Issue 06/2017

ioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 12 

ISSN 1862-5258 

Nov/Dec 

06 | 2017 

Highlights 

Films / Flexibles / Bags | 12 

Polyurethanes / Elastomers | 14 

Basics 

Blown Film Extrusion | 48 

ITALY / FRANCE- 

Special 

... is read in 92 countries

BIO-FLEX 

NEXT GENERATION 

✓ 40 % bio-based 

✓ Home compostable 

✓ Outstanding contact transparency 

✓ Meets the requirements of the 

French Energy Transmission Law

Editorial 

dear 

readers 

Films, Flexibles, Bags is traditionally the first highlight topic of every December issue of 

bioplastics MAGAZINE. While it is one that, in the past, has always proven to be among the 

most popular, this year apparently there was surprisingly little news to report. Fortunately, 

this was more than made up for by the unexpected outpour of 

contributions we received on the topic Polyurethanes/Elastomers 

and related building blocks, which will bring our readers up to date 

on the latest developments in this area. 

Then, for those of you, who missed it… On page 10 we present this 

year’s winner of the Global Bioplastics Award. 

As always, we’ve rounded up 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. 

Lastly, I’d like to remind you of the 5th PLA World Congress in 

Munich/Germany next May – the call for papers is still open. If 

you have an interesting topic to report on, please let us know. The 

same goes for the first PHA platform World Congress in Cologne/ 

Germany next September. 

Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a relaxing time 

over the holidays as this year comes to an end. Together with 

you, our readers, we look forward with confidence to a new year 

of challenges, innovations - and events. On our calendar, we’ve already marked 

down Chinaplas, taking place next year at a new location in Shanghai, NPE in Orlando, 

NatureWorks’ ITR in September and a host of other conferences. We’ll be covering these 

events, and more - and we hope to see you there, too. 

EcoComunicazione.it 

WWW.MATERBI.COM COME TO VISIT US AT 

28 • 29 november 2017 

MARITIM PROARTE HOTEL • BERLIN 

adv mela se tore_bioplasticmagazine_11.12.2017_210x297_flagEBC_ese.indd 1 03/11/17 15:22 

r2_11.2017 

bioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 12 

ISSN 1862-5258 

... is read in 92 countries 

Nov/Dec 


Highlights 



Basics 



Special 

Until then, please enjoy reading this latest issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE. 

Sincerely yours 

Michael Thielen 

In this issue we have a closer 

look to France and Italy. . 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/17] Vol. 12 3

Content 

Imprint 

Nov / Dec 06|2017 

Bioplastic Award 

10 And the winner is ... 

Films/Flexibles/Bags 

12 Compostable film resins from Malaysia 

13 Mulch films and more 

Polyurethanes/Elastomers 

14 Biobased EP(D)M 

16 Renewable Polyols 

17 Congratulations - 10 years soy foam in Ford cars 

18 Biobased thermoplastic elastomer compounds 

20 Bio-succinic acid 

23 New biobased lactide polyol polyesters 

24 Injection molders who have made bioplastics work 

26 Sugar for extra grip 

Processing 

27 Optimize Processability 

Materials 

30 Biobased adhesives 

From Science & Research 

34 PEF: an alternative with a future 

36 Aconitic acid as a building block for bioplastics 

36 Flexible barrier film 

37 From municipal waste to bioplastics 

Applications 

44 Hot compost bin 

45 Race Tesla with bio-composites 

Report 

46 Product communication 

50 Situation in France 

3 Editorial 

5 News 

28 Material News 

37 Application News 

48 Basics 

52 Opinion 

55 Brand Owner 

56 10 years ago 

57 Survey 

58 Suppliers Guide 

61 Event Calendar 

52 Companies in this issue 

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 

s.brangenberg@samsales.de 

Chris Shaw (English language) 

Chris Shaw Media Ltd 

Media Sales Representative 

phone: +44 (0) 1270 522130 

mobile: +44 (0) 7983 967471 

and Michael Thielen (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: 3.500 copies 

bioplastics magazine 

ISSN 1862-5258 

bM is published 6 times a year. 

This publication is sent to qualified subscribers 

(149 Euro for 6 issues). 

From Jan 2018 on: EUR 169 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 

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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. 

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A part of this print run is mailed to the 

readers wrapped in bioplastic envelopes 

sponsored by Taghleef Industries, S.p.A., 

Maropack GmbH & Co. KG, and SFV- 

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daily upated news at 


News 

Ellen MacArthur Foundation issues call to ban 

oxo-degradable plastic packaging 

A new statement from the Ellen MacArthur foundation 

that proposes banning oxo-degradable plastic packaging 

worldwide was endorsed by over 150 organisations around 

the globe. Signatories include leading businesses, industry 

associations, NGOs, scientists, and elected officials. 

Oxo-degradable plastic packaging, including carrier 

bags, is often marketed as a solution to plastic pollution, 

with claims that such plastics degrade into harmless 

residues within a period ranging from a few months to 

several years. However, as outlined in a new statement 

by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics 

Economy initiative, significant evidence indicates that 

oxo-degradable plastics do not degrade into harmless 

residues, but instead fragment into tiny pieces of plastic 

and contribute to microplastic pollution, posing a risk to 

the ocean and other ecosystems, potentially for decades 

to come. 

“The available evidence overwhelmingly suggests oxodegradable 

plastics do not achieve what their producers 

claim and instead contribute to microplastic pollution. In 

addition, these materials are not suited for effective longterm 

reuse, recycling at scale or composting, meaning they 

cannot be part of a circular economy,” said Rob Opsomer, 

Lead for Systemic Initiatives at the Ellen MacArthur 

Foundation. In other words: “Oxo-degradable plastic 

packaging is not a solution to plastic pollution, and does 

not fit in a circular economy.” 

Signatories of the Foundation’s statement include M&S, 

PepsiCo, Unilever, Veolia, British Plastics Federation, Gulf 

Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association, Packaging 

South Africa, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Plymouth Marine 

Laboratory, and ten Members of the European Parliament. 

In total, over 150 organisations, including leading 

businesses representing every step of the plastics supply 

chain, industry associations, NGOs, scientists, and elected 

officials have endorsed the statement calling for global 

action to avoid widescale environmental risk. 

“Using oxo-degradable additives is not a solution 

for litter. Their use in waste management systems will 

likely cause negative outcomes for the environment and 

communities,” said Erin Simon, Director of Sustainability 

Research and Development, World Wildlife Fund. “When 

public policy supports the cascading use of materials – 

systems where materials get reused over and over, this 

strengthens economies and drives the development of 

smarter materials management systems. This leads to 

wins for both the environment and society.” 

However, oxo-degradable plastics are still produced in 

many European countries, including the UK, and marketed 

across the world as safely biodegradable. Several countries 

in the Middle-East and Africa, including the United Arab 

Emirates, Saudi Arabia, areas of Pakistan, Yemen, Ivory 

Coast, South Africa, Ghana and Togo, are still promoting 

the use of oxo-degradable plastics or have even made their 

use mandatory. 

To create a plastics system that works, the Ellen 

MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, 

together with the signing organisations, supports 

innovation that designs out waste and pollution, and keeps 

products and materials in high-value use in line with the 

principles of a circular economy MT 

The complete statement can be downloaded from 

tinyurl.com/ban-oxodegr 

Bio-on completes construction of the world's 

largest PHA fermenters 

Bio-on (Bologna, Italy), one of the main players in the new eco-sustainable chemical industry, recently announced the 

completion of the fermenters that are at the heart of the production technology for 100% biodegradable and natural bioplastic 

at the Bio-on plant set to open next year. This big technological challenge has enabled the world's largest fermenters to be 

built with a capacity of over 100 thousand litres and a height of over 13 metres. These large silos will house the fermentation 

process in which bacteria produce PHA bioplastics. 

The new fermenters have been designed by Bio-on's technical staff (ENG Business Unit) in collaboration with RAF, the inhouse 

team of scientists that developed the various stages of aerobic fermentation over the last 4 years. The two fermenters, 

which have just been delivered, will be transported and installed at the Bio-on Plants site in Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna 

and will contribute towards the upcoming production of biopolymers for cosmetic use. MT 

www.bio-on.it 


News 



European Parliament supports use of 

biodegradable mulch films 

On October 24, 2017, the Plenary of the European Parliament 

voted in favour of supporting biodegradable mulch films in the 

revision of the EU Fertilizers Regulation. European Bioplastics 

(EUBP), the association for the bioplastics industry in Europe, 

welcomes the outcome. “The inclusion of biodegradable 

mulches in the EU Fertilizers Regulation will help to harmonise 

regulations across the EU Member States and to create a 

single market for bio-based and biodegradable materials used 

in agriculture”, says François de Bie, Chairman of EUBP. 

The amendments, which have already been approved by the 

Parliament’s Committees on Internal Market and Consumer 

Protection (IMCO), on Agriculture and Rural Development 

(AGRI), and on the Environment, Public Health and Food 

Safety (ENVI) in July earlier this year, acknowledge the innovative potential of biodegradable mulch films to provide positive 

agronomical effects and to help avoid the accumulation of microplastics on fields. Biodegradable mulch films have been 

available on the EU market for many years, meeting a high level of acceptance among European farmers. They play an essential 

role in modern agriculture as help to increase yield, improve the quality of crops, enhance weed control, and reduce water 

irrigation and pesticides. Additionally, they offer distinctive advantages at the end of the crop cycle as they can be left on the 

field and ploughed under. 

The approved amendments on biodegradable mulch films are linked to the criteria of the upcoming European standard CEN 

FprEN 17033 on biodegradation of plastic mulch films in soil developed by CEN-Technical Committee 249 on Plastics. The 

standard is expected to be published at the beginning of 2018. MT 

www.european-bioplastics.org 

BPI taps DIN CERTCO 

for third-party compostability verification 

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI)’s Board of Directors recently announced that DIN CERTCO has been hired for the 

administration of technical reviews under the BPI certification program, effective December 1, 2017. 

BPI (New York, USA) operates North America’s leading certification for compostable products, with over 6,500 products 

currently approved based on ASTM’s scientific standards. DIN CERTCO (Berlin, Germany) has more than 2 decades of 

experience administering compostability certification for groups such as European Bioplastics Association and Australasia 

Bioplastics, as well as its own certifications. 

Certification for compostable products is critical for ensuring that items have been properly tested, meet international 

standards, and can be identified as such by composters, municipalities, restaurants, consumers, and others engaged in the 

diversion of organic waste. US-states like California and Maryland have laws requiring any product marketed as compostable 

to meet these standards, and BPI certification is widely acknowledged as the best means of doing so. 

“We are excited to partner with DIN CERTCO for this next phase of our certification program, as they 

are a recognized leader in the compostability field,” says Rhodes Yepsen, Executive Director of BPI. “This 

will not change the appearance of the BPI certification to those who trust and rely on it. However, offices 

in China and Taiwan will assist with the growing number of companies located overseas, and technical 

expertise will ensure continued strength in compostability claims for products and packaging that are 

increasingly complex in nature.” 

“This is an excellent opportunity for BPI and DIN CERTCO to provide our 

customers the best service possible. We are convinced that we are able to 

provide a value added service with our experts, since we have been active in the 

field of industrial compostable products for more than 20 years.” adds Robert 

Zorn, Managing Director of DIN CERTCO. “Together with BPI we will be able to 

provide customers a one-stop solution to access several markets in one go.” MT 

www.bpiworld.org | www.dincertco.de/en 

6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/17] Vol. 12

News 

Braskem and Haldor Topsoe partner to develop 

biobased MEG 

Braskem (São Paulo, Brazil) and Haldor Topsoe (Lyngby, 

Denmark) have signed a technological cooperation agreement 

to develop a pioneering route to produce monoethylene glycol 

(MEG) from sugar. The agreement calls for the construction 

of a demonstration plant in Denmark, with operation slated 

to begin in 2019. 

MEG is a key component of e.g. PET resin. The project is 

based on a two-step process developed at Topsoe’s labs along 

with own catalysts, and focuses on the conversion of sugar 

into MEG at a single industrial unit, which will reduce initial 

investment in the production and boost the competitiveness 

of the process. 

“This novel biobased initiative allies a cutting-edge 

technology with deep expertise in process design, scaleup 

and industrial operation, which will allow us to push the 

renewable chemistry to a whole new level. After the Green 

Polyethylene, this is another major step forward in our 

vision of using renewable polymers as a carbon capture tool 

and keep contributing to a more sustainable future.” said 

Mateus Lopes, head of Innovation in Renewable Chemicals at 

Braskem. 

With the agreement, Braskem wants to expand its 

portfolio of renewable products to offer new solutions that 

complement its biobased polyethylene marketed with the 

I’m green TM seal. “With this new partnership, we strengthen 

our position as protagonists in the development of innovative 

solutions that will leverage the competitiveness of different 

biomasses and complement the traditional solutions offered 

by the petrochemical industry,” said Gustavo Sergi, director of 

Renewable Chemicals at Braskem. 

“Catalysis will play an extremely important role in the 

development of sustainable solutions that produce important 

chemicals from renewable sources such as sugars. We are 

proud to deliver the ground-breaking technology for the 

project with Braskem, and we look forward to applying our 

world-leading competencies within catalysis and process 

engineering in the further commercialization of this important 

technology,” said Kim Knudsen, Executive Vice President at 

Haldor Topsoe. 

The demonstration plant will conduct tests to validate the 

technology and confirm its technical and economic feasibility, 

which is a critical step before launching production on an 

industrial scale and commercial operations. The unit will be 

flexible to validate the technology in different raw materials 

such as sucrose, dextrose and second-generation sugars. MT 

www.braskem.com.br | www.topsoe.com 

biocompositescc.com 

Sustainable eyeware solutions 

API (Mussolente, Italy) an Italian company that specializes 

in the production of thermoplastic elastomeric compounds 

and bioplastics that was acquired by global materials 

company Trinseo (headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, 

USA) in July 2017, has announced a green partnership 

with EMS-GRIVORY (Domat/Ems, Switzerland), a leading 

Swiss manufacturer of high performance polymers and 

supplier of structural materials in the eyewear industry. 

The partnership aims at developing a series of sustainable 

eyewear solutions with a lower environmental impact, 

providing customers with cutting-edge materials. 

The demand to combine soft elastomeric compounds with 

hard substrates has been constantly increasing. Engineers 

from both companies will collaborate on combining 

the adhesion modified soft-touch TPE (Thermoplastic 

Elastomers) with the harder Ems Grilamid TR ® or Grilamid ® 

BTR materials, thereby fully complying with the VDI 2019 

standard. API and Ems-Grivory will work on the development 

of specific bio-solutions, both on a fossil and renewable basis. 

“We are excited to partner with Ems-Grivory as we focus 

our combined expertise serving a broader and greener 

product range,” says Giancarlo Busa, Business Unit Manager, 

Footwear & Sporting Goods, API. “Our materials will satisfy 

social, economic and environmental benefits, without 

imposing performance limitations. We strongly believe in the 

future of innovative and sustainable solutions for eyewear.” 

Ems-Grivory showcased 

their eyewear products 

at the 25 th HKTDC 

Hong Kong Optical Fair 

(8‐10 November 2017). 

www.APIplastic.com 

www.trinseo.com/API-plastic 

www.emsgrivory.com 


News 



Erratum 

In our last issue we published an article about Cathay 

Biotech: "Advances in textile applications for biobased 

polyamide". However we made a mistake in the title of 

Fig 3. 

We sincerely apologize. Please find the correct picture 

below. MT 

25 — 

20 — 

15 — 

10 — 

5 — 

0 — 

0 2 3 4 8 

Terryl 

www.cathaybiotech.com/en 

K/S 

PA6 

PA66 

Figure 3: Terryl uses less dye to achieve 

the same dyeing performance 

New PHA plant 

Hydal Corporation (headquartered in Singapore) will 

start the production of a PHA biopolymer (PHB) in Slovakia 

on the site of its Slovak partner. It is the first industrial plant 

for production of this biopolymer. Hydal biotechnology 

enables the production from used cooking oil. 

