA and CA are described as resistant 

to fats, water and alcohol [2], but both exhibit only a poor barrier against 

moisture vapour and alcohol. Furthermore, CA is described as resistant 

to weak acids. 

Beauty & Healthcare 

Jar 3 made of Bio-Flex V 1410 

Published in 

bioplastics 

MAGAZINE 

FKuR´s trade name Bio-Flex ® covers copolyester blends based on 

PLA which – depending on the respective grade – are composed of 

almost 100% natural resources. Bio-Flex does not contain any starch 

or starch derivatives. Bioplastics mostly replace conventional materials, 

i.e. polyethylene of low density (LDPE) and of high density (HDPE) as well 

as polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate 

(PET). 

Biograde ® is based on cellulose, a product of the paper industry, 

and has been specially designed for injection moulding applications. 

Biograde is predominantly obtained from natural resources (European 

soft wood from sustainable forestry). It does not contain starch or starch 

derivatives, and has an excellent heat resistance up to 122 °C. It can be 

transparent – depending on the grade – and is food contact approved. 

Under the brand name Fibrolon ® , FKuR develops natural fibre reinforced 

compounds (Wood/Plastic Composites: WPC), which, unlike many other 

WPCs, can be injection moulded without problems. Fibrolon compounds 

are characterised by high strengths and stiffness comparable to wood. 

Fibrolon F 8530 is a biodegradable compound on the basis of polylactic 

acid (PLA) and other compostable biopolymers. The content of natural 

resources is almost 100%. 

Bottle 2 made of Bio-Flex F 6510 

(J. Sieben) 

Beauty & Healthcare 

Little dish made of Fibrolon F 8530 

The applications described emphasise that Bio-Flex, Biograde 

and Fibrolon can be easily processed on standard injection moulding, 

blow moulding or extrusion machines. Biograde´s resistance, even to 

aggressive isododecane (a hydrocarbon ingredient used as a solvent in a 

number of cosmetic products) opens the wide field of colour cosmetics 

applications, however the barrier properties of all bioplastics really need 

to be improved. 

Eyeliner Pencil made of Biograde C 7500 CL 

[1] Cosmoprof study in co-operation with Formes 

de Luxe (2005) 

[2] Endres, H.-J., Siebert-Raths, A., Technische 

Biopolymere. Hanser Publishers (2009) 

www.fkur.com 

Beautiful Plastics Made by Nature 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/09] Vol. 4 11 

Article contributed by 

Dr. Christian Bonten 

Director of Technology and Marketing 

FKuR Kunststoff gmbH 

Willich germany 

Pad bag made of 


Cosmetic Pens made of Fibrolon F 8530 

B 

eauty, and our constant efforts to achieve it, are an expression of 

luxury. And this expression is reflected not only in the contents 

but also in the packaging. Cosmetics and bodycare are a broad 

field of applications and a systematic approach is necessary. Let us divide 

the field of cosmetics applications into the following groups: 

• Hair Care (hairspray, shampoo, hair colorants, conditioner, curling 

aids) 

• Colour Cosmetics (lipsticks, eye cosmetics, nail cosmetics, make-up) 

• Bath and Shower (bath and shower soaps and syndets) 

• Deodorants and anti-perspirants, 

• Men´s grooming (razors and shavers, shaving foam and gel, aftershave) 

• Oral hygiene (toothpaste, tooth brushes, mouth wash, products for 

dentures) 

• Fragrances (perfumes, EDTs) 

• Skin Care (facial care, body lotion and powder, sun protection, hand 

and nail creme, depilatories) 

There are a number of major trends in the cosmetics industry [1]. 

The population in the developed countries of the world is getting older. 

This will drive the demand for skin care and premium colour cosmetics. 

Furthermore, young girls (8-12 years) increasingly use cosmetics and 

their parents help choose them together with the girls. This will lead 

to more colourful and striking packaging with more unusual shapes. 

Another trend is that teenagers have their own money to buy cosmetics, 

but their limited budgets mean that they have to buy mass market 

products in retail stores. The fourth trend is that men increasingly use 

cosmetics, so premium men‘s cosmetics will grow more strongly. 

It is obvious that, in all of the above-mentioned groups of applications, 

the requirements placed on plastics are very different. But if plastics are 

used as packaging, the requirements become clear and manageable. 

Cosmetics packaging producers often ask for availability, processability on 

standard machines (extrusion or injection moulding, printing, assembly), 

chemical resistance to the cosmetic product, a barrier against the carrier 

solution (often water or alcohol), mechanical properties (tensile strength 

and impact strength, stiffness), aesthetic appearance (surface quality, 

printability etc.). 

tinyurl.com/2009cosmetic 

48 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 


Brand owners 

In March 2019, 

Patrick Zimmermann, 

Director Marketing & Sales of 

FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, said: 

Brand-Owner’s 

perspective 

on bioplastics and how to 

unleash its full potential 

“Taking into consideration our customer feedback and our 

desire to be great neighbors, we have been taking a careful 

look at our packaging and the opportunities that exist to make 

improvements, with respect to sustainability. 

Since 2009 the 

bioplastic world has 

changed a lot. New 

materials have been 

developed and new 

market segments 

have been explored. At the same time the 

portfolio of FKuR has increased during the 

last 10 years. With the distribution of Green 

PE (Braskem) and Bio-PET (Fenc), as well 

as with the development of Terralene ® , a 

tailor made Green PE compound and Terraprene 

® , a family of partly biobased TPE, we 

are now in the situation to serve the special 

needs of the cosmetic market. 

In 2009 we faced a lack of suitable 

materials in terms of barrier properties, 

easy processing and recyclability. For the 

time being we were able to provide intelligent 

Bio-Flex ® and Biograde ® compounds with 

advanced features which were a first step 

to bridge the gap. However, we still worked 

hard on convincing customers to replace 

conventional PE for a tube for example 

with a Bio-Flex material or on using a 

Biograde instead of SAN for a jar. Since 

2012 we have been able to supply material 

solutions to produce bottles, tubes, caps, 

hinges and jars with the same properties 

as the petrochemicals. The market is still 

challenging and the requirements are 

still very high in terms of haptics, designs, 

processing and of course shelf life. However, 

especially with our todays broad portfolio 

and tailor made solutions we are able to 

provide the perfect solution for those kind 

of requests and offer our customers a 

previously unknown design freedom in the 

production of his packaging. The shape, 

color and feel of the packaging transports 

the image of a product and bioplastics ideally 

support the sustainable message of a brand. 

We created a framework to help us and our vendor 

partners, with whom we work closely in this effort, to identify 

packaging improvement opportunities. This sustainability 

framework is based on the following principles: 

1. Reducing and removing packaging 

2. Sourcing renewable and recycled packaging materials 

3. Choosing packaging that can be realistically recycled 

4. Avoiding the use of harmful substances in packaging 

5. Providing information to customers that increases 

understanding of how best to recycle or dispose of packaging 

Here are some of our achievements to date: 

• We stopped offering single-use plastic carryout bags in 

all stores across the country. 

• We replaced plastic produce bags with biodegradable & 

compostable produce bags for the convenience of carrying 

loose or “by-the-each” fruits and vegetables. 

• We eliminated any remaining Styrofoam packages in 

our produce section and replaced them with bio-based, 

compostable trays.” MT 

(Source:www.traderjoes.com/announcement/packaging-improvements) 

Trader Joes in Amherst, New York (Photo Sikander Iqbal, CC 4.0) 

Trader Joe’s is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered 

in Monrovia, California. As of October 2017, Trader Joe’s has 474 

stores nationwide in 43 states and in Washington, D.C.. Trader Joe’s is 

a subsidiary of German supermarket chain ALDI Nord. 

www.traderjoes.com 

www.fkur.com 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [01/19] Vol. 14 49

Basics 

Glossary 4.3 last update issue 01/2019 

In bioplastics MAGAZINE again and again 

the same expressions appear that some of our readers 

might not (yet) be familiar with. This glossary shall help 

with these terms and shall help avoid repeated explanations 

such as PLA (Polylactide) in various articles. 

Bioplastics (as defined by European Bioplastics 

e.V.) is a term used to define two different 

kinds of plastics: 

a. Plastics based on → renewable resources 

(the focus is the origin of the raw material 

used). These can be biodegradable or not. 

b. → Biodegradable and → compostable 

plastics according to EN13432 or similar 

standards (the focus is the compostability of 

the final product; biodegradable and compostable 

plastics can be based on renewable 

(biobased) and/or non-renewable (fossil) resources). 

Bioplastics may be 

- based on renewable resources and biodegradable; 

- based on renewable resources but not be 

biodegradable; and 

- based on fossil resources and biodegradable. 

1 st Generation feedstock | Carbohydrate rich 

plants such as corn or sugar cane that can 

also be used as food or animal feed are called 

food crops or 1 st generation feedstock. Bred 

my mankind over centuries for highest energy 

efficiency, currently, 1 st generation feedstock 

is the most efficient feedstock for the production 

of bioplastics as it requires the least 

amount of land to grow and produce the highest 

yields. [bM 04/09] 

2 nd Generation feedstock | refers to feedstock 

not suitable for food or feed. It can be either 

non-food crops (e.g. cellulose) or waste materials 

from 1 st generation feedstock (e.g. 

waste vegetable oil). [bM 06/11] 

3 rd Generation feedstock | This term currently 

relates to biomass from algae, which – having 

a higher growth yield than 1 st and 2 nd generation 

feedstock – were given their own category. 

It also relates to bioplastics from waste 

streams such as CO 2 

or methane [bM 02/16] 

Aerobic digestion | Aerobic means in the 

presence of oxygen. In →composting, which is 

an aerobic process, →microorganisms access 

the present oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere. 

They metabolize the organic material 

to energy, CO 2 

, water and cell biomass, 

whereby part of the energy of the organic material 

is released as heat. [bM 03/07, bM 02/09] 

Since this Glossary will not be printed 

in each issue you can download a pdf version 

from our website (bit.ly/OunBB0) 

bioplastics MAGAZINE is grateful to European Bioplastics for the permission to use parts of their Glossary. 

Version 4.0 was revised using EuBP’s latest version (Jan 2015). 

[*: bM ... refers to more comprehensive article previously published in bioplastics MAGAZINE) 

Anaerobic digestion | In anaerobic digestion, 

organic matter is degraded by a microbial 

population in the absence of oxygen 

and producing methane and carbon dioxide 

(= →biogas) and a solid residue that can be 

composted in a subsequent step without 

practically releasing any heat. The biogas can 

be treated in a Combined Heat and Power 

Plant (CHP), producing electricity and heat, or 

can be upgraded to bio-methane [14] [bM 06/09] 

Amorphous | non-crystalline, glassy with unordered 

lattice 

Amylopectin | Polymeric branched starch 

molecule with very high molecular weight 

(biopolymer, monomer is →Glucose) [bM 05/09] 

Amylose | Polymeric non-branched starch 

molecule with high molecular weight (biopolymer, 

monomer is →Glucose) [bM 05/09] 

Biobased | The term biobased describes the 

part of a material or product that is stemming 

from →biomass. When making a biobasedclaim, 

the unit (→biobased carbon content, 

→biobased mass content), a percentage and 

the measuring method should be clearly stated [1] 

Biobased carbon | carbon contained in or 

stemming from →biomass. A material or 

product made of fossil and →renewable resources 

contains fossil and →biobased carbon. 

The biobased carbon content is measured via 

the 14 C method (radio carbon dating method) 

that adheres to the technical specifications as 

described in [1,4,5,6]. 

Biobased labels | The fact that (and to 

what percentage) a product or a material is 

→biobased can be indicated by respective 

labels. Ideally, meaningful labels should be 

based on harmonised standards and a corresponding 

certification process by independent 

third party institutions. For the property 

biobased such labels are in place by certifiers 

→DIN CERTCO and →Vinçotte who both base 

their certifications on the technical specification 

as described in [4,5] 

A certification and corresponding label depicting 

the biobased mass content was developed 

by the French Association Chimie du Végétal 

[ACDV]. 

Biobased mass content | describes the 

amount of biobased mass contained in a material 

or product. This method is complementary 

to the 14 C method, and furthermore, takes 

other chemical elements besides the biobased 

carbon into account, such as oxygen, nitrogen 

and hydrogen. A measuring method has 

been developed and tested by the Association 

Chimie du Végétal (ACDV) [1] 

Biobased plastic | A plastic in which constitutional 

units are totally or partly from → 

biomass [3]. If this claim is used, a percentage 

should always be given to which extent 

the product/material is → biobased [1] 

[bM 01/07, bM 03/10] 

Biodegradable Plastics | Biodegradable Plastics 

are plastics that are completely assimilated 

by the → microorganisms present a defined 

environment as food for their energy. The 

carbon of the plastic must completely be converted 

into CO 2 

during the microbial process. 

The process of biodegradation depends on 

the environmental conditions, which influence 

it (e.g. location, temperature, humidity) and 

on the material or application itself. Consequently, 

the process and its outcome can vary 

considerably. Biodegradability is linked to the 

structure of the polymer chain; it does not depend 

on the origin of the raw materials. 

There is currently no single, overarching standard 

to back up claims about biodegradability. 

One standard for example is ISO or in Europe: 

EN 14995 Plastics- Evaluation of compostability 

- Test scheme and specifications 

[bM 02/06, bM 01/07] 

Biogas | → Anaerobic digestion 

Biomass | Material of biological origin excluding 

material embedded in geological formations 

and material transformed to fossilised 

material. This includes organic material, e.g. 

trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, algae and 

waste of biological origin, e.g. manure [1, 2] 

Biorefinery | the co-production of a spectrum 

of bio-based products (food, feed, materials, 

chemicals including monomers or building 

blocks for bioplastics) and energy (fuels, power, 

heat) from biomass.[bM 02/13] 

Blend | Mixture of plastics, polymer alloy of at 

least two microscopically dispersed and molecularly 

distributed base polymers 

Bisphenol-A (BPA) | Monomer used to produce 

different polymers. BPA is said to cause 

health problems, due to the fact that is behaves 

like a hormone. Therefore it is banned 

for use in children’s products in many countries. 

BPI | Biodegradable Products Institute, a notfor-profit 

association. Through their innovative 

compostable label program, BPI educates 

manufacturers, legislators and consumers 

about the importance of scientifically based 

standards for compostable materials which 

biodegrade in large composting facilities. 

Carbon footprint | (CFPs resp. PCFs – Product 

Carbon Footprint): Sum of →greenhouse 

gas emissions and removals in a product system, 

expressed as CO 2 

equivalent, and based 

on a →life cycle assessment. The CO 2 

equivalent 

of a specific amount of a greenhouse gas 

is calculated as the mass of a given greenhouse 

gas multiplied by its →global warmingpotential 

[1,2,15] 


Basics 

Carbon neutral, CO 2 

neutral | describes a 

product or process that has a negligible impact 

on total atmospheric CO 2 

levels. For 

example, carbon neutrality means that any 

CO 2 

released when a plant decomposes or 

is burnt is offset by an equal amount of CO 2 

absorbed by the plant through photosynthesis 

when it is growing. 