The production capacity of the factory in the first phase 

will be 1.000 tonnes with up-scaling up to 10.000 tonnes 

of PHB per year. Production will begin at the end of 2018. 

PHB will be used to develop and manufacture their own 

nonoilen bioplastic solution and for cosmetic applications. 

The Hydal Corporation was founded by two EU partners: 

NAFIGATE Corporation – owner of biopolymer PHA 

production technology know-how and Panara Ltd. – owner 

of biopolymer blends process technology know-how. 

Contribution of both companies in the form of patented, 

unique industrial know-how gives Hydal Corporation 

very big potential to succeed in the worldwide market 

expansion. 

Besides technology know-how, both partners are 

experts in the area of bio-technologies and bio-plastics 

processing. Both founders have strong R&D base and 

technical support which increases the potential of 

successful investments into project in each phase of its 

realization. 

www.hydalbiotech.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: 

New Studies Confirm: Biodegradable 

Plastics Boost Organic Recycling and 

Improve Mechanical Recycling (17 Oct 2017) 

Biodegradable plastics offer innovative solutions to 

improve recycling quality by facilitating the means for 

more efficient separate waste collection. 

more at tinyurl.com/news-20171017 

This has been 

confirmed by a new 

study concerning 

the effects of 

biodegradable plastics 

on plastics recycling 

streams in Italy, 

where all single-use 

carrier bags have to 

be compostable since 

2011.... 

Online toolbox for easier 

biobased procurement 

The European project InnProBio has launched an online 

toolbox for biobased procurement in the public sector. 

The toolbox includes an online database of biobased 

products and suppliers, good practice examples, 

procurement instruments and standard tender text blocks. 

The toolbox is available in English, German, Dutch and Polish. 

The toolbox is a starting point for public buyers to get 

informed about the various biobased products available on 

the market. It includes a database of products and suppliers 

of biobased products. Information about the biobased 

content, sustainability, functionality and end-of-life aspects 

such as biodegradability are also included. Claims are 

supported by references to standards, technical sheets, 

labels and certificates. Producers and suppliers of biobased 

products are invited to add their products to the database. 

In addition, the toolbox provides instruments that can 

support the procurement of biobased products: good 

practice examples showing how biobased procurement 

is successfully implemented in practice, information 

on procurement instruments most relevant in biobased 

procurement, and sample tender text blocks that can be 

used when putting together tender documents. 

http://tools.innprobio.eu 


organized by 

5 th PLA World Congress 

29-30 MAY* 2018 MUNICH › GERMANY 

is a versatile bioplastics raw 

PLA material from renewable resources. 

It is being used for films and rigid packaging, 

for fibres in woven and non-woven applications. 

Automotive industry and consumer electronics 

are thoroughly investigating and even already 

applying PLA. New methods of polymerizing, 

compounding or blending of PLA have broadened 

the range of properties and thus the range 

of possible applications. 

That‘s why bioplastics MAGAZINE is now 

organizing the 5 th PLA World Congress on: 

29-30 May* 2018 in Munich / Germany 

Experts from all involved fields will share their 

knowledge and contribute to a comprehensive 

overview of today‘s opportunities and challenges 

and discuss the possibilities, limitations 

and future prospects of PLA for all kind of 

applications. Like the four previous congresses 

the 5 th PLA World Congress will also offer 

excellent networking opportunities for all 

delegates and speakers as well as exhibitors 

of the table-top exhibition. 

The team of bioplastics MAGAZINE is looking 

forward to seeing you in Munich. 

The conference will comprise high class presentations on 

› Latest developments 

› Market overview 

call for papers still open 

› High temperature behaviour 

› Blends and comounds 

› Additives / Colorants 

› Applications (film and rigid packaging, textile, 

automotive,electronics, toys, and many more) 

Sponsor: 

Contact us at: mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

for exhibition and sponsoring opportunities 

www.pla-world-congress.com 

* date subject to changes 

› Fibers, fabrics, textiles, nonwovens 

› Reinforcements 

› End of life options 

(recycling,composting, incineration etc) 

Supported by: 


Award 

And the winner is ... 

The 12 th Global Bioplastics Award 2017 goes 

to MAIP Srl for a newly developed PHBH- 

Compound for ABB Light switch covers 

I 

am NATURE is a special PHBH based compound, available 

in tailor made grades and suitable for high temperature 

applications. It offers a sustainable solution preserving the 

technical properties of a traditional thermoplastic material. 

Maip has developed different bioplastics that are sold under 

the name of I am NATURE for several years. These PHBH 

based grades are compounded with mineral fillers, with 

water-repellent properties, natural fillers, natural based 

colours and additives of vegetal origin as well as functional 

components for specific requirements. The PHBH can also 

be blended with other biobased products such as PLA or 

with other biodegradable materials such as PBS, PBSA, 

PBAT, and others. 

For a new series of switch cover frames that should 

have an advanced design and a remarkable environment 

sustainability connotation, ABB was looking for a bioplastic 

material that could replace technopolymers such as ABS or 

PC/ ABS. In a joint development ABB and Maip succeeded 

in creating a special I am NATURE grade that is suitable to 

satisfy all the multiple requirements of the component. The 

new compound exhibits particular properties such as high 

dimensional stability, thermal resistance (about 130 °C), 

superior UV and light resistance, easy colourability and easy 

mouldability in multi cavity moulds. Easy processability and 

specific electric features such as for example a glow wire of 

650 °C at 2 mm. 

The most severe test of all, the scratch resistance, led to 

the development of special grades that show surprising mar 

/ scratch resistance values also in case of matte textures. 

The main properties that were achieved, allow the definition 

of the new I am NATURE as an actual Bio-Technopolymer 

that also allows to eliminate the painting (because of its 

good mass colourability) dramatically reducing the carbon 

footprint of the component. The switch covers were officially 

introduced to the market in Europe in September 2017. 

The judges were convinced of the concept. The 

application of the ABB light switch covers shows that the 

right combination of Polyhydroxyalkanoate polymers with 

other naturally based ingredients can lead to sophisticated 

applications. 

The prize was awarded to the winning company on 

November 28 th , 2017 during the 12 th European Bioplastics 

Conference in Berlin, Germany. MT 

www.maipsrl.com 


call for papers now open! 

Save the Date 

04-05 Sep 2018 

Cologne, Germany 

www.pha-world-congress.com 

PHA (Poly-Hydroxy-Alkanoates or polyhydroxy fatty acids) is a family of biobased 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 of polyhydroxy alkanoates. Here the micro-organisms store a particularly high level 

of energy reserves (up to 80% of their own body weight) for when their sources of nutrition become scarce. 

Examples for such Polyhydroxyalkanoates are PHB, PHV, PHBV, PHBH and many more. That’s why we speak 

about the PHA platform. 

This PHA-platform is made up of a large variety of bioplastics raw materials made from many different renewable 

resources. Depending on the type of PHA, they can be used for applications in films and rigid packaging, 

biomedical applications, automotive, consumer electronics, appliances, toys, glues, adhesives, paints, coatings, 

fibers for woven and non-woven and inks. So PHAs cover a broad range of properties and applications. 

That’s why bioplastics MAGAZINE and Jan Ravenstijn are now organizing the 1 st PHA-platform World Congress 

on 4-5 September 2018 in Cologne / Germany. 

This congress will address the progress, challenges and market opportunities for the formation of this new polymer 

platform in the world. Every step in the value chain will be addressed. Raw materials, polymer manufacturing, 

compounding, polymer processing, applications, opportunities and end-of-life options will be discussed by parties 

active in each of these areas. Progress in underlying technology challenges will also be addressed. 

Platinum Sponsor: 

Gold Sponsor: 

organized by 

Co-organized by Jan Ravenstijn


Mulch films 

and more 

Barbier Group Bioplastic films 

Barbier Group is a French family-owned company founded 

in 1955 and headquartered in Sainte-Sigolène near Lyon, 

Barbier extrudes, prints and recycles polyethylene films. 

Its activity focuses on three complementary markets: agriculture 

films, industrial packaging films and retailing (mainly garbage 

and carrier bags). 

National leader and in the top 10 producers of flexible 

polyethylene film in Europe, Barbier Group has always been 

committed to environmental issues. Indeed, in the 1980s, Barbier 

Group invested in a recycling plant in order to stop throwing 

away plastic waste. Initially focusing on post-production waste, 

this plant then began recycling post use plastic film as well. This 

marked the end of a linear model (manufacture, sell, discard) 

and the beginning of a circular economy (manufacture, sell, 

collect, recycle, manufacture …). This commitment to recycling 

activities carried on with the construction of a second recycling 

plant in 2015. 

In the 1990s, when the first biodegradable raw materials 

for flexible film applications became available on the market, 

Barbier Group decided to launch R&D projects aiming to develop 

biodegradable film. From the beginning, Barbier’s approach was 

the following: to use biodegradable raw materials only when they 

offered real benefits both for end-users and for the environment. 

Indeed biodegradability is only an additional function for a 

product and has to be promoted only when it represents the best 

option for product end of life. Too often biodegradability has been 

used primarily for marketing reasons. That is why Barbier Group 

works closely with its clients to understand their needs and how 

the product is used: 

• When plastic film is easy to collect and not too soiled, a 

recyclable product is advised 

• When plastic film is hard to collect and very soiled, a 

biodegradable product is advised 

The product life cycle is therefore thought of since its 

conception. 

In 2000, Barbier Group introduced its first biodegradable 

product into the market: a biodegradable mulching film (Bionov ® ). 

Standard mulching films (films made with polyethylene resins) 

are laid every year by farmers and should be removed after use 

because they are not biodegradable. This is very time consuming 

for them and it is difficult to recycle these soiled films. Thus 

bioplastic is really the right solution: there is no need to remove 

the plastic film and no ground pollution. 

To meet the requirements of the new Energy Transition for 

Green Growth Act (France) and also to meet the growing demand 

for eco-friendly bags, Barbier Group in collaboration with 

Novamont (a leading European producer of compostable and 

biosourced resins) developed a wholly compostable bag for home 

composting: Ma-ter-bio ® . This bag is an alternative to traditional 

non-biodegradable and non-compostable plastics packaging: 

Ma-ter-bio’s percentage of renewable content (obtained from 

locally sourced starch and sunflower oil), is at least 40 %, but 

can already be increased to over 50 %. This product reflects the 

commitment of Barbier to the circular economy and to a clean 

and environmentally friendly industry. 

In response to the same requirement, Barbier Group also 

developed a biodegradable home compostable mailing film. 

In 2017, and for the first time in Barbier Group’s history, 

biodegradable products will represent around 5 % of the 

company’s total production volume and the target is 8 % in 

the near future. www.babiergroup.com 

Magnetic 

for Plastics 

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Sustainable and eco-friendly bioplastics developer 

SECOS Group Limited (headquartered in Mt 

Waverley Victoria, Australia) recently announced 

its successful Malaysian operations will expand to 

commence manufacturing compostable resin in the 

first quarter of 2018. 

This supports Secos’ international growth strategy 

and follows ongoing business development at the 

Company’s production facility at Port Klang near Kuala 

Lumpur. Secos’ new strategic business unit will be 

named Cardia Bioplastics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and will 

operate under the Stellar Films (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd 

business the Company acquired in April 2015. 

The company’s establishment of a resin manufacturing 

facility furthers the strong green initiatives set by the 

Malaysian Government and encourages sustainable 

manufacturing. This move represents the outcome of 

18 months of government negotiations, dialogue with 

the Malaysian Plastics Association, and discussions 

with key players in the local film and bag industry. 

These green initiatives have culminated in the 

Malaysian Government awarding the new strategic 

business unit with Bionexus status. This recognition 

bestows fiscal incentives, grants and other guarantees 

to assist growth. Only certain qualified companies 

undertaking value-added biotechnology and/or life 

sciences activities qualify for Bionexus status. 

The business unit will commence operations having 

made strong sales of compostable resin (in excess of 35 

tonnes) to large-scale bag manufacturers in Malaysia. 

These initial sales have followed successful production 

trials, using resin Secos manufactured at its Nanjing, 

China plant. 

Secos Managing Director, Stephen Walters, said: 

“With single-use plastic bags having become a 

global ecological issue, we applaud the Malaysian 

Government for showing leadership and making a 

strong commitment to bioplastics. Establishing a 

new compostable resin plant in Malaysia will set the 

Company as a leader in the Malaysian bioplastics 

industry and provide Secos with a significant growth 

opportunity. 

The new plant will work closely with local film and 

bag producers to produce and market bioplastic resins 

that suit the needs of the large Malaysian bag market. 

The Malaysian plastics industry is estimated to be worth 

more than 5 billion EURO (A$8 bn) and is growing at 5 % 

to 8 % per annum, with a large percentage of this growth 

coming in the bioplastics sector. The Company expects 

to reap the benefit of additional synergies through its 

Stellar Films Malaysia business accelerating its use 

of bioplastics in products for the hygiene market. The 

Company is increasingly offering products with higher 

blends of biohybrid resin that decrease the use of oilbased 

plastics in baby diapers and feminine hygiene 

products. 

This initiative will strengthen Secos’ relationship with 

its customers as it opens the potential for innovative 

new products and guarantees continuity of supply.” MT 

www.secosgroup.com.au 

Compostable 

film resins 

from Malaysia 

Malaysian plant upgrade to meet 

demand for compostable resin 


Polyurethanes / Elastomers 

Biobased EP(D)M 

Focus on sustainability 

ARLANXEO Netherlands has made a pioneering move 

towards exploring a future based on renewable resources, 

by developing the world’s first biobased 

EP(D)M elastomers commercialized under the tradename 

Keltan ® Eco. 

Keltan Eco is produced from biobased ethylene supplied 

by Braskem which originates from sugar cane (Figure 1). 

The sugar from sugar cane is converted to ethanol, which is 

then dehydrated to ethylene by Braskem in their Brazilian 

Triunfo plant. This biobased ethylene is transported via a 

pipeline to the neighboring Arlanxeo EP(D)M polymerization 

plant. Depending on the ethylene content of the particular 

grade, the bio-carbon content of Keltan Eco elastomer 

ranges between 48 and 70 wt-%. 

Translating this to final rubber articles produced from 

EP(D)M compounds, a bio-carbon content of 15-20 wt-% 

can be achieved, if Keltan Eco is the only biobased ingredient 

of the compound (Figure 1). 

Keltan Eco gives the following benefits: 

• reduced dependence on fossil resources; 

• reduced carbon footprint due to use of sugar cane; 

• truly sustainable as validated by a Life Cycle Assessment 

performed by Thinkstep; 

• biobased content up to 70% measured and traced back 

by ASTM D6866 carbon-14 test performed by Beta 

Analytic. 

Figure 2 shows the Global Warming Potential of Keltan 

Eco. Depending on ethylene content the EP(D)M carbon 

footprint is reduced up to 82 % for Keltan Eco 5470 (70 

wt-% biobased ethylene) and up to 54 % for Keltan Eco 8550 

(55 wt‐% biobased ethylene). 

Figure 2 - Global Warming Potential of Keltan Eco 5470 

and 8850 compared to crude oil-based Keltan 5470 and 

8550, all produced in Triunfo plant (kg CO2-equiv. per ton 

polymer) (Data by Thinkstep). 

In essence Keltan Eco elastomers look, feel and behave 

like conventional crude oil-based EP(D)M, which show 

exceptional elasticity, flexibility, weather ability and durability. 

It can be mixed, moulded, extruded and calendared to 

produce rubber articles with excellent aesthetics. Arlanxeo 

has six Keltan Eco elastomers commercially available in its 

portfolio (Table 1). 

Typically, rubber articles not only consist of elastomer(s), 

but also of (reinforcing) filler(s), plasticizer(s), crosslinking 

agents and other additives. EP(D)M products may 

contain higher than 400 phr of compounding ingredients 

incorporated into 100 phr of EP(D)M elastomer. 