Carbon neutrality can also be achieved 

through buying sufficient carbon credits to 

make up the difference. The latter option is 

not allowed when communicating → LCAs 

or carbon footprints regarding a material or 

product [1, 2]. 

Carbon-neutral claims are tricky as products 

will not in most cases reach carbon neutrality 

if their complete life cycle is taken into consideration 

(including the end-of life). 

If an assessment of a material, however, is 

conducted (cradle to gate), carbon neutrality 

might be a valid claim in a B2B context. In this 

case, the unit assessed in the complete life 

cycle has to be clarified [1] 

Cascade use | of →renewable resources means 

to first use the →biomass to produce biobased 

industrial products and afterwards – due to 

their favourable energy balance – use them 

for energy generation (e.g. from a biobased 

plastic product to →biogas production). The 

feedstock is used efficiently and value generation 

increases decisively. 

Catalyst | substance that enables and accelerates 

a chemical reaction 

Cellophane | Clear film on the basis of →cellulose 

[bM 01/10] 

Cellulose | Cellulose is the principal component 

of cell walls in all higher forms of plant 

life, at varying percentages. It is therefore the 

most common organic compound and also 

the most common polysaccharide (multisugar) 

[11]. Cellulose is a polymeric molecule 

with very high molecular weight (monomer is 

→Glucose), industrial production from wood 

or cotton, to manufacture paper, plastics and 

fibres [bM 01/10] 

Cellulose ester | Cellulose esters occur by 

the esterification of cellulose with organic 

acids. The most important cellulose esters 

from a technical point of view are cellulose 

acetate (CA with acetic acid), cellulose propionate 

(CP with propionic acid) and cellulose 

butyrate (CB with butanoic acid). Mixed polymerisates, 

such as cellulose acetate propionate 

(CAP) can also be formed. One of the most 

well-known applications of cellulose aceto 

butyrate (CAB) is the moulded handle on the 

Swiss army knife [11] 

Cellulose acetate CA | → Cellulose ester 

CEN | Comité Européen de Normalisation 

(European organisation for standardization) 

Certification | is a process in which materials/products 

undergo a string of (laboratory) 

tests in order to verify that the fulfil certain 

requirements. Sound certification systems 

should be based on (ideally harmonised) European 

standards or technical specifications 

(e.g. by →CEN, USDA, ASTM, etc.) and be 

performed by independent third party laboratories. 

Successful certification guarantees 

a high product safety - also on this basis interconnected 

labels can be awarded that help 

the consumer to make an informed decision. 

Compost | A soil conditioning material of decomposing 

organic matter which provides nutrients 

and enhances soil structure. 

[bM 06/08, 02/09] 

Compostable Plastics | Plastics that are 

→ biodegradable under →composting conditions: 

specified humidity, temperature, 

→ microorganisms and timeframe. In order 

to make accurate and specific claims about 

compostability, the location (home, → industrial) 

and timeframe need to be specified [1]. 

Several national and international standards 

exist for clearer definitions, for example EN 

14995 Plastics - Evaluation of compostability - 

Test scheme and specifications. [bM 02/06, bM 01/07] 

Composting | is the controlled →aerobic, or 

oxygen-requiring, decomposition of organic 

materials by →microorganisms, under controlled 

conditions. It reduces the volume and 

mass of the raw materials while transforming 

them into CO 2 

, water and a valuable soil conditioner 

– compost. 

When talking about composting of bioplastics, 

foremost →industrial composting in a 

managed composting facility is meant (criteria 

defined in EN 13432). 

The main difference between industrial and 

home composting is, that in industrial composting 

facilities temperatures are much 

higher and kept stable, whereas in the composting 

pile temperatures are usually lower, 

and less constant as depending on factors 

such as weather conditions. Home composting 

is a way slower-paced process than 

industrial composting. Also a comparatively 

smaller volume of waste is involved. [bM 03/07] 

Compound | plastic mixture from different 

raw materials (polymer and additives) [bM 04/10) 

Copolymer | Plastic composed of different 

monomers. 

Cradle-to-Gate | Describes the system 

boundaries of an environmental →Life Cycle 

Assessment (LCA) which covers all activities 

from the cradle (i.e., the extraction of raw materials, 

agricultural activities and forestry) up 

to the factory gate 

Cradle-to-Cradle | (sometimes abbreviated 

as C2C): Is an expression which communicates 

the concept of a closed-cycle economy, 

in which waste is used as raw material 

(‘waste equals food’). Cradle-to-Cradle is not 

a term that is typically used in →LCA studies. 

Cradle-to-Grave | Describes the system 

boundaries of a full →Life Cycle Assessment 

from manufacture (cradle) to use phase and 

disposal phase (grave). 

Crystalline | Plastic with regularly arranged 

molecules in a lattice structure 

Density | Quotient from mass and volume of 

a material, also referred to as specific weight 

DIN | Deutsches Institut für Normung (German 

organisation for standardization) 

DIN-CERTCO | independant certifying organisation 

for the assessment on the conformity 

of bioplastics 

Dispersing | fine distribution of non-miscible 

liquids into a homogeneous, stable mixture 

Drop-In bioplastics | chemically indentical 

to conventional petroleum based plastics, 

but made from renewable resources. Examples 

are bio-PE made from bio-ethanol (from 

e.g. sugar cane) or partly biobased PET; the 

monoethylene glykol made from bio-ethanol 

(from e.g. sugar cane). Developments to 

make terephthalic acid from renewable resources 

are under way. Other examples are 

polyamides (partly biobased e.g. PA 4.10 or PA 

6.10 or fully biobased like PA 5.10 or PA10.10) 

EN 13432 | European standard for the assessment 

of the → compostability of plastic 

packaging products 

Energy recovery | recovery and exploitation 

of the energy potential in (plastic) waste for 

the production of electricity or heat in waste 

incineration pants (waste-to-energy) 

Environmental claim | A statement, symbol 

or graphic that indicates one or more environmental 

aspect(s) of a product, a component, 

packaging or a service. [16] 

Enzymes | proteins that catalyze chemical 

reactions 

Enzyme-mediated plastics | are no →bioplastics. 

Instead, a conventional non-biodegradable 

plastic (e.g. fossil-based PE) is enriched 

with small amounts of an organic additive. 

Microorganisms are supposed to consume 

these additives and the degradation process 

should then expand to the non-biodegradable 

PE and thus make the material degrade. After 

some time the plastic is supposed to visually 

disappear and to be completely converted to 

carbon dioxide and water. This is a theoretical 

concept which has not been backed up by 

any verifiable proof so far. Producers promote 

enzyme-mediated plastics as a solution to littering. 

As no proof for the degradation process 

has been provided, environmental beneficial 

effects are highly questionable. 

Ethylene | colour- and odourless gas, made 

e.g. from, Naphtha (petroleum) by cracking or 

from bio-ethanol by dehydration, monomer of 

the polymer polyethylene (PE) 

European Bioplastics e.V. | The industry association 

representing the interests of Europe’s 

thriving bioplastics’ industry. Founded 

in Germany in 1993 as IBAW, European 

Bioplastics today represents the interests 

of about 50 member companies throughout 

the European Union and worldwide. With 

members from the agricultural feedstock, 

chemical and plastics industries, as well as 

industrial users and recycling companies, European 

Bioplastics serves as both a contact 

platform and catalyst for advancing the aims 

of the growing bioplastics industry. 

Extrusion | process used to create plastic 

profiles (or sheet) of a fixed cross-section 

consisting of mixing, melting, homogenising 

and shaping of the plastic. 

FDCA | 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, an intermediate 

chemical produced from 5-HMF. 

The dicarboxylic acid can be used to make → 

PEF = polyethylene furanoate, a polyester that 

could be a 100% biobased alternative to PET. 

Fermentation | Biochemical reactions controlled 

by → microorganisms or → enyzmes (e.g. 

the transformation of sugar into lactic acid). 

FSC | Forest Stewardship Council. FSC is an 

independent, non-governmental, not-forprofit 

organization established to promote the 

responsible and sustainable management of 

the world’s forests. 


Basics 

Gelatine | Translucent brittle solid substance, 

colorless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless 

and odorless, extracted from the collagen inside 

animals‘ connective tissue. 

Genetically modified organism (GMO) | Organisms, 

such as plants and animals, whose 

genetic material (DNA) has been altered 

are called genetically modified organisms 

(GMOs). Food and feed which contain or 

consist of such GMOs, or are produced from 

GMOs, are called genetically modified (GM) 

food or feed [1]. If GM crops are used in bioplastics 

production, the multiple-stage processing 

and the high heat used to create the 

polymer removes all traces of genetic material. 

This means that the final bioplastics product 

contains no genetic traces. The resulting 

bioplastics is therefore well suited to use in 

food packaging as it contains no genetically 

modified material and cannot interact with 

the contents. 

Global Warming | Global warming is the rise 

in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere 

and oceans since the late 19th century 

and its projected continuation [8]. Global 

warming is said to be accelerated by → green 

house gases. 

Glucose | Monosaccharide (or simple sugar). 

G. is the most important carbohydrate (sugar) 

in biology. G. is formed by photosynthesis or 

hydrolyse of many carbohydrates e. g. starch. 

Greenhouse gas GHG | Gaseous constituent 

of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, 

that absorbs and emits radiation at 

specific wavelengths within the spectrum of 

infrared radiation emitted by the earth’s surface, 

the atmosphere, and clouds [1, 9] 

Greenwashing | The act of misleading consumers 

regarding the environmental practices 

of a company, or the environmental benefits 

of a product or service [1, 10] 

Granulate, granules | small plastic particles 

(3-4 millimetres), a form in which plastic is 

sold and fed into machines, easy to handle 

and dose. 

HMF (5-HMF) | 5-hydroxymethylfurfural is an 

organic compound derived from sugar dehydration. 

It is a platform chemical, a building 

block for 20 performance polymers and over 

175 different chemical substances. The molecule 

consists of a furan ring which contains 

both aldehyde and alcohol functional groups. 

5-HMF has applications in many different 

industries such as bioplastics, packaging, 

pharmaceuticals, adhesives and chemicals. 

One of the most promising routes is 2,5 

furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), produced as an 

intermediate when 5-HMF is oxidised. FDCA 

is used to produce PEF, which can substitute 

terephthalic acid in polyester, especially polyethylene 

terephthalate (PET). [bM 03/14, 02/16] 

Home composting | →composting [bM 06/08] 

Humus | In agriculture, humus is often used 

simply to mean mature →compost, or natural 

compost extracted from a forest or other 

spontaneous source for use to amend soil. 

Hydrophilic | Property: water-friendly, soluble 

in water or other polar solvents (e.g. used 

in conjunction with a plastic which is not water 

resistant and weather proof or that absorbs 

water such as Polyamide (PA). 

Hydrophobic | Property: water-resistant, not 

soluble in water (e.g. a plastic which is water 

resistant and weather proof, or that does not 

absorb any water such as Polyethylene (PE) 

or Polypropylene (PP). 

Industrial composting | is an established 

process with commonly agreed upon requirements 

(e.g. temperature, timeframe) for transforming 

biodegradable waste into stable, sanitised 

products to be used in agriculture. The 

criteria for industrial compostability of packaging 

have been defined in the EN 13432. Materials 

and products complying with this standard 

can be certified and subsequently labelled 

accordingly [1,7] [bM 06/08, 02/09] 

ISO | International Organization for Standardization 

JBPA | Japan Bioplastics Association 

Land use | The surface required to grow sufficient 

feedstock (land use) for today’s bioplastic 

production is less than 0.01 percent of the 

global agricultural area of 5 billion hectares. 

It is not yet foreseeable to what extent an increased 

use of food residues, non-food crops 

or cellulosic biomass (see also →1 st /2 nd /3 rd 

generation feedstock) in bioplastics production 

might lead to an even further reduced 

land use in the future [bM 04/09, 01/14] 

LCA | is the compilation and evaluation of the 

input, output and the potential environmental 

impact of a product system throughout its life 

cycle [17]. It is sometimes also referred to as 

life cycle analysis, ecobalance or cradle-tograve 

analysis. [bM 01/09] 

Littering | is the (illegal) act of leaving waste 

such as cigarette butts, paper, tins, bottles, 

cups, plates, cutlery or bags lying in an open 

or public place. 

Marine litter | Following the European Commission’s 

definition, “marine litter consists of 

items that have been deliberately discarded, 

unintentionally lost, or transported by winds 

and rivers, into the sea and on beaches. It 

mainly consists of plastics, wood, metals, 

glass, rubber, clothing and paper”. Marine 

debris originates from a variety of sources. 

Shipping and fishing activities are the predominant 

sea-based, ineffectively managed 

landfills as well as public littering the main 

land-based sources. Marine litter can pose a 

threat to living organisms, especially due to 

ingestion or entanglement. 

Currently, there is no international standard 

available, which appropriately describes the 

biodegradation of plastics in the marine environment. 

However, a number of standardisation 

projects are in progress at ISO and ASTM 

level. Furthermore, the European project 

OPEN BIO addresses the marine biodegradation 

of biobased products.[bM 02/16] 

Mass balance | describes the relationship between 

input and output of a specific substance 

within a system in which the output from the 

system cannot exceed the input into the system. 

First attempts were made by plastic raw material 

producers to claim their products renewable 

(plastics) based on a certain input 

of biomass in a huge and complex chemical 

plant, then mathematically allocating this 

biomass input to the produced plastic. 

These approaches are at least controversially 

disputed [bM 04/14, 05/14, 01/15] 

Microorganism | Living organisms of microscopic 

size, such as bacteria, funghi or yeast. 

Molecule | group of at least two atoms held 

together by covalent chemical bonds. 

Monomer | molecules that are linked by polymerization 

to form chains of molecules and 

then plastics 

Mulch film | Foil to cover bottom of farmland 

Organic recycling | means the treatment of 

separately collected organic waste by anaerobic 

digestion and/or composting. 

Oxo-degradable / Oxo-fragmentable | materials 

and products that do not biodegrade! 

The underlying technology of oxo-degradability 

or oxo-fragmentation is based on special additives, 

which, if incorporated into standard 

resins, are purported to accelerate the fragmentation 

of products made thereof. Oxodegradable 

or oxo-fragmentable materials do 

not meet accepted industry standards on compostability 

such as EN 13432. [bM 01/09, 05/09] 

PBAT | Polybutylene adipate terephthalate, is 

an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester that has the 

properties of conventional polyethylene but is 

fully biodegradable under industrial composting. 

PBAT is made from fossil petroleum with 

first attempts being made to produce it partly 

from renewable resources [bM 06/09] 

PBS | Polybutylene succinate, a 100% biodegradable 

polymer, made from (e.g. bio-BDO) 

and succinic acid, which can also be produced 

biobased [bM 03/12]. 