Carbon black is produced via incomplete combustion of 

a hydrocarbon feed with natural gas. Silica is produced via 

precipitation from a silicate salt solution. Inert white fillers, 

such as clay, talc and chalk are extracted from the ground 

in open mines and milled to fine powders. 

Traditional extender oils for EP(D)M are refinery fractions 

of crude oil. All of these ingredients, lack sustainability. 

In further efforts to increase the sustainability of EP(D)M 

rubber products based on Keltan Eco, the potential of using 

sustainable alternatives for traditional plasticizer oils and 

(reinforcing) fillers have been explored. 

Typical issues encountered when exploring relatively 

polar and unsaturated natural oils and fats in EP(D)M 

compounds are: 

• a lack of compatibility (mixing issues and oil bleeding); 

• competition for sulfur vulcanization (reduced crosslink 

density, inferior vulcanization properties). 

Modified natural oils, such as hydrogenated coconut oil or 

trans-esterified mono-esters have improved compatibility 

and/or vulcanization performance. 

Squalane (EPM hexamer) provides the best biobased 

alternative for mineral oil plasticizer, since it is as apolar as 

EP(D)M and is fully saturated. 

As far as sustainable fillers are concerned, pyrolysis black 

was shown to have a reinforcing efficiency 90 % of that of 

furnace N550 black. Rice husk ash and micro-cellulose do 

not show reinforcing properties, but can still be used as 

inert, white fillers, substituting certain traditional, mineral 

white fillers. 

Combining these sustainable plasticizer oils and 

(reinforcing) fillers has resulted in automotive solid seal 

EP(D)M compounds based on Keltan Eco with more than 

85 % sustainable content and properties comparable to 

the reference EP(D)M compounds, including heat ageing 

resistance up to 125 ºC. 

The final step towards a fully sustainable EP(D)M 

rubber compound would require the development of 

biobased rubber additives and curatives, which considering 

their chemical structure will be a long and challenging 

development. 

Aside improving sustainability of EP(D)M rubber products 

by compounding sustainable plasticizer oils, (reinforcing) 

fillers, another approach would be to develop a second 

generation Keltan Eco EP(D)M based on bio-ethylene 

ánd bio-propylene, which would bring the total biocarbon 

content of the EP(D)M elastomer, and sustainable 

compounds directly, to ~95 %. 



By: 

Joyce Kersjes 

Technical Manager 

Global M&S/TSAD Keltan EPDM 

Arlanxeo High Performance Elastomers 

Geleen, The Netherlands 

Table 1 - Keltan Eco EP(D)M portfolio and key properties 

For the future Arlanxeo and its raw material 

suppliers are assessing routes to increase the biocarbon 

content of the EP(D)M elastomer to a maximum 

attainable, amongst others via: 

• production of methanol from wood, followed by 

conversion of methanol to propylene; 

• sugar-based routes either via ethanol to ethylene 

and then via metathesis to propylene or via 

isopropanol to propylene; 

• direct fermentation of glucose using genetically 

engineered micro-organisms to a mixture of 

olefins, including propylene. 

The finishing touch to 100 % bio-carbon EP(D)M 

elastomer would be a biobased diene. 

As an example to stimulate interest, it can be 

mentioned that first experiments with an amorphous 

EP(D)M with 6 wt% 2,4-dimethyl-2,7-octadiene 

(natural terpene) as the diene, showed reasonable 

sulfur vulcanization characteristics and corresponding 

vulcanization properties, similar to a medium ENB- 

EP(D)M. 

Up till now Keltan Eco has received a positive 

response in the market and commercialization 

at customers is on-going in different application 

segments, like automotive and construction window 

and door sealing systems, as well as in hoses, innertubes, 

(bio-)plastics impact modification, TPE-V 

production, sport surfaces and sports goods. Some 

examples are displayed below. 

In conclusion: The broad portfolio of Keltan Eco 

EP(D)M elastomers offers the unique opportunity 

to industries to develop sustainable and bio-carbon 

based compounds and TPE-Vs for many applications. 

www.keltan.com | www.ARLANXEO.com 

[kg CO 2 

-Equiv] 

Sugar 

cane 

Crude oil 

Figure 2: Global Warming Potential of Keltan Eco 5470 and 8850 

compared to crude oil-based Keltan 5470 and 8550, all produced in 

Triunfo plant (kg CO 2 

-equiv. per ton polymer) (Data by Thinkstep) 

3,500 

3,000 

2,500 

2,000 

1,500 

1,000 

500 

0 

Grades 

Raw materials 

Ethanol 

Viscosity ML(1+4) 

(@ shown °C) [MU] 

Figure 1 - Route to biobased EP(D)M 

100% 

bio-based 

Ethylene 

0% 

bio-based 

C2 

[wt%] 

50-70% 

bio-based 

Keltan-Eco® 

EPDM 

ENB 

[wt%] 

Keltan Eco 0500R 11 g/10 min. (MFI) 49 - 

Keltan Eco 3050 51 (@ 100°C) 49 - 

Keltan Eco 5470 55 (@ 125°C) 70 4.6 

Keltan Eco 8550 80 (@ 125°C) 55 5.5 

Keltan Eco 6950 65 (@ 125°C) 48 9.0 

Keltan Eco 9950 60 (@ 150°C) 48 9.0 

15-20% biobased 

0% 

bio-based 

End products 

K5470 Triunfo K5470 Eco K8550 Triunfo K8550 Eco 



Renwable polyols 

Perstorp launches world’s first portfolio of renewable polyols 

Perstorp (Malmö, Sweden) recently announced the world’s 

first portfolio of renewable alternatives to the essential 

polyols Pentaerythritol (Penta), Trimethylolpropane (TMP), 

and Neopentyl glycol (Neo). The product portfolio was 

globally launched at China Coat (15-17 November 2017, 

Shanghai). The launch is a response to the fast growing 

global need for more sustainable Coatings, Resins and 

Synthetic Lubricants to mention a few. This means that 

Perstorp is the only chemical company in the world to offer 

all three essential polyols Penta, TMP and Neo in both 

traditional and renewable forms. 

World’s first renewable Penta, known as Voxtar, was 

launched in 2010. It can reduce carbon footprint by up to 

80 % compared to fossil alternatives. The addition of two 

new innovative products; Evyron (partly renewable TMP) 

and Neeture (partly renewable Neo) will give Perstorp’s 

customers a clear market advantage in creating proenvironmental 

low carbon footprint products. 

Anna Berggren, Global Market Segment Manager for 

Resins at Perstorp commented: “The time is right to add two 

new renewable polyols. The market demand for biobased 

material is rapidly increasing due to a strong focus on 

sustainable chemistry and renewable raw materials. We are 

committed to our environmental responsibility as well as 

to helping our customers in their sustainable development. 

We are dedicated to our pro-environment products, giving 

prioritized supply for pro-environmental partners at all 

times.” 

Committed to the pro-environmental walk 

Perstorp’s commitment to sustainability runs deep in the 

company led by CEO, Jan Secher. “This launch is a great 

achievement and I’m very proud of the engagement from 

our employees. It’s clear that we are looking to make a 

difference. Sustainability is in the core of everything we do 

which also makes it a perfect strategic fit.” 

Perstorp’s new pro-environment portfolio is a great 

example of how they intend to work towards their 2030 

ambition to become Finite Material Neutral. “It is a tough 

ambition but we have to do it. There is no plan B, because 

we only have one planet,” Jan continues. 

Currently Perstorp is devoting 80 % of its R&D resources 

to finding new sustainable solutions and in addition, all 

Perstorp Swedish plants will switch to using only renewable 

electricity in 2018. “With the new pro-environment products 

we are launching at China Coat, we are reaffirming that we 

believe our molecules can change things for the better”, 

Jan concludes. 

Good for business and good for the environment 

The two new Pro-Environment Polyols – Evyron and 

Neeture - complete the portfolio of the three essential 

polyols in renewable options. The new portfolio is based on 

a certified mass balance concept. Mass balance is about 

mixing fossil and renewable in the same existing systems 

but keeping track of their quantities and allocating them 

to specific products. This ensures that the quality and 

performance of the molecules are exactly the same giving 

customers a real go-pro-environmental choice. 

Perstorp’s Pro-Environment Polyols are all ISCC 

certified which among other things ensures a traceability 

of the biobased raw material back to its country of origin. 

Anna Berggren highlights: “The biobased material in our 

products is sustainably sourced and I am proud to say that 

Perstorp launches world´s first portfolio of renewable 

polyols. And even better, they will also be the first to become 

ISCC certified.” MT 

www.perstorp.com 



Congratulations! 

Ford Motor Company celebrates 10-year 

anniversary of soybean-based foam 

Ten years ago, the 2008 Ford Mustang launched with 

seats made of soybean-based foam. Today, soy foam 

has saved over 100,000 tonnes (228 million pounds) of 

CO 2 

from entering the atmosphere; the same as would be 

consumed by four million trees per year, according to a consumer 

horticulturist at North Carolina State University. 

Ford has used soy foam since the Mustang went into 

production in late 2007, replacing traditional petroleumbased 

foam that most industries use. Researching and 

testing renewable, plant-based alternatives to petroleumbased 

plastics is something Ford has been committed to 

since 2000. 

“From our labs to our suppliers, incorporating renewable 

materials into auto parts takes a lot of work, but it’s the right 

thing to do,” said Executive Chairman Bill Ford. “At Ford, we 

want to do our part to reduce our impact on the environment, 

and using more sustainable materials in the vehicle is one of 

the ways we are doing this.” 

Since 2011, every Ford vehicle built in North America uses 

the soy foam in seat cushions, backs and headrests. It meets 

the company’s strict requirements as a renewable solution 

and doesn’t compromise durability and performance. Over 

the past decade, approximately 18.5 million vehicles have 

been produced with soy foam in them - that’s over 578 billion 

soybeans. 

Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader, has been 

leading the sustainable materials effort from the beginning, 

and said it wasn’t easy convincing suppliers to do molding 

trials; especially when petroleum oil prices were available at 

a low cost. The United Soybean Board (USB) - a group located 

in Chesterfield, Missouri, USA, that oversees investments in 

soybean innovations nationwide - played an integral role in 

funding the initial trials, and Bill Ford kept the project moving 

through all obstacles. 

“We may not have ever gone to 

market with soy foam if Bill Ford had not been at the helm,” 

Mielewski said. “It was a project that would only move forward 

with both a visionary and an environmentalist in the driver’s 

seat, so to speak, and we were lucky to have him there.” 

In 2008, when oil prices skyrocketed, the value of soy foam 

became widely apparent - not only was replacing petroleumbased 

polyol with soy beneficial to the environment, it could 

also save the company money. 

Ford worked tirelessly with other industries to help them 

formulate foams that met their specific requirements, like 

agriculture, furniture and home goods, allowing them the 

chance to also incorporate it into their products - stretching 

the environmental benefits even further. 

“We knew that putting farm materials into a performance 

car like the Mustang could be met with a lot of skepticism,” 

said Mielewski. “But we also knew that if we succeeded, the 

foam we created could, over time, make a positive impact.” 

After the success of soy foam, Ford began the development 

of other renewable materials to reinforce plastics in vehicles, 

including wheat straw, rice hulls and cellulose fibers from 

sustainably grown trees, coconut fibers and kenaf. The 

sustainable materials research team is currently working on 

approximately 20 other unlikely sustainable candidates for 

auto parts - tomato peels, agave fiber (tequila), recycled U.S. 

currency, dandelions and algae to name a few. They continue 

to work with the USB to develop soy-based materials for 

rubber components like tires and gaskets. 

“Soy foam was an important first step, but we still have 

a lot of work to do,” said Mielewski. “There are many more 

opportunities arising to reduce our environmental impact, 

and with resources becoming more constrained, it becomes 

more important that we explore them.” MT 

www.ford.com | unitedsoybean.org 



Biobased 

thermoplastic 

elastomer 

compounds 

In response to increasing demands for sustainable alternatives 

to fossil based flexible polymer compounds, international 

compounding group, HEXPOL ® TPE, launched 

the Dryflex ® Green family of biobased Thermoplastic Elastomers 

(TPE) in 2015. Since then they have continued to develop 

the range, adding new possibilities to the biobased 

thermoplastic market by covering a wider range of hardnesses 

while incorporating high levels of renewable content. 

TPEs are often described as the bridge between rubber 

and plastics, they combine elasticity, flexibility and softness 

similar to rubber with the recyclability and processing 

advantages of plastics. Hexpol TPE were among the first 

companies to develop TPE compounds in Europe and they 

built on their 50 years heritage in the flexible polymers 

market in developing their biobased materials. Dryflex 

Green TPE compounds are available from 15 Shore A 

through to 55 Shore D. The range includes grades with 

biobased content over 90 % (ASTM D 6866), achieved by 

use of sustainable raw materials and feedstocks such as 

sugarcane, with recognised certifications such as ISCC+ 

and can derive from raw materials such as polymers, fillers, 

plasticizers or additives. 

For applications wanting a look even closer to nature, 

Hexpol TPE has developed compounds using organic fillers 

and natural fibres from plants, crops or trees, including 

cork, these give an additional ‘organic’ appearance. Cork 

is a natural product which comes from the bark of the cork 

oak tree. The removal of the bark does not harm the trees 

and the bark is only harvested after the first 20 years of 

growth. The removal stimulates a steady regeneration of 

the bark. 

Dryflex Green TPE compounds display mechanical 

and physical properties close to and comparable to TPE 

compounds from fossil based raw materials. In general 

the Dryflex Green compounds show very good bonding 

behaviour to PE and PP, special grades with good bonding 

to ABS, PET and PLA are also available. Like conventional 

TPE compounds, Dryflex Green TPEs can easily be coloured 

to give vibrant and appealing visual impact. Grades suitable 

for food contact are also available. 

Dryflex Green TPE compounds can be used in many 

applications that currently use conventional TPE and 

flexible polymers, such as soft-touch grips and handles, 

sealings, mats and closures, Klas Dannäs, Global R&D 

manager at Hexpol TPE commented “We’re seeing some 

very interesting development projects for the Dryflex Green 

materials; for applications ranging from household goods, 

sports equipment and toys to automotive interiors, packaging 

and infant care. Our R&D teams are constantly evaluating new 

polymer combinations and we have been working closely with 

suppliers to develop sustainable and ethical alternatives to 

fossil-based polymer compounds.” MT 

www.hexpolTPE.com 

HEXPOL TPE 

worked with Wildo 

Sweden AB on the 

development of 

a biobased TPE 

for their iconic 

Fold-A-Cup. 

Typical Percentage of Bio-Content vs Hardness in Biobased TPEs 

Table 1: Typical Properties of Representative Dryflex Green Grades 

HARDNESS (1) 

ISO 868 

BIOBASED 

CARBON 

CONTENT 

% on TOC 

ASTM 

D6866-12 

DENSITY 

g/cm³ 

TENSILE 

STRENGTH (2) 

MPa 

ISO 2781 ISO 37 (Type 1) 

ELONGATION 

AT BREAK (2) 

% 

ISO 37 

(Type 1) 

25 Shore A >40 0.89 1.3 500 

40 Shore A >40 0.91 2 410 

50 Shore A >80 0.89 5 500 

60 Shore A >75 0.91 5 360 

70 Shore A >50 0.93 8 700 

80 Shore A >80 0.91 6 500 

55 Shore D >70 0.94 20 900 

(1) 

After 15 seconds, (2) Across the flow direction 


© 

3,5 

actual data 

3 

2,5 

2 

1,5 

1 

0,5 

2011 2012 2013 

L-LA 

Epichlorohydrin 

Succinic 

1,4-BDO 

acid 

-Institut.eu | 2017 

forecast 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 

Sebacic 

MEG 

Ethylene 

1,3-PDO 

MPG 

Lactide 

acid 

2,5-FDCA D-LA 

11-Aminoundecanoic acid 

Adipic 

DDDA 

acid 

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

© 

100% 

80% 

60% 

40% 

20% 

0% 

-Institut.eu | 2017 

PBS(X) 

APC – 

cyclic 

PA 

PET 

PTT 

PBAT 

Starch 

Blends 

PHA 

PLA 

PE 

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

© 

10 

5 

0 

2011 2012 

PUR 

PA 

-Institut.eu | 2016 

actual data 

2% of total 

polymer capacity, 

€13 billion turnover 

2013 2014 2015 2016 

Epoxies PET 

CA 

PBS 

PBAT PHA 

2017 

Starch 

Blends 

EPDM 

2018 

PLA 

APC 

2019 2020 

PE 

PEF 

2021 

PTT 

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

Bio-based Polymers & Building Blocks 

The best market reports available 

Data for 

2016 

Commercialisation updates on 

bio-based building blocks 

Standards and labels for 

bio-based products 

Bio-based polymers, a revolutionary change 

Bio-based Building Blocks 

and Polymers 

Selected bio-based building blocks: Evolution of worldwide 

production capacities from 2011 to 2021 

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

and polymers based on FDCA and SA: Latest developments, 

producers, drivers and lessons learnt 

Global Capacities and Trends 2016 – 2021 

million t/a 

Bio-based polymers, a 

revolutionary change 

million t/a 

Bio-based polymers: Evolution of worldwide 

production capacities from 2011 to 2021 

Jan Ravenstijn 2017 

E-mail: j.ravenstijn@kpnmail.nl 

Mobile: +31.6.2247.8593 

Picture: Gehr Kunststoffwerk 

Author: Doris de Guzman, Tecnon OrbiChem, United Kingdom 

July 2017 

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

www.bio-based.eu/reports 

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 



Authors: Florence Aeschelmann (nova-Institute), 

Michael Carus (nova-institute) and ten renowned international experts 

February 2017 

This is the short version of the market study (249 pages, € 2,000). 

Both are available at www.bio-based.eu/reports. 

Policies impacting bio-based 

plastics market development 

and plastic bags legislation in Europe 

Asian markets for bio-based chemical 

building blocks and polymers 

Brand Views and Adoption of 

Bio-based 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 

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 

Bestsellers 

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 



Author: Dr. Harald Kaeb, narocon Innovation Consulting, Germany 

January 2016 



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. 


www.co2-chemistry.eu 

Leading Event on 

Carbon Capture and Utilisation 

15 – 16 March 2018, Cologne (Germany) 

Conference Team 

Jutta Millich 

Partners, Media Partners 

+49 (0)0561 503580-44 

jutta.millich@nova-institut.de 

Dr. Asta Partanen 

Sponsoring 

+49 (0)2233 4814-59 

asta.partanen@nova-institut.de 

Achim Raschka 

Programme 

+49 (0)2233 4814-51 

achim.raschka@nova-institut.de 

Conference highlights and main topics 

• CO 2 

for feed – proteins made from carbon dioxide 

• CO 2 

for platform chemicals and polymers 

• CO 2 

for future fuels 

• CO 2 

for aviation kerosene 

• Sustainability & climate change 

mitigation potential 

• Key drivers: renewable energy 

& hydrogen production 

• Artificial photosynthesis as future technology 

• Political framework & visions 

Newsticker on 

Carbon Capture and Utilisation! 

Free access: 

www.co2-chemistry.eu/news 

www.co2-chemistry.eu 

Dominik Vogt 

Conference Manager 

+49 (0)2233 4814-49 

dominik.vogt@nova-institut.de 

Venue 

Maternushaus 

Kardinal-Frings-Str. 1 

50668 Cologne 

www.maternushaus.de 

Organiser 

nova-Institut GmbH 

Chemiepark Knapsack 

Industriestraße 300 

50354 Hürth, Germany 



Bio-succinic acid: 

A frontrunner for high-performance biobased polyurethanes and beyond 

Biobased polyurethanes (PU) and packaging are 

increasingly being used for consumer goods and becoming 

more common in stores and supermarkets. Following this 

trend, the platform chemicals required to manufacture 

sustainable biomaterials are also becoming more readily 

available. Biosuccinium ® , the renewable bio-succinic 

acid produced by Dutch biotech company Reverdia 

(Geleen), continues to demonstrate strong opportunities 

for polyurethanes and bioplastic products. These modern 

materials offer enhanced performance for footwear, the 

automotive industry and other market sectors. 

VAUDE (Tettnang, Germany), a manufacturer of innovative 

outdoor products, is already benefiting from the winning 

footprint of bio-succinic acid. The company recently 

announced that it will reduce its dependency on oil by replacing 

conventional materials with those derived from Biosuccinium. 

Sustainable footwear with benefits 

As a near drop-in for adipic acid, bio-succinic acid can 

be used to produce biobased polyester polyols, which have 

been well received in the footwear industry. Vaude’s new 

Skarvan range of trekking shoes will use Biosucciniumbased 

thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) in its shoe toe 

caps and heel counters. It is the first time the brand will use 

a biobased TPU in its shoes and the range will be available 

to consumers in spring 2018. 

This is a clear example of how biobased chemicals can 

help producers meet growing customer demands for more 

sustainable products. Vaude is committed to minimising 

the environmental footprint of its products while not 

compromising on high-end design and sturdy quality. 

The brand has previously demonstrated this by being the 

first outdoor company to be certified under the EU’s Ecomanagement 

and Audit Scheme (EMAS). 

Reverdia views the growing trend of biobased consumer 

goods as a positive sign of things to come. High-performance 

biobased footwear on store shelves is just one example. In 

2017, it showcased a range of cutting-edge 

Biosuccinium-based polyurethanes at 

PSE Europe in Munich, Germany. 

These PU prototypes could be used across markets. They 

have a significantly reduced environmental footprint due 

to the renewable raw materials used and the sustainable 

technology which produces the biobased chemicals. 

Biobased content reached 60 % in some samples. The 

biomaterials can be used for applications such as industrial 

components (cast PU), artificial leather (PU dispersion), 

footwear products including sole plates (TPU) for soccer 

boots and trainers for other field sports, as well as casual 

shoe soles (microcellular PU). 

In China, Reverdia and Dezhou Xinhuarun Technology 

(Xinhuarun) have signed an agreement to jointly develop 

and promote microcellular PU foams. Xinhuarun’s products 

are exported across Asia, America, Europe and the Middle 

East. The manufacturer will work exclusively with Reverdia, 

using Biosuccinium in its shoe soles and will expand the 

partnership towards development and commercialisation 

of other sustainable polymers with excellent functionality 

and best-in-class eco-footprint. 

One step beyond! 

It is not only footwear products which can benefit from 

switching to bio-succinic acid. Biosuccinium-based 

materials could also offer enhanced performance for the 

automotive and aircraft industries. Flexible PU foams 

with various densities have been synthesised by partially 

replacing traditional polyols with Biosuccinium-based 

polyols. 

Recently in Italy, the Institute for Polymers, Composites 

and Biomaterials (Naples), the Institute for Macromolecular 

Studies (Milan) and Adler Plastic (Ottaviano) published 

studies showing bio-succinic acid-based flex foam with 

improved mechanical and acoustic performance. Amongst 

those benefits are a positive effect on the foams’ compressive 

performance and their increased sound absorption level. 

With these benefits, the foams made with bio-succinic 

acid could be considered as potential substitutes to reduce 

vibrations and noise pollution and consequently increase 

comfort. 

Bio-succinic 

acid-running 

shoes pair 

grey green 



By: 

Bio-succinic 

acid-Microcellular 

PU collage 

Lawrence Theunissen 

Global Director Application Development 

Reverdia, Geleen, The Netherlands 

An unrelated 

agreement between 

Reverdia and Covestro 

was announced in 2015 to 

jointly develop and promote 

TPU based on renewable 

raw materials. Covestro 

will use Biosuccinium 

in the production of its 

Desmopan ® -brand TPU 

for a variety of applications 

beyond footwear, such as apparel and 

consumer electronics. Beyond biobased PU, 

bio-succinic acid is also enabling leading developments in 

plastic packaging and resins. 

Developments in sustainable packaging 

Polybutylene succinate (PBS) is one of the newest 

biopolymers under development for numerous applications 

worldwide. Biosuccinium can be used to create PBS for 

plastics and packaging. Traditionally, PBS is based on 

petrochemical succinic acid and 1,4 butanediol (1,4 BDO). 

Petro-based PBS is already biodegradable. However, 

Biosuccinium can boost PBS’s biobased content, making it 

even more sustainable. 

PBS has a range of interesting properties including 

flexibility and heat resistance. The material can be used 

as a matrix polymer or as a modifier to be combined with 

another chemical such as polylactic acid (PLA). PBS offers 

opportunities for a wide range of applications like food 

packaging, coffee cups, paper lamination, agricultural 

mulch films, non woven, electrics and electronics, and 

automotive interiors. 

In order to further broaden the application scope for PBS, 

Reverdia operates a joint development programme with 

Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research on biobased 

PBS compounds for injection moulding. The research pays 

close attention to the longevity, appearance and processing 

characteristics. Plastic 

product manufacturers 

will also play a key role 

in the testing process 

in order to validate these 

new compounds for reusable 

horticultural crates and rigid 

food packaging with hinges. The 

final biomaterials are predicted to 

demonstrate an improved carbon footprint 

in comparison to the polypropylene typically 

used for these applications. 

Bio-succinic acid for resins 

Paint and coating manufacturers can increase the 

biobased content of their resins by using Biosuccinium. 

Solvents and coalescing agents based on bio-succinic acid 

also allow for reduced levels of volatile organic compounds 

(VOCs) in their formulations, addressing continuously 

stricter government and industry regulations. 

Investment in superior biobased resins is growing, as is 

the demand for more sustainable products across the value 

chain. Biosuccinium is a near drop-in for adipic and phthalic 

acids and has applications in a wide range of products. 

Product finishes, special purpose coatings and structural 

materials are just a few examples. 

Alkyd paints which use bio-succinic acid are already on 

the market. Mäder (Lille, France), the leading producer of 

paints and coatings, recently launched a range of biobased 

paints using Biosuccinium under the CAMI brand. The 

CADÉLI range includes two EU Ecolabel-certified products 

with extra functionalities: anti-microbial interior paint and 

depolluting (anti-formaldehyde) interior paint. 

Both of the paints are 98 % biobased and use a combination 

of Biosuccinium and Roquette’s POLYSORB isosorbide. The 

formulation allows for specific physical properties, such as 

hardness and scratch resistance. 

Bio-succinic 

acid-Reverdia & 

Wageningen UR 

have developed 

durable PBS based 

on Biosuccinium. 

Picture courtesy of 

RPC Promens 


www.pu-magazine.com 


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© 2017 Honeywell International Inc. All rights reserved. 

5/8/17 10:41 AM 

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Engineering Passion 

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Volume 8, May 2017 

Going the distance 

Whether for footwear, furnishings, packaging or 

paint, industry leadership is crucial for biobased 

plastic to compete with traditional petro-based 

products. New materials must be competitive and 

provide enhanced product specifications while also 

delivering sustainability advantages. Many modern 

materials derived from bio-succinic acid can 

outperform petro-based equivalents. With further 

incentives and industry buy-in, they can provide a 

significant impact. 

This is why Reverdia works with brand owners 

and manufacturers towards truly sustainable 

products. It will keep building on its partnerships to 

co-develop innovative high-performance solutions 

throughout the value chain. Brand owners, original 

equipment manufacturers and chemical companies 

are becoming increasingly aware of Biosuccinium’s 

potential to unlock and mainstream sustainable 

products. 

Innovative biomaterials 

Reverdia has been enabling innovative biobased materials 

since 2010. A joint venture between Royal DSM, the Dutch 

global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company and 

Roquette Frères, the French global starch and starchderivatives 

company, Reverdia was created to produce and 

commercialise bio-succinic acid, marketed under the brand 

name Biosuccinium. 

Having opened the world’s first dedicated, commercialscale 

biorefinery for the production of renewable succinic acid 

in 2012, Reverdia supplies worldwide. Its production plant in 

Italy continues to use a patented fermentation technology 

with a best-in-class environmental footprint. 

Biosuccinium is a biobased alternative to traditional diacids 

used in the production of plastics and other materials. 

Thanks to its biobased content and Reverdia’s game-changing 

technology, bio-succinic acid has a carbon footprint which is 

half that of petro-based succinic acid and up to 90% lower 

than adipic acid. 

www.reverdia.com 

SEEING POLYMERS 

WITH DIFFERENT EYES... 

Biokraftstoffkompatibilität von FKM 

Silica/silane reaction mechanism 

self-healing tpu 

POLYURETHANES MAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL 

Trim The Weight, 

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Interviews: ISL-Chemie, Dow, Magna, Vencorex 

PSE Europe 2017 preview 

High temperature foam 

PIR insulation 

CNSL-based polyols 

Blowing Agents 

FORUM FÜR DIE POLYURETHANINDUSTRIE 

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Polyole auf CNSL-Basis 

Polyesterpolyole 

Interview mit G. Burrow, Magna 

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info@gupta-verlag.de 

Our technical magazines and books create your expertise 

22 bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/17] Vol. 12 

Tel. +49 2102 9345-0 · Fax +49 2102 9345-20 

www.gupta-verlag.com

New biobased lactide 

polyester polyols 

By: 

Bill Coggio 

Application and Technology 

Development Manager 

Performance Chemicals Division 

NatureWorks, Minnetonka, USA 

NatureWorks Introduces new Vercet biobased lactide polyester 

polyols as reactive intermediates for urethane adhesives and coatings 

NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnesota, USA), known for its 

broad portfolio of renewably-sourced PLA polymers under 

the Ingeo brand, recently formed a Performance Chemicals 

Division to supply lactides, polyols, binder resins, and chemical 

intermediates to companies that manufacture coatings, adhesives, 

sealants, elastomers, toners, and fine chemicals products. 

Vercet is the brand name of the company’s new tunable 

platform of lactide-based chemistries. Vercet polyols are 

customizable and provide excellent hardness, solvent 

resistance, and low color in polyurethanes. Alkyd resins for 

coatings made using Vercet lactides can significantly reduce 

resin viscosity enabling low volatile organic compound (VOC) 

formulations for solvent-borne alkyd coatings for wood and 

metal. Furthermore, these alkyd coatings exhibit excellent 

adhesion and show improved abrasion and impact resistance. 

Solvent-borne coatings and hot melt adhesives utilizing Vercet 

intermediate resins have a tunable work life and viscosity 

range with excellent adhesion to metal and plastics. 

High bio-content reactive intermediates for 

polyurethane adhesives and coatings 

Vercet polyols are easily customized to control key properties 

that impact performance in polyurethanes. Controlled Vercet 

product properties include hydroxyl functionality, viscosity, glass 

transition temperature (Tg), compatibility, and solubility. Vercet 

polyols are easily converted into urethane thermoplastics via a 

direct reaction with an isocyanate and chain extender, which means 

Fig 2: Film coated with Vercet-based urethane coating shows high 

transparency and low haze 

these new chemistries will be easily substituted for non-biobased 

intermediates. They can also be made into isocyanate prepolymers 

to facilitate formulation flexibility for use in 1K and 2K reactive 

thermoset urethane systems. In reactive hot melt adhesives, Vercet 

polyols offer excellent adhesion and are tuned to improve green 

strength shortening component assembly in applications involving 

wood or plastic products. 

Vercet polyurethane systems for both coatings and adhesives 

exhibit superior oil resistance, modulus, adhesion, and gloss 

compared to a non-biobased control polyester. 

Vercet polyurethane coatings on metal and plastic demonstrated 

excellent adhesion even when used with no adhesion promoter and 

thus offer formulators the potential to simplify formulations and 

reduce system costs. 

Since NatureWorks uses biobased feedstocks to produce the 

Vercet lactides, polyols, and resins the company does not have the 

price volatility and supply chain pinch points of traditional coating 

and adhesive components. 

www.vercet.natureworksllc.com 

Fig 1: Vercet lactide-based polyurethanes show notable 

resistance to hydrocarbon oil, vegetable oil, and hexane, 

a common non-polar organic solvent. 