PC | Polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyester, 

petroleum based and not degradable, used 

for e.g. baby bottles or CDs. Criticized for its 

BPA (→ Bisphenol-A) content. 

PCL | Polycaprolactone, a synthetic (fossil 

based), biodegradable bioplastic, e.g. used as 

a blend component. 

PE | Polyethylene, thermoplastic polymerised 

from ethylene. Can be made from renewable 

resources (sugar cane via bio-ethanol) [bM 05/10] 

PEF | polyethylene furanoate, a polyester 

made from monoethylene glycol (MEG) and 

→FDCA (2,5-furandicarboxylic acid , an intermediate 

chemical produced from 5-HMF). It 

can be a 100% biobased alternative for PET. 

PEF also has improved product characteristics, 

such as better structural strength and 

improved barrier behaviour, which will allow 

for the use of PEF bottles in additional applications. 

[bM 03/11, 04/12] 

PET | Polyethylenterephthalate, transparent 

polyester used for bottles and film. The 

polyester is made from monoethylene glycol 

(MEG), that can be renewably sourced from 

bio-ethanol (sugar cane) and (until now fossil) 

terephthalic acid [bM 04/14] 

PGA | Polyglycolic acid or Polyglycolide is a biodegradable, 

thermoplastic polymer and the 

simplest linear, aliphatic polyester. Besides 

ist use in the biomedical field, PGA has been 

introduced as a barrier resin [bM 03/09] 

PHA | Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) or the 

polyhydroxy fatty acids, are a family of biodegradable 

polyesters. As in many mammals, 

including humans, that hold energy reserves 

in the form of body fat there are also bacteria 

that hold intracellular reserves in for of 

of polyhydroxy alkanoates. Here the microorganisms 

store a particularly high level of 


Basics 

energy reserves (up to 80% of their own body 

weight) for when their sources of nutrition become 

scarce. By farming this type of bacteria, 

and feeding them on sugar or starch (mostly 

from maize), or at times on plant oils or other 

nutrients rich in carbonates, it is possible to 

obtain PHA‘s on an industrial scale [11]. The 

most common types of PHA are PHB (Polyhydroxybutyrate, 

PHBV and PHBH. Depending 

on the bacteria and their food, PHAs with 

different mechanical properties, from rubbery 

soft trough stiff and hard as ABS, can be produced. 

Some PHSs are even biodegradable in 

soil or in a marine environment 

PLA | Polylactide or Polylactic Acid (PLA), a 

biodegradable, thermoplastic, linear aliphatic 

polyester based on lactic acid, a natural acid, 

is mainly produced by fermentation of sugar 

or starch with the help of micro-organisms. 

Lactic acid comes in two isomer forms, i.e. as 

laevorotatory D(-)lactic acid and as dextrorotary 

L(+)lactic acid. 

Modified PLA types can be produced by the 

use of the right additives or by certain combinations 

of L- and D- lactides (stereocomplexing), 

which then have the required rigidity for 

use at higher temperatures [13] [bM 01/09, 01/12] 

Plastics | Materials with large molecular 

chains of natural or fossil raw materials, produced 

by chemical or biochemical reactions. 

PPC | Polypropylene Carbonate, a bioplastic 

made by copolymerizing CO 2 

with propylene 

oxide (PO) [bM 04/12] 

PTT | Polytrimethylterephthalate (PTT), partially 

biobased polyester, is similarly to PET 

produced using terephthalic acid or dimethyl 

terephthalate and a diol. In this case it is a 

biobased 1,3 propanediol, also known as bio- 

PDO [bM 01/13] 

Renewable Resources | agricultural raw materials, 

which are not used as food or feed, 

but as raw material for industrial products 

or to generate energy. The use of renewable 

resources by industry saves fossil resources 

and reduces the amount of → greenhouse gas 

emissions. Biobased plastics are predominantly 

made of annual crops such as corn, 

cereals and sugar beets or perennial cultures 

such as cassava and sugar cane. 

Resource efficiency | Use of limited natural 

resources in a sustainable way while minimising 

impacts on the environment. A resource 

efficient economy creates more output 

or value with lesser input. 

Seedling Logo | The compostability label or 

logo Seedling is connected to the standard 

EN 13432/EN 14995 and a certification process 

managed by the independent institutions 

→DIN CERTCO and → Vinçotte. Bioplastics 

products carrying the Seedling fulfil the 

criteria laid down in the EN 13432 regarding 

industrial compostability. [bM 01/06, 02/10] 

Saccharins or carbohydrates | Saccharins or 

carbohydrates are name for the sugar-family. 

Saccharins are monomer or polymer sugar 

units. For example, there are known mono-, 

di- and polysaccharose. → glucose is a monosaccarin. 

They are important for the diet and 

produced biology in plants. 

Semi-finished products | plastic in form of 

sheet, film, rods or the like to be further processed 

into finshed products 

Sorbitol | Sugar alcohol, obtained by reduction 

of glucose changing the aldehyde group 

to an additional hydroxyl group. S. is used as 

a plasticiser for bioplastics based on starch. 

Starch | Natural polymer (carbohydrate) 

consisting of → amylose and → amylopectin, 

gained from maize, potatoes, wheat, tapioca 

etc. When glucose is connected to polymerchains 

in definite way the result (product) is 

called starch. Each molecule is based on 300 

-12000-glucose units. Depending on the connection, 

there are two types → amylose and → 

amylopectin known. [bM 05/09] 

Starch derivatives | Starch derivatives are 

based on the chemical structure of → starch. 

The chemical structure can be changed by 

introducing new functional groups without 

changing the → starch polymer. The product 

has different chemical qualities. Mostly the 

hydrophilic character is not the same. 

Starch-ester | One characteristic of every 

starch-chain is a free hydroxyl group. When 

every hydroxyl group is connected with an 

acid one product is starch-ester with different 

chemical properties. 

Starch propionate and starch butyrate | 

Starch propionate and starch butyrate can be 

synthesised by treating the → starch with propane 

or butanic acid. The product structure 

is still based on → starch. Every based → glucose 

fragment is connected with a propionate 

or butyrate ester group. The product is more 

hydrophobic than → starch. 

Sustainable | An attempt to provide the best 

outcomes for the human and natural environments 

both now and into the indefinite future. 

One famous definition of sustainability is the 

one created by the Brundtland Commission, 

led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister 

G. H. Brundtland. The Brundtland Commission 

defined sustainable development as 

development that ‘meets the needs of the 

present without compromising the ability of 

future generations to meet their own needs.’ 

Sustainability relates to the continuity of economic, 

social, institutional and environmental 

aspects of human society, as well as the nonhuman 

environment). 

Sustainable sourcing | of renewable feedstock 

for biobased plastics is a prerequisite 

for more sustainable products. Impacts such 

as the deforestation of protected habitats 

or social and environmental damage arising 

from poor agricultural practices must 

be avoided. Corresponding certification 

schemes, such as ISCC PLUS, WLC or Bon- 

Sucro, are an appropriate tool to ensure the 

sustainable sourcing of biomass for all applications 

around the globe. 

Sustainability | as defined by European Bioplastics, 

has three dimensions: economic, social 

and environmental. This has been known 

as “the triple bottom line of sustainability”. 

This means that sustainable development involves 

the simultaneous pursuit of economic 

prosperity, environmental protection and social 

equity. In other words, businesses have 

to expand their responsibility to include these 

environmental and social dimensions. Sustainability 

is about making products useful to 

markets and, at the same time, having societal 

benefits and lower environmental impact 

than the alternatives currently available. It also 

implies a commitment to continuous improvement 

that should result in a further reduction 

of the environmental footprint of today’s products, 

processes and raw materials used. 