10% 

8% 

6% 

4% 

2% 

10 DAY WT% 

SOLVENT 

PICK-UP 

0% 

-2% 

IRM 903 OIL CANOLA OIL N-HEXANE WATER 

CONTROL 10.00% 4.50% 1.50% 0.60% 

P2040X -0.20% 0.20% 0.60% 0.90% 

P2140X 0.10% 0.00% 0.10% 1.00% 

Wt% data collected 68˚C 

Table 1: Urethane coatings made with Vercet lactide polyols show excellent hardness and adhesion. They are made with a high level of bio-content. 

Sample 

60° Gloss 

85° 

Gloss 

X-Adhesion 

König 

Hardness 

Pencil Hardness 

Biobased Carbon Content 

Uncoated Metal 83 22 NA 220 sec NA - 

PU Control 40 71 

PU w/ Vercet Polyol 95 88 

• Solvent borne TPU coated on metal Q panels 

• Ethyl acetate ~20% solids, bar coated DFT ~ 30 

um thick 

1B 

(35-65% loss) 

5B 

(no loss) 

• RT dried, no crosslinking reagent 

• Biobased carbon content is calculated 

45 sec


Injection molders who have 

made bioplastics work 

Summary 

Bioplastics have a problematic reputation among injection 

molders because running them in the past has been - in 

some cases - both cumbersome and expensive. However, 

many modern bioplastics do not exhibit the troubling 

qualities of their predecessors and can now run through 

the injection molding process similarly to traditional 

petroleum-based plastics. The author spoke with four 

injection molders in North America who have successfully 

worked with bioplastics to gauge their thoughts on the 

material’s performance. 

How has the relationship between injection 

molders and bioplastics changed? 

Injection molders have had issues with bioplastics in the 

past because certain materials were expensive and not 

compatible with existing equipment. These issues forced 

injection molders at times to purchase new equipment and 

even make fundamental and expensive changes to their 

processes. As a result, bioplastics now have a problematic 

reputation among injection molders, who are wary of using 

them in their facilities. 

However, bioplastics have since evolved and most of them 

can now seamlessly replace certain traditional petroleumbased 

plastics. The four interviewed injection molders 

provided valuable and promising insights on what working 

with bioplastics entails. Although each had technical issues 

at the initial stages, they were eventually able to run the 

materials successfully in their respective facilities. 

Matt Poischbeg, an injection molder at Sea-Lect Design 

(Everett, Washington, USA), was enthusiastic about 

experimenting with different bioplastics due to the possible 

competitive advantages they could offer to customers. He 

found out about Green Dot Bioplastics five years ago at an 

outdoor retailer expo in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. Poischbeg 

said the company caught his attention because he “…was 

amazed that they had a flexible compostable plastic.” He 

had heard of compostable biodegradable plastics but had 

never seen elastomeric materials. Poischbeg experimented 

with the flexible compostable plastic material for kayak 

manufacturers but had to forgo the project due to a lack of 

demand. 

However, he successfully developed a compostable 

luggage tags for Pearl Jam with Green Dot Bioplastic’s 

Terratek Flex (a biodegradable elastomer) and Terratek BD 

(a biodegradable bioplastic) and is eager to continue 

experimenting with different materials. Poischbeg’s 

enthusiasm parallels the prediction made by the European 

Bioplastics Association (source: Plastics Today) that 

biobased and biodegradable plastics will see an increase 

in global demand. 

Should injection molders experiment with 

bioplastics? 

While it is understandable why companies want to stick 

with established plastic materials, experimenting with new 

ones can be rewarding. Hal Alameddine, the President 

of Pike’s Peak Plastics (Colorado Springs,Colorado, 

USA), successfully worked with a Terratek Biocomposite 

composed of bio-based polyethylene derived from 

sugarcane and corncob fibers to develop Eco-Rigs for Begin 

Again Toys, which was licensed by John Deere. Alameddine 

said, “It’s a good material to run. We didn’t feel that we 

needed to make major adjustments to our current process 

with respect to running standard polyethylene. This one was 

a little trickier because of the addition of the corncob into 

it. But in general, I would say it ran as well as any other 

material.” 

Initial challenges are not uncommon. Reed Hardgrave, 

an injection molder at Ferguson Production (McPherson, 

Kansas, USA), initially experienced some difficulty with 

bioplastic resins expressing desirable end properties. 

However, he eventually found success with a wood plastic 

composite used to mold toys, replicating the aesthetics of 

wood. 

Technical considerations 

Injection molders who are apprehensive about the 

compatibility of bioplastics with existing equipment can be 

confident that most modern materials don’t require any 

inconvenient specifications. 

Kevin Godsey, an injection molder at Mid-Continent 

Tool and Molding, Inc. (North Kansas City, Missouri, 

USA), made compostable dog-waste dispensers with a 

starch-based elastomer. He emphasized that although 

a lower temperature profile was required for the heatsensitive 

elastomers, the adjustments weren’t beyond 

standard protocol. In fact, cycle times fell within the norm 

and even the drying times, which have been a pain point 

for injection molders, weren’t an inconvenience since he 

only had to account for surface moisture. Despite having 

initial challenges, Godsey stated that the material was still 

“moldable and very user friendly.” 

What are some of the benefits of working with 

bioplastics? 

Based off of the experiences of the injection molders the 

author spoke with, it is clear that the right bioplastic can 

be molded with minimal technical issues. Hence, it could 

be productive for injection molders to at least experiment 

with different bioplastic resins so they can determine for 

themselves if the materials are in fact user friendly. 



By: 

Kevin Ireland 

Communications Manager 

Green Dot Bioplastics 

Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, USA 

Injection molders should think about 

experimenting and potentially working with 

bioplastics because: 

• Most modern bioplastics can be seamlessly incorporated 

into the injection molding process and no additional 

equipment is needed to accommodate the materials. 

• They could diversify options for their customers, 

especially since Grand View Research (San Francisco, 

California, USA) found that bioplastics are projected 

to control 5 % market share of the plastics industry by 

2020. 

• Bioplastics provide customers with unique advertising 

opportunities since many materials offer unique 

performance properties and – in addition – sustainability 

advantages. 

Small learning curve 

Although most bioplastics are compatible with existing 

molding equipment and processes, injection molders still 

need to experiment with different materials to figure out 

technical details such as cycle and drying times. Of course, 

this means the initial stages won’t be perfect. 

However, each of the interviewed injection molders 

emphasized that the learning curve was not steep and that 

they were ultimately able to run the materials with minimal 

hitches. For example, Godsey noted that scrap rates were 

somewhat high at the initial stages but quickly got them 

back within a standard ratio. When we asked Hardgrave 

if he had issues integrating bioplastics into his current 

operation, he noted that “venting is a big one. If [bioplastics] 

don’t vent, plating can become blackened.” Ultimately, 

Hardgrave was able to overcome his venting challenge and 

made accommodations for it whenever he was working with 

bioplastics. 

Injection molders can now confidently experiment and 

eventually work with many different bioplastics and many 

are optimistic about the demand of the materials in the 

coming years. 

www.greendotbioplastics.com 

Photo: Courtesy BeginAgain 



Sugar for extra grip 

Kuraray unveils biobased elastomer Septon Bio 

Fig. 1: Getting a grip: The new 

copolymer Septon Bio from 

Kuraray displays high grip and 

non-slip properties on wet and dry 

surfaces. 

Kuraray Europe (Hattersheim, Germany) is unveiling 

Septon TM Bio, its new bio-based thermoplastic elastomer. 

The hydrogenated styrene farnesene block copolymer 

(HSFC) is the outcome of collaboration between specialty 

chemicals producer Kuraray and bio-science company 

Amyris (Emeryville, California, USA). Septon Bio can be used 

in a multitude of applications, needs only small quantities of 

plasticizer, and is particularly easy to process thanks to its 

special properties. 

Cycle handlebar grips have to provide a firm handhold, 

nonwoven fabrics have to be elastic, and sports shoes have to be 

effective in absorbing impact. Special thermoplastic elastomers 

(TPEs) make these properties possible. They are put to use in 

a variety of applications such as fibers, composite materials 

and coatings and have to be highly elastic, and tear- and heatresistant. 

International specialty chemicals manufacturer 

Kuraray has developed its Septon TPE series for this purpose. The 

hydrogenated styrene di- and triblock copolymers with their high 

flowability are easy to process and highly elastic and are used as 

the basic polymers for a broad variety of products and for polymer 

modification. Kuraray is now presenting Septon Bio, a TPE that is 

bio-based while exhibiting the wide-ranging benefits of the Septon 

series. 

Kuraray has developed the new Septon Bio TPE in cooperation 

with US bio-science company Amyris. The copolymer is based on 

beta-farnesene, a renewable monomer from Amyris derived from 

biological raw materials. “During fermentation, special strains 

of yeast convert sources of sugar such as sugarcane into betafarnesene,” 

explains Jan-Sebastian Weber, Marketing and Sales 

Manager at Kuraray. “The hydrogenated styrene farnesene block 

copolymer (HSFC) is then produced from the beta-farnesene.” 

After polymerization, the farnesene has a special chemical 

structure. 

More Flexible, More Elastic and Easier to Process 

than HSBC 

Thanks to its characteristic structure, HSFC has unique 

properties and hence distinct advantages over conventional 

hydrogenated styrene block copolymers (HSBC). HSFC Septon Bio 

has a lower viscosity than conventional styrene block copolymers 

and at the same time a high loss factor (tan delta) over a large 

temperature range. Septon Bio therefore shows much better flow 

behavior than comparable copolymers. In addition, Septon Bio has 

very good adhesive properties, again over a broad temperature 

range. The new copolymer is thus easy to process and suitable for 

numerous applications in a wide-range of sectors. 

• Septon Bio facilitates outstanding grip in wet and dry 

conditions. This makes the copolymer an excellent choice 

for sports and household articles, footwear and industrial 

applications. 

• Septon Bio is extra-elastic and features low tensile strength. 

In addition, it has an extremely low compression set and 

thus deforms very little even after long-term exposure to 

compression. This makes the copolymer highly compatible 

with such processes as melt-spinning for nonwoven fabrics 

and extrusion for elastic films. 

• Septon Bio can be released easily and without residues – ideal 

for use in protective films. 

• Its particularly high damping effect is 

exhibited over a broad temperature 

range. This makes Septon Bio the ideal 

raw material for products in which sound 

or vibration absorption is important, such 

as in sports shoes. 

• At the same time, HSFC Septon Bio is 

much less rigid than HSBC polymers. 

Consequently, less plasticizer is necessary in 

the processing of Septon Bio. This prevents 

oil migrating to the product surface (oil 

bleeding). The original rigidity and non-slip 

properties of products containing Septon Bio 

are retained in the long term. 

Thanks to its extensive positive characteristics, Septon Bio 

can be used in a large variety of areas, such as in adhesives and 

composites, sealants, gels, foams, films, fibers and nonwoven 

fabrics as well as in applications calling for high grip. MT 

www.kuraray.eu 

Fig. 3: 

Renewable 

raw materials: 

The biological 

component 

of the new 

copolymer 

Septon Bio – 

beta-farnesene 

from Amyris 

– is produced 

from sugar 

sources such 

as sugarcane. 

400% 

350% 

300% 

250% 

200% 

150% 

100% 

50% 

0% 

Hardness 

MFR 

Active site 

PSt 

SEPTON Bio-series (HSFC) 

Elongation 

Permanent Set 

Sugarcane 

ϐ - Farnesene 

Poly (ϐ - Farnesene) 

Compression Set @ RT 

Rebound resilience 

Fig. 2: Sticking tight: 

Septon Bio, the new 

bio-based copolymer 

from Kuraray, has 

very good adhesive 

properties and is 

therefore ideal 

for adhesives and 

composites. 

Fig. 4: Versatile: Septon Bio, the new bio-based styrene farnesene 

block copolymer (HSFC) from Kuraray, has numerous advantages 

over conventional styrene block copolymers (HSBC), such as very low 

compression set and low rigidity. 

SEPTON Bio-series (HSFC) 

Coefficient of static friction (Dry) 

Coefficient of static friction (Wet) 

PSt 


Processing 

Optimize processability 

of bioplastics 

Working closely with sustainability partner, Dynisco, 

(Franklin, Massachusetts, USA,) Glycon Corp. (Tecumseh, 

Michigan, USA,) has incorporated Dynisco’s 

breakthrough technology in analytical instrumentation 

known as the Dynisco ViscoIndicator Online Rheometer into 

their screw design protocol. The ViscoIndicator provides 

continuous measurements of melt flow rates, apparent 

viscosity or intrinsic viscosity directly on the Glycon lab extruder. 

Dynisco aims to provide a window into the process 

for processors of all sizes in order to simplify rheology and 

improve quality and profitability. Glycon is maximizing this 

information by utilizing it in their screw design protocol to 

determine the best type of screw to run any bioplastic, composite, 

or blend of materials, as well as to determine the 

specific geometry and flight configuration of the feedscrew. 

Glycon has been designing feedscrews for the plastics 

processing industry for over 40 years. Whether the process is 

extrusion, injection molding or blow molding, the feedscrew 

design has a major effect on the quality and quantity of the 

end product being produced. 

As more bioplastics that have a favorable impact on the 

environment are introduced, key factors in their acceptability 

by manufacturers will be cost and processability. With 

accurate rheological data on the material, whether it be 

virgin material in pellet form, a blend of virgin or re-grind, 

a composite of plant based and recycled or even recovered 

ocean plastics, accurate rheological data, combined with 

Glycon’s experience and state-of-the-art instrumentation in 

their Innovation Lab, will provide the critical link to maximize 

output rates, provide a homogeneous mix and deliver a high 

quality melt on the new polymers being introduced. 

Protocol for developing Bio-Screw ® designs 

1. Obtain and review material data sheets. 

2. Analyze and determine material form and bulk density. 

3. Establish processing goals and objectives. 

- desired output rate 

- discharge pressure 

- discharge melt temperature 

4. Select processing conditions based on processing 

goals. 

- screw speeds 

- feeding rate- barrel temperatures 

5. Select screw type and geometry. 

- conventionally flighted metering screw 

- barrier screw 

- distributive mix/melt screw 

- grooved or smooth feed 

- mixers required 

6. Run material(s) monitoring: 

- temperature 

- pressure 

- apparent/intrinsic viscosity 

- melt flow rate 

- shear rate 

- viscosity at different shear rates 

- shear sensitivity 

7. If more than one material is tested, run a comparative 

analysis. 

8. Optimize performance: 

- adjust temperature profile 

- adjust head pressure 

- adjust screw speed 

- change/modify feedscrew 

9. Prepare a detailed report on the test including: 

- number of trials 

- temperatures and screw speeds 

- horsepower 

- lb or kg/hr/rpm 

- torque 

- energy consumption 

- melt quality 

10. Generate a screw design recommendation. 

The Innovation Lab, equipped with Dynisco’s ViscoIndicator, 

gives Glycon state-of-the-art capability specifically targeted 

at sustainable materials and the circular economy. With live 

streaming available, material tests can be viewed around 

the globe in real time. MT 

www.glycon.com 


Material News 

New water soluble film 

As a result of its customer focused research and development, 

Mondi’s technical films business has 

created and introduced a water soluble film for the 

smart and convenient packing and dosing of powders, tabs 

and granulates. Dissolving completely in water, the film is 

ideal for single doses of dry materials, such as dishwasher 

and laundry tabs or bath salts. The water soluble film is an 

example how customers benefit from Mondi’s synergized 

research and development strategies having its core competencies 

in areas such as plastic films, packaging, paper 

and coating brought together under one roof. 

The film offers excellent sealing and deep drawing 

properties, provides an effective barrier to oxygen and is 

completely soluble even in cold water. Consumers are also 

protected from direct contact with the contents, which 

adds an extra layer of safety. Customers can bolster their 

sustainable credentials too, through the environmental 

benefits water soluble films provide compared to standard 

plastic films. In addition to reducing overall packaging 

waste, the films are also considered to be biodegradable, 

non-toxic and non-inhibitory. 

Oliver Sperber, Chief Innovation Officer at Mondi 

Consumer Packaging (Gronau, Germany), comments: 

“Mondi’s water soluble film provides several layers of 

benefits for both brands and their customers alike. Our 

committed application engineers are able to customise the 

film according to customers’ specific needs, in addition to 

providing all of the necessary on-site support required to 

successfully launch a product using this material. Mondi’s 

pedigree as a packaging provider, with a broad portfolio 

across many industries, means new product possibilities 

are being presented on an ongoing basis. Interplay between 

central and local R&D and Innovation teams, in partnership 

with our customers even on-site if required, is key to this.” 

One such collaboration relates to flow pack film tabs for 

dishwashing applications. Through a collaborative effort 

between the customer and Mondi’s R&D and Innovation 

teams, packaging innovation is brought to the next level. 

This is made possible through specialist teams combining 

market-specific knowledge and their ability to develop 

the ideas that result from this process, coupled with the 

fact that on-site support can be provided from conception 

through to completion of a project. 

While Mondi’s water soluble films are particularly 

suited to the home and personal care market, a number 

of applications in other sectors are continuing to emerge. 

Agrochemical packaging, for fertilizer, sowing and 

disinfectants, for example, is a major area of interest, as is 

the building and construction sector – where the films can 

be used as liner for bags in the cement industry. MT 

www.mondigroup.com 

Mondi’s water-soluble film 

offers a smart, convenient 

and biodegradable solution 

for packing and dosing 

household products and 

industrial chemicals. 


Tel: (852) 2811 8897 (Hong Kong) Email: chinaplas.PR@adsale.com.hk Adsale Plastics Website: www.AdsaleCPRJ.com Adsale Group: www.adsale.com.hk 


Materials 

Biobased adhesives: 

Requirements and perspective 

By: 

Horst Beck and Andreas Taden 

Henkel - Adhesive Research / Bio-Renewables Platform 

Düsseldorf, Germany 

Biobased adhesives literally constitute an ancient material 

class. Already 200.000 years ago Neanderthals 

identified birch pitch as valuable adhesive material, 

which can be obtained from the bark via pyrolysis under the 

absence of oxygen – a non-obvious and quite sophisticated 

technological process [1]. Being liquid at higher temperatures 

it solidifies under ambient conditions and was eventually 

used throughout the ages (stone and metal ages) 

as hotmelt glue to fasten arrowheads or metal tools onto 

wooden shafts (Figure 1). 

In the more recent Sumerian and Egyptian history 

animal-based proteins – especially animal skin, blood 

(Albumin), fish glues from air bladders and casein from 

milk – and starch-based binders appeared as the first 

truly industrial adhesives produced on larger scale. 

However, during the 20 th century biobased adhesives lost 

their predominant importance, which is closely related to 

the scientific progress in synthetic polymer chemistry and 

the development of phenolic resins, epoxides, acrylics, 

polyurethanes, silicones, etc. Numerous fossil-based 

high performance adhesives, typically designed and 

optimized for one specific application with an individual 

set of requirements, eventually replaced most biobased 

systems. Apart from pure performance considerations the 

steadier and hence more calculable raw material quality 

and cost of supply of synthetic fossil-based compounds 

did foster this development over the last decades. On the 

contrary, recent progress in biotechnology enables the 

green production of bio-renewable platform chemicals and 

specific design of functional proteins & peptides, which is 

expected to significantly impact adhesive development and 

create numerous new possibilities and applications. In this 

context this contribution aims to discuss the requirements 

and perspective of biobased adhesives in our modern world. 

Hurdles and drivers 

Recently biobased adhesives regained a lot of attention. 

As most obvious driver increased sustainability might 

appear, i.e. the content of renewable carbon. However, this 

one-dimensional perspective has too many shortcomings 

and cannot substitute a comprehensive life cycle analysis 

survey. Renewable carbon content is not interchangeable 

with reduced carbon dioxide footprint, and neither are 

biobased components necessarily biodegradable materials 

or less dangerous in terms of safety & health. With respect 

to the above mentioned advantages of synthetic adhesives, 

the regained focus on biobased adhesives can only be put 

into perspective and justified considering a larger context 

of requirements in our modern world. Furthermore the 

current regulations and trends in chemistry, like costintensive 

registration of new chemicals (REACH, TSCA, etc.) 

or the anticipated long-term price stability of crude oil, are 

opposing to ongoing biobased research efforts. Additional 

issues are insecure availability and potential food to fuel 

dilemma of biorenewables. 

Initially the drop-in approach, which simply involves the 

one-to-one replacement of petro-based molecules with 

otherwise chemically identical biobased substances, was 

seen as fast track methodology towards a more sustainable 

value chain. Unfortunately significant market shares were 

never achieved, mainly due to higher cost levels [2]. Two 

further aspects have to be considered in this context: 1.) In 

order to make a meaningful market claim, the composition 

of the complete formulation should be close to 100 % 

biobased content. 2.) The customer awareness for biobased 

adhesives is relatively low, especially when the adhesive 

remains a rather invisible part of the finished product, 

like in cars, handheld devices, etc. An additional hurdle 

for biobased adhesives is the relatively small market size 

and the different technological requirements compared 

to plastics, which leads many bio-related companies to 

focus on high molecular weight polymers as thermoplastic 

materials for construction, transportation or packaging. In 

contrast to that adhesive formulations are typically based 

on low molecular weight (reactive) precursors which are 

liquid or enable a low melt viscosity as starting point for 

the consecutive setting process (curing reaction). As a 

consequence the availability of biobased raw materials 

which are suited or even especially designed for adhesives 

so far remains limited. 

Performance as key contribution 

In some niche areas bio-polymer adhesives escaped their 

replacement by petro-based materials because of a very 

good fit to the requirements, selected examples include 

starches as adhesive in the manufacturing of corrugated 

paper boards, cellulose- and starch ethers for wallpaper 

glues or rheology modifiers in cement-based formulations 

and casein as bottle-labelling adhesive with fast setting 

behavior even on wet and cold bottles. It seems that within 

this complex framework of requirements and constraints 

(see “hurdles and drivers”) the terms for the development 


Materials 

Figure 1: Arrowhead mounted onto a wooden shaft supported 

by birch pitch as “Neanderthal hotmelt adhesive”. This biobased 

glue was used throughout the ages for ca. 200.000 years. The 

picture shows is a replica made by Henkel Adhesive Research 

of new biobased adhesives are surprisingly clear – simple 

drop-in alternatives cannot prevail, and the key to success 

can only be significantly increased performance benefits 

originating from novel low to medium molecular weight 

species. 

Unfortunately, as stressed out above and closing the 

loop to the introduction, most biobased adhesives became 

substituted due to a lack of performance compared to 

synthetic polymer systems. However, the amazing ability 

of Mother Nature to undergo strong and sometimes 

highly specific bonding under ambient conditions was not 

recognized and valued adequately, mainly due to the absence 

of modern analytical capabilities. Furthermore, industrial 

or so-called white biotechnology was basically unknown 

for the synthesis of biobased platform chemicals. Today 

more attention is paid to safety, health and environment 

(SHE), e.g. reduction or elimination of undesired volatile 

organic compounds (VOC) like organic solvents or residual 

monomers, and adhesive performance becomes evaluated 

in a more comprehensive manner, including sustainability 

and life circle analysis supplementing the well-established 

purely application dependent technical specifications. 

In order to achieve new performance levels in the various 

dimensions interdisciplinary thinking is required, which lead 

to the employment of biotechnological synthesis methods 

for novel raw materials, the development of hybrid systems 

and biomimetic binders. As will be explained the unique 

synthesis and interaction capabilities found in nature 

enable new-to-the-word systems with unprecedented 

property combinations. In the following selected examples 

will be briefly introduced. 

Novel platform chemicals via biotechnology 

Biotechnology is known to humankind for thousands of 

years, but only in the late 20 th and early 21 st centuries it 

developed in a thriving discipline with previously unmatched 

synthetic possibilities supported by genomics and 

recombinant gene design. White biotechnology works by 

engineering living cells into micro-factories that — by using 

sugars, starches or even lignocellulosic-based biomass 

as a feedstock rather than traditional petrochemicals — 

produce valuable products via fermentation that can 

function as stand-alone products (e.g. enzymes, fuels) 

or serve as platform chemicals for further downstream 

processing. 

In 2004 the DOE (US Department of Energy) [3] published 

an overview about so-called platform chemicals based 

on the vision of an expert panel. This vision identified 

already a detailed view how those platform chemicals 

could be transferred via a complete value chain to end 

(consumer) products. Recently the European Commission 

published a report which provides an assessment of the 

technology development status and market size for the 

most important platform chemicals, which consists mainly 

– but not exclusively – out of hydroxyl- or carboxylicfunctionalized 

molecules [4]. Typical examples are bioderived 

1,4-butanediol (BDO), succinic acid, adipic acid or 

2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The progress in this 

new area of biotechnological derived raw materials is very 

dynamic and especially the development and upscaling 

of further downstream derivatives is an ongoing process. 

Consequently certain biobased platform chemicals with 

high potential for adhesive applications and/or polymer 

chemistry in general are not yet available on a commercial 

scale. Furthermore the value proposition for each of 

these components can be quite different, ranging from 

predominately cost-driven considerations (e.g. for BDO or 

succinic adid, which are at least cost-competitive compared 

to their petrol-based analogues) to unique chemical and/ 

or physical characteristics. Following the scope of this 

contribution, trans-β-farnesene belongs to the latter 

category and is particularly interesting for adhesive 

applications [5]. It´s a branched chain alkene which shall 

be exemplary discussed as modem biotechnological 

platform chemical with no identical fossil based substitute 

and hence new-to-the-world performance characteristics. 

Farnesene can be used as fragrance, cosmetic emollient 

or fuel, and with respect to polymers and adhesives it´s 

particularly valuable due to its similar reactivity compared 

to (gaseous) butadiene, which constitutes the main 

raw material for synthetic rubber. However, due to its 

higher molecular weight Farnesene is a liquid monomer, 

which substantially simplifies the rubber polymerization 

process and the related reactor design. Farnesene can be 

polymerized via free racial, cationic or anionic pathways — 

the latter process enables highly defined bottle-brush 

Poly(trans-β-farnesene) polyols. This particular backbone 

structure provides low tendency for entanglements and 

hence drastically altered viscoelastic properties, i.e. greatly 

reduced viscosity compared to polybutadiene systems of 

similar molecular weight [7]. Polyfarnesene 


Materials 

polyols therefore offer novel opportunities in 

polyurethane chemistry, e.g. high performing liquid applied 

optical clear adhesives (LOCA) as important technology 

enabler for handheld devices, optical displays, lightning 

applications, etc. 

Biconjugates/ biomimetic systems 

Apart from the synthesis of novel platform chemicals 

modern biotechnology is well known for the production of 

proteins and peptides with tailored amino acid sequence. 

Astonishing properties, like extreme selectivity (chemical 

site-recognition), stimuli-responsiveness or catalytic 

reactivity, can be obtained and explained by their complex 

hierarchical structure. The industrially most proliferated 

examples are enzymes, e.g. certain proteases that serve 

as key performance ingredients for detergents and 

cleaners, which are produced on large industrial scale. 

Furthermore so-called “adhesive peptides”, characterized 

either by almost universally strong interaction or — quite 

contrary — highly substrate-specific binding interaction, 

have been recently identified [7]. Consequently, our 

current research aims to utilize adhesive peptides as 

advanced adhesion promoters for the development of 

1.) high-performing universal glues for a large variety of 

substrates, ranging from metals, ceramics to low-energy 

plastic surfaces and 2.) highly substrate selective, selfdifferentiating 

adhesives, that for example will only interact 

with one special metal alloy while neglecting other metal 

compositions. Despite of significant research efforts 

over the last decades such adhesion characteristics are 

so far unknown and can be seen as an emerging area of 

materials science. Over the last few years, bioconjugates 

(apart from other biomimetic systems) gained increased 

interest as novel class of macromolecules and advanced 

approach of joining specific and outstanding biological 

interaction capabilities with well-established polymeric 

advantages (processability, high strength, flexibility, 

chemical resistance, hydrolytic stability, scale-up, costs, 

etc.). Certain bioconjugation techniques are already wellknown, 

like PEGylating peptide or protein drugs to improve 

stability, solubility and immunogenicity. However, apart 

from life science the concept of bioconjugation has not 

yet developed into a mature technology with significant 

commercial success. Despite the prospects of innovative 

materials with disruptive performance characteristics 

and hence tremendous market differentiation intense 

research efforts are still required to understand and adjust 

the complex interactions of the individual segments. Last 

but not least highly efficient, selective, facile and scalable 

synthesis procedures are required to reduce the associated 

costs of bioconjugation for industrial applications like 

coatings, adhesives and sealants. 

In summary, novel advanced biobased adhesives with 

unique property combinations are an emerging technology 

with tremendous potential for future applications. 

Although technologically visionary they their development 

follows scientifically sound and clear targets. The overall 

requirements and perspective is likely to accompany 

numerous researchers over many years to follow, maybe 

even for generations, but shows in an impressive manner 

the way forward and technological possibilities of biobased 

adhesives in our modern world. 

www.henkel.com 

References 

[1] P. Kozowyk, M. Soressi, D. Pomstra, G. Langejans. „Experimental 

methods for the Palaeolithic dry distillation of birch bark: 

implications for the origin and development of Neandertal adhesive 

technology.“ Scientific Reports, 2017: 8033. 

[2]M. Carus, Nova-Institut. „Biobased Building Blocks and Polymers.“ 

Biobased Materials Cologne. Cologne, 2017. 

[3] T. Werpy, G. Petersen. Top value added Chemicals from Biomass. 

2004. http://www.pnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_ 

reports/PNNL-14808.pdf. 

[4] E4Tech, RE-CORD, WUR. „From the sugar platform to biofuels and 

biochemicals .“ Final report for the European Commission, 2015. 

[5] C. Halfmann, L. Gu, W. Gibbons, R. Zhou. „Genetically engineering 

cyanobacteria to convert CO2, water, and light into the long-chain 

hydrocarbon farnesene.“ Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 

Volume 98, Issue 23, 2014: 9869. 

[6] T. Yoo, S. K. Henning. „SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION 

OF FARNESENE-BASED POLYMERS.“ Rubber Chemistry and 

Technology, Volume 90, No. 2, 2017: 308. 

[7] A. Taden, B. Veith, R. Breves, I. Schmidt, T. Weber. „Peptide that can 

be used in coating agents, adhesion promoters or adhesives for 

oxidic surfaces.“ EP2917740 B1, 4. Jan 2017. 


Innovation. Technology. Sustainability. 

From equipment and trends to the people advancing 

plastics manufacturing, NPE2018: The Plastics Show 

has it covered. Be there to discover new ways to 

maximize efficiency, advance your operations and 

achieve success. 

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MAY 7–11, 2018 | ORLANDO, FL, USA 

We’ve got it 

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cooled. 

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packaged. 

transported. 

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PEF: an alternative 

with a future 

Within the European project EnzOx2 (New enzymatic 

oxidation/oxyfunctionalization technologies for 

added value bio-based products. BBI JU, European 

Union’s Horizon 2020 programme), research is being conducted 

on the development of new biochemical technologies 

based on the use of oxidative enzymes with the aim 

of providing innovative solutions in the production of some 

high added-value compounds from biomass compounds. 

This project has a huge interest, since the use of this kind 

of enzymes is practically unexplored at industrial level. The 

obtaining of these products entails different oxidation and 

oxyfunctionalization reactions catalysed by different types 

of fungal oxidoreductases (such as oxidases and peroxygenases). 