Thermoplastics | Plastics which soften or 

melt when heated and solidify when cooled 

(solid at room temperature). 

Thermoplastic Starch | (TPS) → starch that 

was modified (cooked, complexed) to make it 

a plastic resin 

Thermoset | Plastics (resins) which do not 

soften or melt when heated. Examples are 

epoxy resins or unsaturated polyester resins. 

TÜV Austria Belgium | independant certifying 

organisation for the assessment on the conformity 

of bioplastics (formerly Vinçotte) 

Vinçotte | → TÜV Austria Belgium 

WPC | Wood Plastic Composite. Composite 

materials made of wood fiber/flour and plastics 

(mostly polypropylene). 

Yard Waste | Grass clippings, leaves, trimmings, 

garden residue. 

References: 

[1] Environmental Communication Guide, 

European Bioplastics, Berlin, Germany, 

2012 

[2] ISO 14067. Carbon footprint of products - 

Requirements and guidelines for quantification 

and communication 

[3] CEN TR 15932, Plastics - Recommendation 

for terminology and characterisation 

of biopolymers and bioplastics, 2010 

[4] CEN/TS 16137, Plastics - Determination 

of bio-based carbon content, 2011 

[5] ASTM D6866, Standard Test Methods for 

Determining the Biobased Content of 

Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using 

Radiocarbon Analysis 

[6] SPI: Understanding Biobased Carbon 

Content, 2012 

[7] EN 13432, Requirements for packaging 

recoverable through composting and biodegradation. 

Test scheme and evaluation 

criteria for the final acceptance of packaging, 

2000 

[8] Wikipedia 

[9] ISO 14064 Greenhouse gases -- Part 1: 

Specification with guidance..., 2006 

[10] Terrachoice, 2010, www.terrachoice.com 

[11] Thielen, M.: Bioplastics: Basics. Applications. 

Markets, Polymedia Publisher, 

2012 

[12] Lörcks, J.: Biokunststoffe, Broschüre der 

FNR, 2005 

[13] de Vos, S.: Improving heat-resistance of 

PLA using poly(D-lactide), 

bioplastics MAGAZINE, Vol. 3, Issue 02/2008 

[14] de Wilde, B.: Anaerobic Digestion, bioplastics 

MAGAZINE, Vol 4., Issue 06/2009 

[15] ISO 14067 onb Corbon Footprint of 

Products 

[16] ISO 14021 on Self-declared Environmental 

claims 

[17] ISO 14044 on Life Cycle Assessment 


Suppliers Guide 

1. Raw Materials 

AGRANA Starch 

Bioplastics 

Conrathstraße 7 

A-3950 Gmuend, Austria 

bioplastics.starch@agrana.com 

www.agrana.com 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe 

Polyester Co., Ltd. 

No. 316, South Beijing Rd. Changji, 

Xinjiang, 831100, P.R.China 

Tel.: +86 994 2716865 

Mob: +86 18699400676 

maxirong@lanshantunhe.com 

http://www.lanshantunhe.com 

PBAT & PBS resin supplier 

Kingfa Sci. & Tech. Co., Ltd. 

No.33 Kefeng Rd, Sc. City, Guangzhou 

Hi-Tech Ind. Development Zone, 

Guangdong, P.R. China. 510663 

Tel: +86 (0)20 6622 1696 

info@ecopond.com.cn 

www.kingfa.com 

39 mm 

Simply contact: 

Tel.: +49 2161 6884467 

suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Stay permanently listed in the 

Suppliers Guide with your company 

logo and contact information. 

For only 6,– EUR per mm, per issue you 

can be present among top suppliers in 

the field of bioplastics. 

For Example: 

Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

Dammer Str. 112 

41066 Mönchengladbach 

Germany 

Tel. +49 2161 664864 

Fax +49 2161 631045 

info@bioplasticsmagazine.com 


Sample Charge: 

39mm x 6,00 € 

= 234,00 € per entry/per issue 

Sample Charge for one year: 

6 issues x 234,00 EUR = 1,404.00 € 

The entry in our Suppliers Guide is 

bookable for one year (6 issues) and 

extends automatically if it’s not canceled 

three month before expiry. 

www.facebook.com 

www.issuu.com 

www.twitter.com 

www.youtube.com 

BASF SE 

Ludwigshafen, Germany 

Tel: +49 621 60-9995 

martin.bussmann@basf.com 

www.ecovio.com 

Gianeco S.r.l. 

Via Magenta 57 10128 Torino - Italy 

Tel.+390119370420 

info@gianeco.com 

www.gianeco.com 

PTT MCC Biochem Co., Ltd. 

info@pttmcc.com / www.pttmcc.com 

Tel: +66(0) 2 140-3563 

MCPP Germany GmbH 

+49 (0) 152-018 920 51 

frank.steinbrecher@mcpp-europe.com 

MCPP France SAS 

+33 (0) 6 07 22 25 32 

fabien.resweber@mcpp-europe.com 

Microtec Srl 

Via Po’, 53/55 

30030, Mellaredo di Pianiga (VE), 

Italy 

Tel.: +39 041 5190621 

Fax.: +39 041 5194765 

info@microtecsrl.com 

www.biocomp.it 

Tel: +86 351-8689356 

Fax: +86 351-8689718 

www.jinhuizhaolong.com 

ecoworldsales@jinhuigroup.com 

Jincheng, Lin‘an, Hangzhou, 

Zhejiang 311300, P.R. China 

China contact: Grace Jin 

mobile: 0086 135 7578 9843 

Grace@xinfupharm.comEurope 

contact(Belgium): Susan Zhang 

mobile: 0032 478 991619 

zxh0612@hotmail.com 

www.xinfupharm.com 

1.1 bio based monomers 

1.2 compounds 

Cardia Bioplastics 

Suite 6, 205-211 Forster Rd 

Mt. Waverley, VIC, 3149 Australia 

Tel. +61 3 85666800 

info@cardiabioplastics.com 

www.cardiabioplastics.com 

API S.p.A. 

Via Dante Alighieri, 27 

36065 Mussolente (VI), Italy 

Telephone +39 0424 579711 

www.apiplastic.com 

www.apinatbio.com 

BIO-FED 

Branch of AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH 

BioCampus Cologne 

Nattermannallee 1 

50829 Cologne, Germany 

Tel.: +49 221 88 88 94-00 

info@bio-fed.com 

www.bio-fed.com 

Global Biopolymers Co.,Ltd. 

Bioplastics compounds 

(PLA+starch;PLA+rubber) 

194 Lardproa80 yak 14 

Wangthonglang, Bangkok 

Thailand 10310 

info@globalbiopolymers.com 

www.globalbiopolymers.com 

Tel +66 81 9150446 

FKuR Kunststoff GmbH 

Siemensring 79 

D - 47 877 Willich 

Tel. +49 2154 9251-0 

Tel.: +49 2154 9251-51 

sales@fkur.com 

www.fkur.com 

GRAFE-Group 

Waldecker Straße 21, 

99444 Blankenhain, Germany 

Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 

Green Dot Bioplastics 

226 Broadway | PO Box #142 

Cottonwood Falls, KS 66845, USA 

Tel.: +1 620-273-8919 

info@greendotholdings.com 

www.greendotpure.com 

NUREL Engineering Polymers 

Ctra. Barcelona, km 329 

50016 Zaragoza, Spain 

Tel: +34 976 465 579 

inzea@samca.com 

www.inzea-biopolymers.com 

Sukano AG 

Chaltenbodenstraße 23 

CH-8834 Schindellegi 

Tel. +41 44 787 57 77 

Fax +41 44 787 57 78 

www.sukano.com 



1.5 PHA 

3. Semi finished products 

3.1 films 

Natureplast – Biopolynov 

11 rue François Arago 

14123 IFS 

Tel: +33 (0)2 31 83 50 87 

www.natureplast.eu 

TECNARO GmbH 

Bustadt 40 

D-74360 Ilsfeld. Germany 

Tel: +49 (0)7062/97687-0 

www.tecnaro.de 

1.3 PLA 

Total Corbion PLA bv 

Arkelsedijk 46, P.O. Box 21 

4200 AA Gorinchem 

The Netherlands 

Tel.: +31 183 695 695 

Fax.: +31 183 695 604 

www.total-corbion.com 

pla@total-corbion.com 

Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co.,Ltd. 

No.97 Waisha Rd, Jiaojiang District, 

Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, China 

Tel: +86-576-88827723 

pla@hisunpharm.com 

www.hisunplas.com 

1.4 starch-based bioplastics 

BIOTEC 

Biologische Naturverpackungen 

Werner-Heisenberg-Strasse 32 

46446 Emmerich/Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0) 2822 – 92510 

info@biotec.de 

www.biotec.de 

Grabio Greentech Corporation 

Tel: +886-3-598-6496 

No. 91, Guangfu N. Rd., Hsinchu 

Industrial Park,Hukou Township, 

Hsinchu County 30351, Taiwan 

sales@grabio.com.tw 

www.grabio.com.tw 

Plásticos Compuestos S.A. 

C/ Basters 15 

08184 Palau Solità i Plegamans 

Barcelona, Spain 

Tel. +34 93 863 96 70 

info@kompuestos.com 

www.kompuestos.com 

Bio-on S.p.A. 

Via Santa Margherita al Colle 10/3 

40136 Bologna - ITALY 

Tel.: +39 051 392336 

info@bio-on.it 

www.bio-on.it 

Kaneka Belgium N.V. 

Nijverheidsstraat 16 

2260 Westerlo-Oevel, Belgium 

Tel: +32 (0)14 25 78 36 

Fax: +32 (0)14 25 78 81 

info.biopolymer@kaneka.be 

TianAn Biopolymer 

No. 68 Dagang 6th Rd, 

Beilun, Ningbo, China, 315800 

Tel. +86-57 48 68 62 50 2 

Fax +86-57 48 68 77 98 0 

enquiry@tianan-enmat.com 

www.tianan-enmat.com 

1.6 masterbatches 

GRAFE-Group 



Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 

Albrecht Dinkelaker 

Polymer and Product Development 

Blumenweg 2 

79669 Zell im Wiesental, Germany 

Tel.:+49 (0) 7625 91 84 58 

info@polyfea2.de 

www.caprowax-p.eu 

2. Additives/Secondary raw materials 

GRAFE-Group 



Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 

TIPA-Corp. Ltd 

Hanagar 3 Hod 

Hasharon 4501306, ISRAEL 

P.O BOX 7132 

Tel: +972-9-779-6000 

Fax: +972 -9-7715828 

www.tipa-corp.com 

4. Bioplastics products 

Bio-on S.p.A. 

Via Santa Margherita al Colle 10/3 

40136 Bologna - ITALY 

Tel.: +39 051 392336 

info@bio-on.it 

www.bio-on.it 

Bio4Pack GmbH 

D-48419 Rheine, Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0) 5975 955 94 57 

info@bio4pack.com 

www.bio4pack.com 

BeoPlast Besgen GmbH 

Bioplastics injection moulding 

Industriestraße 64 

D-40764 Langenfeld, Germany 

Tel. +49 2173 84840-0 

info@beoplast.de 

www.beoplast.de 

INDOCHINE C, M, Y , K BIO C , M, Y, K PLASTIQUES 

45, 0,90, 0 

10, 0, 80,0 

(ICBP) C, M, Y, KSDN BHD 

C, M, Y, K 

50, 0 ,0, 0 

0, 0, 0, 0 

12, Jalan i-Park SAC 3 

Senai Airport City 

81400 Senai, Johor, Malaysia 

Tel. +60 7 5959 159 

marketing@icbp.com.my 

www.icbp.com.my 

Minima Technology Co., Ltd. 

Esmy Huang, COO 

No.33. Yichang E. Rd., Taipin City, 

Taichung County 

411, Taiwan (R.O.C.) 

Tel. +886(4)2277 6888 

Fax +883(4)2277 6989 

Mobil +886(0)982-829988 

esmy@minima-tech.com 

Skype esmy325 

www.minima.com 

Natur-Tec ® - Northern Technologies 

4201 Woodland Road 

Circle Pines, MN 55014 USA 

Tel. +1 763.404.8700 

Fax +1 763.225.6645 

info@natur-tec.com 

www.natur-tec.com 

NOVAMONT S.p.A. 

Via Fauser , 8 

28100 Novara - ITALIA 

Fax +39.0321.699.601 

Tel. +39.0321.699.611 

www.novamont.com 

6. Equipment 

6.1 Machinery & Molds 

Buss AG 

Hohenrainstrasse 10 

4133 Pratteln / Switzerland 

Tel.: +41 61 825 66 00 

Fax: +41 61 825 68 58 

info@busscorp.com 

www.busscorp.com 

6.2 Degradability Analyzer 

MODA: Biodegradability Analyzer 

SAIDA FDS INC. 

143-10 Isshiki, Yaizu, 

Shizuoka,Japan 

Tel:+81-54-624-6155 

Fax: +81-54-623-8623 

info_fds@saidagroup.jp 

www.saidagroup.jp/fds_en/ 

7. Plant engineering 

EREMA Engineering Recycling 

Maschinen und Anlagen GmbH 

Unterfeldstrasse 3 

4052 Ansfelden, AUSTRIA 

Phone: +43 (0) 732 / 3190-0 

Fax: +43 (0) 732 / 3190-23 

erema@erema.at 

www.erema.at 



9. Services (continued) 

Uhde Inventa-Fischer GmbH 

Holzhauser Strasse 157–159 

D-13509 Berlin 

Tel. +49 30 43 567 5 

Fax +49 30 43 567 699 

sales.de@uhde-inventa-fischer.com 

Uhde Inventa-Fischer AG 

Via Innovativa 31, CH-7013 Domat/Ems 

Tel. +41 81 632 63 11 

Fax +41 81 632 74 03 

sales.ch@uhde-inventa-fischer.com 

www.uhde-inventa-fischer.com 

9. Services 

Osterfelder Str. 3 

46047 Oberhausen 

Tel.: +49 (0)208 8598 1227 

thomas.wodke@umsicht.fhg.de 

www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de 

Innovation Consulting Harald Kaeb 

narocon 

Dr. Harald Kaeb 

Tel.: +49 30-28096930 

kaeb@narocon.de 

www.narocon.de 

nova-Institut GmbH 

Chemiepark Knapsack 

Industriestrasse 300 

50354 Huerth, Germany 

Tel.: +49(0)2233-48-14 40 

E-Mail: contact@nova-institut.de 

www.biobased.eu 

Bioplastics Consulting 

Tel. +49 2161 664864 

info@polymediaconsult.com 

10. Institutions 

10.1 Associations 

BPI - The Biodegradable 

Products Institute 

331 West 57th Street, Suite 415 

New York, NY 10019, USA 

Tel. +1-888-274-5646 

info@bpiworld.org 

European Bioplastics e.V. 