In this context, EnzOx2 plans to develop a 100 % 

enzymatic conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) 

or 5-methoxymethylfurfural (MMF) into diformylfuran and 

2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), a plastic building-block 

to be used in substitution of terephthalic acid. Moreover, another 

research line of this project will focus on optimizing 

the selective hydroxylation of plant lipids (such as fatty acids, 

terpenes and steroids) with the aim of producing flavour 

and fragrance ingredients, as well as active pharmaceutical 

ingredients (API). 

Therefore, one of the working lines which AIMPLAS 

is working in is related to the synthesis of derivates of 

polyethylene furanoate (PEF). In order to carry out the 

polymerization of this family of compounds, one of the 

monomers derived from the biomass, in particular FDCA 

will be employed. These new bioplastics, derived from PEF, 

have many advantages and they could be good candidates 

for the replacement of fossil-based polymers, such as 

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (figure 1). Some of the 

advantages of this type of biopolymer in comparison with 

PET are: 

• PEF has a 50 % lower carbon footprint compared to PET. 

• PEF has oxygen permeability values, carbon dioxide and 

water better than the values of PET. 

• When compared to the properties of PET, its polymer 

has a lower melting temperature, while the glass 

transition temperature is higher. 

• PEF can be processed in the same way and with the 

same equipment as PET. 

• Its recycling process is the same as for PET. 

Figure 2: 

Technology used 

by Avantium [1] 


By: 

Alba Ortiz 

Researcher, Chemical Laboratory 

AIMPLAS, Valencia, Spain 


Since 2005, the company Avantium has developed a 

patented technology (YXY technology) to produce bio-based 

polymers: PEF from different sources, such as plants, 

grain, lignocellulose (wood) and even wastes like paper or 

agricultural residues. 

The main advantages of the EnzOx2 biochemical 

technology (which uses oxidases and/or peroxygenases) for 

producing PEF are the following: 

• The reaction conditions for obtaining this compound 

are softer, which entails an important decrease in the 

manufacturing costs. 

• Due to the high selectivity of the biochemical 

technology used, the number of byproducts, such as 

monofunctional monomers, is diminished. 

• AIMPLAS will develop the synthesis of compounds 

derived from PEF, so the influence of these 

modifications in the final properties could be assessed 

(figure 3). 

For that reason, during the three years duration of the 

EnzOx2 project, twelve participants from five European 

countries will work on the production of high added-value 

products from plant biomass using enzymatic technologies. 

References: 

[1] www.avantium.com/yxy/yxy-technology/ 

Think Sustainable 

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Figure 1: PEF vs PET 

O 

O 

O 

O 

O 

n 

O 

O 

O 

O 

n 

polyethylene furanoate (PEF) 

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) 

Figure 3: 

PEF derivatives obtained by 

AIMPLAS within the 

European project EnzOx2 

O 

O 

O 

m 

O 

PEF analogues 

O 

n 

BIO-FED 

Branch of AKRO-PLASTIC GmbH 

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 


News From Science & Research 

Aconitic acid as a building block 

Scientists at the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology 

(acib) from Graz, Austria, succeeded in using the mold 

Aspergillus niger to produce aconitic acid – a new raw material 

and important building block (with three carboxylic acid 

groups) for the production of non-toxic bioplastics. Thereby, 

acib sets a further, important step in the manufacturing 

process of chemical compounds from renewable resources to 

end our dependence on fossil resources for the well-being of 

our planet. 

The most amazing innovations are still coming from mother 

nature: For example, molds are chemical specialists who can 

produce a number of products by fermentation from renewable 

raw materials, e.g. antibiotics, additives for detergents or 

acidulants for the food industry. They are very important for 

the industry, since - for more than 50 years - molds have been 

the main production vehicle of citric acid, which in its quantity 

is a prominent product for all kinds of applications. Therefore, 

acib scientists questioned if the black fungi can do even more 

than they would have expected. 

Old fungus, new tricks 

In cooperation with the Dutch University of Leiden, scientists 

at acib found a way to modify this fungus to produce another 

organic acid, namely aconitic acid. “We discovered a protein 

of another fungus, which is able to transport aconitic acid out 

from the mitochondria, the power house of the cell”, explains 

acib researcher and project manager Matthias Steiger. After 

insertion of this protein, Aspergillus niger produces the 

biochemical for the first time in a controlled bioprocess. 

The research results have been published in the prestigious 

scientific journal “Metabolic Engineering”. 

A further step for bio-based products 

So far, aconitic acid – which got its name by the eponymous 

plant Aconitum napellus – was isolated as a by-product of 

sugar-beet. In very small quantities it also occurs as part of 

the metabolism in the cells of every living organism, including 

humans. There, it allows the conversion of sugars and fats 

into energy. Thanks to this new production method, aconitic 

acid will be of particular interest and entails great potential 

for the chemical industry. “Esters of aconitic acid can e.g. 

serve as building blocks for the production of biopolymers 

and therefore have the ability to replace mineral oil based 

polymers. Furthermore, they are suitable as a non-toxic 

alternative for plasticizers, for the use as a wetting agent 

or as precursor for other chemicals”, explains Diethard 

Mattanovich, BOKU-professor and acib-key-researcher. It will 

take a few more years until the process will be ready for an 

industrial implementation. Nevertheless, the acid is attributed 

with great potential. Mattanovich: “This is an important 

milestone for the renewable production of chemical products 

in tomorrow’s bioeconomy in order to end the dependence on 

fossil fuels. MT www.acib.at 

Flexible barrier film 

Biodegradable flexible multilayer structures for 

medium-barrier food packaging 

The RECUBIO project, led by Plásticos Romero, Molina de 

Segura, Spain, has enabled the development medium-barrier 

biodegradable PLA-based packages for the food sector from 

complex structures. 

The manufacturer of blown film collaborated with AIMPLAS, 

a Plastics Technology Centre located in Valencia, Spain, on 

a project aimed at the production of sustainable packaging 

from complex structures. This project, called Recubio, ran for 

a period of 18 months and was funded by Spanish National 

Program for R&D Activities, CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo 

Tecnológico Industrial). 

Multilayer packaging offers a host of advantages in terms 

of mechanical properties, sealability, gas barrier properties, 

as well as the packaging process, from which the packaged 

products benefit. In 2015, more than 440,000 tonnes of flexible 

plastic packages were used in Spain, according to the Spanish 

Statistical Office, the equivalent of a turnover of about one 

million euros. 

The problem is that this complex film is obtained by 

means of lamination processes with adhesives of different 

plastic films, so it is a mixture of materials with different 

origin, which is virtually impossible 

to recycle. Fortunately, over the 

past several years, interest in 

biodegradable materials in the 

packaging sector has grown. These 

materials can provide an alternative 

and sustainable end of life. Within 

the scope of the Recubio project, 

Plásticos Romero, worked to 

develop a sustainable alternative which is technically feasible 

and to find a solution for the current main limitation of 

biodegradable materials: the oxygen and water vapour barrier 

properties. 

In the Recubio project, a coating technology was applied to 

address this issue. A coating was applied to a biodegradable 

film to give it the required barrier properties. The final complex 

structure formed by this coated film that, was subsequently 

laminated with a three-layer structure providing rigidity and 

sealability to the final packaging, as well as protection to the 

barrier coating. 

The result is a complex final structure suitable for food 

packaging requiring medium barrier properties, such as 

bakery, fresh or frozen products. MT 

www.aimplas.es | www.plasticosromero.com 


News From Science & Research 

Application News 

From municipal waste 

to bioplastics 

Electric scooter from 

biobased materials 

The recently launched European URBIOFIN BBI-project 

will focus on converting the organic fraction of municipal 

solid waste on a semi-industrial scale. The project, that looks 

into the techno-economic and environmental feasibility will 

create chemical building blocks, biopolymers and/or additives 

using the biorefinery concept urban biorefinery. Ultimately, 

URBIOFIN offers a new feasible and more sustainable scenario 

alternative to the current treatment of the organic fraction of 

municipal solid waste. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research 

focuses on two specific topics in this project: the production 

of medium-chain length fatty acids and derived PHAs via 

microbial fermentation, and the scale-up, efficient extraction 

and novel commercial applications of these bioplastics. 

As a building block for high quality products, sustainable 

fatty acids have interesting market applications says Hans 

Mooibroek, project manager at Wageningen Food & Biobased 

Research. “‘In this project we are focusing on the conversion 

of fatty acids to PHAs. A key advantage of these microbial 

plastics is that they are produced from renewable resources 

and are completely bio-degradable. Our specific objective 

is to produce so-called medium chain length PHAs (mcl- 

PHAs), which are suitable for high value applications such 

as biodegradable agricultural plastics or biomaterials for the 

cosmetics industry.” 

Two-step fermentation process 

The production of PHAs occurs in stages, Mooibroek 

explains: “In the first step, we use short chain fatty acids 

from solid biomass and employ our intricate knowledge on 

fermentation technology. We put a yeast to work that converts 

the carbohydrates into longer chain fatty acids. We have a 

considerable track record on mcl-fatty acid production and 

mcl PHA-production using the yeast Cryptococcus curvatus 

and the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida respectively. Both 

organisms grow well on a variety of agricultural side streams. 

In the URBIOFIN project both fermentation processes will be 

combined to produce mcl-PHAs efficiently.” 

Transferring knowledge to commercial partners 

URBIOFIN is a typical BBI demonstration project, Mooibroek 

explains: “We carry the technology that we develop in our lab 

on to partners who want to apply the process on an industrial 

scale. Together with our research partner AINIA from Valencia, 

which produces short chain fatty acids and PHAs from waste, 

we have recently visited another Spanish partner IRIAF/ 

Clamber (providing upscaling services especially for research 

demo projects) to make sure that they have the knowledge 

and facilities for scaling up the fermentation and downstream 

processes.” Bringing the various PHAs to market is the task 

of commercial partners Stéfany Emballages Services (SES, 

France, packaging materials) and NaturePlast (France, 

supporting bioplastics applications development). 

The 16 project partners in URBIOFIN are located in eight 

European countries, with Spanish engineering company 

IMECAL coordinating the project. MT 

Sustainable mobility has been given a shot in the 

arm with the introduction of the Be.e. The Be.e is the 

first electric scooter that was designed, developed 

and manufactured, with structural parts made from 

biocomposites. 

The scooter was introduced in Amsterdam on 

September 12. And it has more going for it than 

its sustainability credentials alone: developed in 

collaboration with design studio Waarmakers, much 

time and creativity also went into its look& feel. The 

result is an alluring two-wheeler with distinctive lines 

and character, with attention for details such as handstitched 

saddles, available in vinyl or leather; or the 

integrated generously-sized windscreen, impregnated 

with a nano coating for outstanding wet-weather vision. 

The wide tires provide good grip and stability on uneven 

ground; LED lights, indicators and side running lights 

make sure you can see and be seen at all times. 

The Be.e has a body made of biocomposite, in this 

case, hemp fibres from Groningen in the norther part of 

the Netherlands in a matrix of partly biobased structure 

that at the same time is designed to perform. The drive 

train is top of the bill. The scooter features a 4kW motor 

(highest in its class) and a 2.5kWh Li-ion battery that 

comes with a 4 year or 1000 cycle guarantee, ensuring 

long range with more power and torque. The on-board 

charger completely recharges the battery in just 4 

hours; topping up in between is no problem. 

Range anxiety is a thing of the past: the display 

accurately shows the distance that can be travelled on 

the current battery charge. 

The Be.e also has a reverse gear, making it easy to 

manoeuvre under difficult conditions. 

The development of the Be.e was made possible by 

a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2015. Angel 

investors and the first launching customers provided an 

extra boost in realizing the first 8 Be.e scooters. These 

will be delivered and on the road in just a few weeks. MT 

ww.vaneko.com 

www.wur.eu/fermentationtechnology 


Application AutomotiveNews 

Brazilian sugar now packaged in sugar-based 

Bio-PE 

Braskem’s Green Plastic will be used for the first time in 

packages of refined sugar in Brazil. Pioneering this use is 

Caravelas Sugar, one of the country’s most important companies 

in this segment. 

The Caravelas brand consumes 140 tonnes of packaging 

per month and is the first and, so far. the only one in the 

segment to have sugarcane in its production cycle from start 

to finish. Consumers will be able to identify the new packaging 

through the I’m green seal, visible on the product front, 

which is Braskem’s identifying mark for packaging made 

with Green Plastic. 

“Sustainability is an essential pillar in our company, especially 

due to the production process of our product, whereas 

innovation and pioneering are directly linked to the positioning 

of our brand: In Favor of Tasting What Is New. In this 

sense, Green Plastic is an important initiative that can effectively 

respond to all these demands, bringing important innovation 

to the entire segment”, says Javel Colombo, commercial 

director for the Colombo Plant, Caravelas Sugar’s 

producer. 

The new packaging is produced by Zaraplast, the leader in 

flexible packaging solutions, longtime partner of Caravelas. 

“As suppliers of flexible packaging 50 years ago, we have noticed 

that every day consumers are looking for products that 

offer more sustainable solutions; and managing to combine 

Braskem’s renewable raw material, our transformation expertise 

and Caravelas product was rewarding”, said Eli Kattan, 

director of Zaraplast. 

For Braskem, which constantly monitors the market, the 

launch is aligned with the company’s goal of finding solutions 

for its customers and improving people’s lives through 

chemistry and plastic. “There is a growing concern of companies 

in the adoption of innovative solutions with a lower 

environmental impact. Green Plastic is the material that fits 

the attributes that Caravelas seeks for its products: innovation 

and respect for the environment”, says Gustavo Sergi, 

Director of Renewable Chemicals at Braskem. 

Braskem’s Green Plastic is 100 % recyclable, captures 

and fixes 3.09 tonnes of CO 2 

from the atmosphere for each 

ton of resin of renewable origin produced, collaborating to 

reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. The product 

also has the same characteristics of traditional polyethylene 

and can be recycled in the already existing chain. MT 

www.braskem.com 

Hot beverage cups 

Synbra Technology, Etten-Leur, The Netherlands, recently introduced a high heat biobased and biodegradable alternative 

for hot beverage cups and hot food packaging. In Asia for example hot noodle dishes are often served in foamed plastic bowls, 

even from vending machines. 

Synbra Technology has developed and patented a process to make such beverage cups and bowls using BioFoam ® , their PLA 

particle foam that can be processed on modified existing EPS moulding equipment. Thus this new cup and bowl application is 

an addition to the already established market of ice cream packaging and white goods production. The coffee and hot beverage 

and noodle cups that are heat resistant, yet biodegradable and can now be produced CO 2 

neutral. 

“Even after 48 hours the cups don’t not leak any coffee, which is surpassing the industry standard,” as Jan Noordegraaf, 

Managing Director of Synbra Technology points out. 

A myriad of bans loom for not using polystyrene for using beverages packaging. Polystyrene particle 

foam is the most used material to make drinking cups, and despite its good recyclability it is getting 

under pressure. In Malaysia all EPS and plastic foam packs are banned and there is a demand for 

biodegradable alternatives. In the state of California, a new bill aims to ban Styrofoam throughout 

the state for applications such as disposable foodservice cups, plates, and containers. This new 

development opens up a market for alternatives for compostable disposables. MT 

www.synbra-technology.nl 


Application Automotive News 

Barrier lidding 

Italian flexible packaging converter, Corapack (Brenna, 

Italy), has used Futamura’s renewable and compostable 

NatureFlex cellulose films for compostable lidding for 

trays. The lidding material is a proven compostable structure 

that is an ideal alternative to conventional plastics that often 

end up in landfill. 

To supply the best technical solution and functionality 

the high barrier NatureFlex film is laminated to an internal 

sealing bio-polymer so that the final structure, certified 

compostable, can be heat sealed to compostable base trays 

made from bio-polymers or wood pulp. 

NatureFlex films are produced from sustainable wood pulp 

harvested from managed plantations and are certified to both 

EU (EN13432) and US (ASTM D6400) composting standards. 