Marienstr. 19/20 

10117 Berlin, Germany 

Tel. +49 30 284 82 350 

Fax +49 30 284 84 359 

info@european-bioplastics.org 

www.european-bioplastics.org 

10.2 Universities 

Institut für Kunststofftechnik 

Universität Stuttgart 

Böblinger Straße 70 

70199 Stuttgart 

Tel +49 711/685-62831 

silvia.kliem@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de 

www.ikt.uni-stuttgart.de 

Michigan State University 

Dept. of Chem. Eng & Mat. Sc. 

Professor Ramani Narayan 

East Lansing MI 48824, USA 

Tel. +1 517 719 7163 

narayan@msu.edu 

IfBB – Institute for Bioplastics 

and Biocomposites 

University of Applied Sciences 

and Arts Hanover 

Faculty II – Mechanical and 

Bioprocess Engineering 

Heisterbergallee 12 

30453 Hannover, Germany 

Tel.: +49 5 11 / 92 96 - 22 69 

Fax: +49 5 11 / 92 96 - 99 - 22 69 

lisa.mundzeck@hs-hannover.de 

www.ifbb-hannover.de/ 

10.3 Other Institutions 



IJburglaan 836 

1087 EM Amsterdam 

The Netherlands 

Tel.: +31 6-24216733 

www.greenseredipity.nl 

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Companies in this issue 

Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert 

Adsale 26 

Expo Business Communications 37 nova-Institute 5, 8 42, 47, 56 

Agrana Starch Bioplastics 54 

AIMPLAS 5 

Anellotech 5, 8 

Anhui Jumei Biological Technology 30 

Anhui Tianyi Env. Protection Techn. 30 

Annellotech 8 

API 54 

Apply Carbon 30 

Arctic Biomaterials 30 

Arla 33 

Atelier Luma 22 

Auserpolimeri 30 

Avantium 8, 23 

Axens 5 

Bamcore 44 

BASF 8,30,44 54 

Belgian Biopackaging 8 

BeoPlast Besgen 55 

Billa 36 

Bio4pack 8,18,46 55 

Bio-Fed Branch of Akro-Plastic 54 

Biologiq Limited 30 

Biome Bioplastic 7 

Bionatic 32 

Bio-on 8 55 

Bio-Plastic Solutions 24 

Biotec 10, 13 51, 55 

Biotec 8 55, 59 

BMBF 35 

BMEL 20 

BP 6 

BPI 56 

Braskem 3,8,13 

Bright Direction Plastic Technology 30 

Bunzl 8 

Buss 13, 51 

Buss 45, 55 

Caprowachs, Albrecht Dinkelaker 55 

Cardia Bioplastics 54 

Cathay Industrial Biotech 30 

CGN Juner New Materials 30 

Chiao Fu Material Technology 30 

Chongqing Aocai New Material 30 

Club Coffee LP Toronto, Canada 8 

Compañia de Empaques 35 

Continental 20 

Corbion 8 

Covestro 37 

DIN Certco 27 

Doil Ecotec 30 

Dongguan Mingfeng Biomass Tech. 30 

Dongguan Xinhai Env.-Friendly Mat. 30 

DOW Chemical Company 33 

DSM 6 

DuPont 15, 30 

Ecoplaza 8 

Elopak 33 

Emery Oleochemicals Hk Ltd 30 

ENSIACET 22 

Erema 41, 55 

Eskusa 21 

European Bioplastics 5, 8 56 

FENC 13 

FKuR 12,25,40 2, 54 

FKuR 8 2 

Fraunhofer IME 21 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT 35 56 

Futamura 7, 8 

Gehr Plastics Hongkong 30 

Gianeco 30 54 

Gio-Soltech 30 

Global Biopolymers 54 

Göncay Plastik 12 

GRABIO Greentech Corporation 55 

Grafe 54, 55 

Green Basilisk 44 

Green Serendipity 1, 8, 46 56 

Greendot Bioplastic 54 

Guangdong Caihong Masterbatch 30 

Halder Topsoe 6 

Hangzhou Xinfu Technology 30 

Hebei Jingu Plasticizer 30 

Hexpol Compounding (Foshan) 30 

Holmer Maschinenbau 20 

Huainan An Xin Tai Science & Tech. 30 

Hubei Guanghe Biotech 30 

IFPEN 5 

Indochine Bio Plastiques 55 

Inst. F. Bioplastics & Biocomposites 56 

Institut f. Kunststofftechnik, Stuttgart 56 

Instituto ICIPC 35 

ISCC 10 

Jiangsu Jinhe Hi-Tech 30 

Jiangsu Torise Biomaterials 30 

Jiangxi Hrs Biotech Material 30 

Jiangxi Keyuan Bio-Material 30 

Jinan Univ. 43 

Jindan New Biomaterials 30 

Jinhui Zhaolong High-Tech 30 54 

Johnson Matthey 6 

Kaneka 55 

Kingfa 54 

Kompuestos 14 55 

Kraiburg TPE Technology 30 

Lactips, 8 

Lenzing 36 

LFL 20 

Liaoning Jm Technology 30 

Lotte Chemical Corporation 30 

Louisiana State Univ. 37 

Max Planck Inst. 43 

Michigan State University 56 

Microtec 54 

Minima Technology 55 

Mitsubishi Chemical 8, 30 

Multiplex Screen Supplies 30 

Nanjing Julong Science & Technology 30 

Nanjing Juying Science And Techn. 30 

Nanjing Lihan Chemical 30 

narocon InnovationConsulting 56 

Natureplast-Biopolynov 55 

NatureWorks 8,10,27,28,30 

Natur-Tec 55 

Nestlé 46 

Novamont 8, 16 55, 60 

Numru Kimya 12 

Nurel 54 

Orinko Advanced Plastics 30 

plasticker 15 

Plenty Polymeric Technology 30 

polymediaconsult 56 

Procter & Gamble 46 

ProForets 38 

PTT MCC Biochem 54 

Pujing Chemical Industry (Sha) 30 

Quatek inc. (shanghai) 30 

Reverdia 6 

Rikevita Fine Chem. & Food Ind. (Sh.) 30 

Roquette 6, 30 

Saida 55 

Samsung 36 

Samyang Corporation 30 

Shandong Jiqing Chemical 30 

Shandong Landian Biological Tech. 30 

Shenzhen Korllin Ecoplastics 30 

Shenzhen Polymer Industry Ass. 30 

Sirap 16 

Spectalite 30 

Stora Enso 30, 44 

Studio Thomas Vailly 22 

Sukano 54 

Suzhou Hanfeng New Material 30 

Synvina 23 

Taghleef Industries 8 

Tech. Univ. Dresden 32 

Tecnaro 55 

Teijin Kasei (HK) 30 

Tepha 44 

TerryCycle 46 

Tetra Pak 8, 38 

TianAn Biopolymer 55 

Tianjin Plastics Research Institute 30 

TIPA 55 

Titan Bioplastics 8 

Tongxiang Small Boss Sp. Plastic Prod. 30 

Total Corbion PLA 8 55 

Toyobo 23 

TÜV Austria 5,15,36,38 

TÜV Rheinland (Shanghai) 30 

Uhde-Inventa Fischer 55 

Unilever 46 

Univ. Münster 21 

Univ. Stuttgart (IKT) 56 

UPM 33 

Verpackungszentrum Graz 36 

Virent 6 

Weifang Graceland Chemicals 30 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Energy 30 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Polyester 54 

Yat Shun Hong Company 30 

Yingkou Dazheng Plastics Technology 30 

Yun Fu Hong Zhi New Materials 30 

Zeijiang Hisun Biomaterials 55 

Zhejiang Guzhiyuan Biotechnology 30 

Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharm. 54 

Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials 30 


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r1_05.2017

Issue 02/2019

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