In addition to industrial composting, the product has reached 

the standard required for home composting. NatureFlex 

provides high barrier to moisture, aroma and gasses, has 

excellent transparency and high gloss; making it an ideal 

solution for a compostable lidding structure. 

Giorgio Berton, Futamura’s Italian regional sales manager, 

said: “This application is another great example of a successful collaboration where renewable and compostable NatureFlex 

films have been selected as a real alternative to conventional plastics; this means the brand owner can be happy that they are 

providing an environmen environmentally responsible solution without compromising on functionality”. MT 

www.futamuragroup.com 

Men’s skincare in 

Green PE tubes 

RPC M&H Plastics and Bulldog Skincare for Men have 

joined forces once again for Bulldog’s new line of skincare 

packaging, with a sustainable twist. 

The first men’s skincare brand in the world to use 

Braskem’s sugarcane based Green PE as a raw material, 

Bulldog have chosen to go green with their updated flexible 

tube line up, which features Moisturisers, Face Washes 

and Face Scrubs, with multiple variations of each product 

focusing on different skin types which includes sensitive 

skin, mature skin and oily skin. 

Simon Duffy, founder of Bulldog Skincare For Men says: 

“Bulldog is proud to be the first men’s skincare brand in the 

world to use plastic from sugarcane in our packaging. We 

have always tried to make the most ethical and sustainable 

decisions we can, from never testing on animals, to never 

using microbeads to making all our products suitable for 

vegetarians and vegans. Plastic from Sugar Cane is the 

latest step in this approach and we are delighted to have 

worked with M&H Plastics to 

turn Green PE into something we 

can use in the tubes and caps of 

our packaging.”MT 

www.rpc-group.com 



Bioplastic housing for 

grain mill 

Until recently, the housings 

of the high-quality corundumceramic 

stone grinders of 

Wolfgang Mock (Darmstadt, 

Germany) were made of wood. 

Mock grinders make up about 

70 % of all household mills sold and place the company 

prominently among European market leaders. 

The newest Mockmills come dressed in a Tecnaro 

housing, as announced in a recent press release 

dressed up in flowery words. Two models are encased 

in a stylish housing made of Tecnaro’s ARBOBLEND ® . 

Wolfgang Mock points out: “We have never used 

housing made of petroleum-based plastics for our 

mills.” It would not have suited the company philosophy. 

Now, the use of Tecnaro’s moulded wood also makes 

it easier to produce larger quantities of mills. The 

injection molding process allows for more streamlined, 

hence economical and faster production. This is how the 

Darmstadt-based family-run company is approaching 

the market, and the high-quality mills have received a 

warm welcome in markets across Europe and in the 

USA. 

The new Wolfgang Mock GmbH has the ambition to far 

exceed the 15,000 mills sold in one of the best years by 

his earlier company KoMo GmbH. And Wolfgang Mock 

is confident when he considers his decision to base his 

latest mills on the cooperation with Tecnaro. MT 

www.tecnaro.de | www.wolfgangmock.com 

Horticultural pots 

Using biopolymers for 

horticultural applications is 

something that makes eminent 

sense. At least, Growfun thinks 

so. 

Netherlands-based Growfun 

produces biodegradable 

horticultural pots from starchbased 

bio-based resin produced 

by Rodenburg Biopolymers in Oosterhout. Offering a 

sustainable alternative for fossil fuels, the company uses 

starch obtained from waste from the potato industry. 

According to Jan Blankestijn, managing director of Grofun, 

the company chose to collaborate with Rodenburg Biopolymers 

because of their expertise in that specific development area. 

“Based on their know-how, and in close collaboration with 

them we can develop a specific and high-quality product,” he 

said. 

Growfun is a flexible and innovative company that cooperates 

with customers and partners working with high-quality plastic 

products. The company invests considerable time and money 

in R & D, and, together with the University of Wageningen 

explores new technologies that they can apply to themes such 

as the circular economy. 

“Innovation plays a major role in both technology and design 

at Growfun, but only by investing continuously therein can we 

serve our customers quickly, expertly and professionally.” 

Growfun’s customers are national and international 

growers, exporters and retailers who demand a flexible, 

responsive supplier, for whom quality is an absolute given. MT 

www.growfun.nl 

Soybean oil enhances tire performance 

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Acron, Ohio, USA) is harvesting some unique seeds of innovation as it introduces a 

new tire technology with support from the United Soybean Board (USB). 

The first commercial use of a new soybean oil-based rubber compound is helping Goodyear enhance tire performance in 

dry, wet and winter conditions. A Goodyear team of scientists and engineers created a tread compound, or formulation, using 

soybean oil, which is naturally derived, cost-effective, carbon-neutral and renewable. 

“Goodyear’s legacy of innovation drives us to continue to apply new technology solutions, 

developing superior performing tires that meet consumer demands,” said Eric Mizner, Goodyear’s 

director of global materials science. 

By employing soybean oil in tires, Goodyear found a new way to help keep the rubber compound 

pliable in changing temperatures, a key performance achievement in maintaining and enhancing 

the vehicle’s grip on the road surface. 

Goodyear’s tests have shown rubber made with soybean oil mixes more easily in the silicareinforced 

compounds used in manufacturing certain tires. This also improves manufacturing 

efficiency and reduces energy consumption. 

Goodyear cooperated on the project with the USB, a group of farmer-directors who oversee the 

investments of a checkoff program on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. The USB provided some 

funding support for the development of Goodyear’s soybean oil application in tires. 

The commercialization of soybean oil in tires as the latest technology breakthrough by Goodyear 

builds on the company’s other recent innovations, such as the use of silica derived from rice husk 

ash. MT 

www.goodyear.com 



Compostable meat tray for organic meat 

In collaboration with Promessa (Deventer, The 

Netherlands) several members of the supermarket 

chain SuperUnie (including Coop and Poiesz) as well 

as EkoPlaza will switch to completely compostable and 

renewable meat trays by Bio4Pack to package organic 

meat. The tray, transparent film, label and absorption pad 

will all be biobased and compostable according to 

EN 134342, as well as indistinguishable from traditional 

meat packaging. 

“This is the first meat tray in the entire world which is 

completely compostable in accordance with the strict 

EN-13432 norm,” says Patrick Gerritsen from Bio4Pack. 

“Therefore, the tray may be labelled with the Seedling 

logo and can be thrown in the bin for organic waste 

after use. The tray and film are made of PLA, which is 

made from sugar cane. The impact of these trays on the 

environment is considerably less than traditional trays, as 

the resources are renewable. This means that no fossil 

resources are used at all. The absorption pad is made of 

cellulose and the Bio4Life label, including glue and ink, is 

completely compostable as well.” 

Bio4Pack started development of this organic tray back 

in 2006, and managed to keep its costs only a fraction 

higher than those of a traditional plastic tray. “It was 

quite a challenge. PLA is more fragile than other types 

of plastic, which means you have to add approved impact 

additives to the mix. In addition, the material must have 

good barrier properties and the packaging should be able 

to be mechanically processed with ease. However, the 

green colour was the biggest hurdle,” according to Patrick 

Gerritsen. 

An added benefit for retailers is that they will have to pay 

virtually no packaging tax for them. MT 

www.bio4pack.com 

Organic soil 

conditioner bags 

The Montgomery County Department of Environmental 

Protection (DEP) has taken another step to protect the 

environment in Montgomery County (Maryland, USA) . 

DEP will partner with Braskem’s I’m Green polyethylene 

(PE) and ProAmpac’s Trinity Packaging Division to provide 

packaging for Leafgro ® , which is the County’s composted 

soil enrichment product. The new wrapping is a sustainable 

resource made from sugarcane. 

“I have made the commitment to improving the County’s 

environment a priority for my administration,” said County 

Executive Ike Leggett. “Adopting this more environmentallyresponsible 

packaging product reflects this commitment, 

as well demonstrating the County’s embrace of the 

Governor’s Sustainable Materials Management Policy, 

which seeks ‘an updated and more holistic materials 

management approach… to ensure continuous 

environmental improvement. I 

commend the Department of 

Environmental Protection and the 

Division of Solid Waste Services for 

their leadership in achieving this 

important accomplishment.”MT 

www2.montgomerycountymd.gov 



New TAPP water filter to be made from 

biodegradable PLA 

water in the shower. Following the success of both products, 

TAPP Water launched TAPP 2, a new version of its flagship 

product with a more elegant design and new features – a 

Bluetooth sensor - in October 2017. 

“Integrated in the TAPP 2 is the first 100 % biodegradable 

filter on the market – globally,” said Magnus. Why a Bluetooth 

sensor? “Because, if people can follow the status of the filter 

on their phones, they become more engaged, and the impact 

is bigger,” Magnus pointed out. The sensor provides realtime 

data to a mobile device to track water consumption 

and battery life. The filter can calculate the consumption 

of water in real time and send an alert when the cartridge 

needs changing. “After the shelf life, about 3 months in an 

average household, the cartridge can be deposited in the 

recycling container of organic matter, without contaminating 

the environment with any kind of plastic waste,” he said. 

Complaints about the taste of tap water have fuelled the 

trend for consuming bottled water instead, leading in 

turn to the massive accumulation of waste plastic bottles. 

Now, a Barcelona company is combatting the problem at 

the source: the water tap at home. 

“I come from Sweden, and was used to drinking water 

from the tap that tasted good,” said Magnus Jern, founding 

partner of TAPP Water. “When I moved to Barcelona, I found 

that the water had an odour and tasted like chlorine. Instead 

of switching to bottled water, I decided it was time to do 

something about it.” 

Together with four other partners, he first extensively 

researched and analysed the situation, and found that only 

60 % of the population consume tap water in the Mediterranean 

corridor of Spain, especially in Barcelona. For two years, they 

also studied filtration technologies, consulting with experts 

in the field of water, from private companies, universities and 

water quality institutes. 

They also discovered that a good filter could eliminate the 

unpleasant taste and remove microplastics and the heavy 

metals leaching from old pipes – and TAPP Water was born. 

After testing more than 50 different filters and technologies, 

and conducting blind tests with hundreds of people, as 

well as installation tests and analysis of water institutes to 

ensure that filters have the highest quality standards, a new 

filtering system was developed that that is being touted as 

“revolutionary technology.” 

“What we discovered was that not much technological 

progress had been made over the last 30 years or so,” said 

Magnus. Mostly, activated carbon and carbon blocks were still 

being used. 

In June 2016, the company launched its first filtration 

product, TAPP 1, designed in Barcelona and manufactured in 

Taiwan. Six months later, the company went one step further 

and released TAPP 1s, the perfect solution for filtering the 

The organic coconut fibre filter integrated into TAPP 2 

eliminates the bad taste and odour of water, as well as 

chlorine, microplastics, agricultural chemicals, pesticides 

and other compounds that can remain in public water after 

sanitation, respecting those components that are beneficial 

to the body, such as magnesium or iron. 

Magnus said that TAPP Water managed to help consumers 

avoid purchasing 75,000 bottles of plastic waste in 2016. 

“Our aim is to raise this figure to 10 million plastic bottles by 

the end of 2017, the equivalent of 50 football fields filled with 

1.5-liter bottles.” 

In addition to a thinner design, 

TAPP 2 is an improvement on its 

predecessor TAPP 1 as itadds a 

Bluetooth sensor BLE 4.0, which 

provides real-time data to a mobile 

device to track water consumption 

and battery life. The filter can 

calculate the consumption of water 

in real time and send a warning when it is necessary to 

change the cartridge. After the shelf life, about 3 months in 

an average household, the cartridge can be deposited in the 

recycling container of organic matter, without contaminating 

the environment with any kind of plastic waste. 

And the system saves money: “In Spain, the average price 

of bottled water per litre is around € 0.30, compared to 

the € 0.0023 that costs one litre of tap water in a city like 

London. Thus, filtered tap water is up to 130 times cheaper 

than bottled water.” 

And the latest news? “We are raising money via a 

crowdfunding campaign to launch a TAPP Water filter 

made of a specially formulated biodegradable, home 

compostable PLA, replacing the ABS it is now made of. So, 

we are an environmentally responsible product made of 

environmentally responsible material.” MT 

www.tappwater.co 

www.tappwater.co/crowdfunding 



New milestone in biodegradability of coffee capsules 

Italy-based API, specialized in the production of 

thermoplastic elastomeric compounds and bioplastics and 

acquired by global materials company Trinseo in July 2017, 

has announced it has broadened its portfolio of Apinat 

bioplastic materials for single-serve coffee capsules. 

In response to a growing consumer demand for 

compostable coffee capsules, API has now launched 

various new grades of biodegradable and compostable 

bioplastics, including thermoplastic elastomers TPE-E 

and TPC. 

Apinat bioplastics offer excellent mechanical and 

thermal characteristics during the brewing process and 

can easily substitute conventional plastics. The new grades 

are suitable both for injection moulding and continuous 

compression moulding. 

The new Apinat grades boast a renewable content of 

60 % up to over 90 % and comply with U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration and EU food contact regulations. 

The products are also in conformity with the 

biodegradability standards of the European Bioplastics 

Association and the scientifically recognized standards for 

the biodegradability and compostability of plastic products 

(EU 13432/EN 14995 and US ASTM D6400 standards). 

“Consumers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly 

solutions for their coffee machines,” said Aldo Zanetti, 

Business Unit Manager, API. “This innovation around 

APINAT Bioplastics reinforces API’s commitment to 

sustainability and environmental responsibility, offering 

coffee in compostable coffee capsules.” 

In 2016 alone, the industry still produced more than 35 

billion non-recyclable plastic coffee capsules worldwide. 

Experts expect an increase of 17 billion plastic capsules by 

the end of 2020. MT 

www.APIplastic.com 

| www.trinseo.com/API-Plastic. 

Introducing Sprig 

farm trucks 

Lightweight yet durable these chunky outdoor trucks 

are ready to roll for miles of adventures. These rugged 

preschool trucks are perfect for the backyard, beach, or 

living room and are made from plants instead of oil based 

plastic. The toys feature a new bio-plastic derived from 

sugar cane and upcycled corn cobs. 

These trucks are made from plants grown on farms. 

They even smell like toasted corn, yep toasted corn. 

The toys are made in Fort Collins, Colorado (USA) in 

collaboration with farmers, scientists, engineers, and US 

factories. 

However, the trucks and other toys are not available yet, 

as it is still a kickstarter project. If you want to support 

the idea, you can do 

so until December 16. 

Visit the kickstarter 

page via the link 

below. MT 

tinyurl.com/sprigbioplastic 


Applications 

Automotive 

Hot 

compost bin 

Figure 1: 

Current hot bin and new stackable design for the hot bin. 

Figure 2: 

Foam cup (with paperclip) in a PE net, after 3 weeks was found 

to be totally composted. 

The hot compost bin was originally pioneered by DS 

Smith in the UK. It is made of EPP, a sturdy and insulating 

material that works much better than the 

poorly insulating PE used for conventional, rotomoulded 

bins. 

In cooperation with DS Smith, the Netherlands-based 

Synprodo, a subsidiary of Synbra Group has now introduced 

this hot bin concept to the continental European market. 

The aim is to realise the production of the hot bin in Europe, 

the USA, Japan and China, working with selected partners, 

who sign a franchise contract. 

The initial tests showed that the hot bin is ideal for 

disposing of cups and packaging made of BioFoam ® (cups 

cf. Application News p 38). BioFoam is certified according 

to the industrial composting standard EN 13432 and does 

not break down at room temperature. Yet in a hot bin, it was 

found to compost extremely fast. Cups were put in a PE 

net, to enable these to be identified, and added to an active 

and fully functioning hot bin, in which the temperature 

reached 60-70 °C due to the excellent insulating properties 

of the bin. Within three weeks, all the BioFoam cups were 

composted (see fig. 2). A Greeny ice cream container made 

of BioFoam was shown to have degraded in the same time, 

as well. 

BioFoam was not the only material that was found to 

compost. Thermoformed PLA parts made of NatureWorks’ 

Ingeo 2003, as well as of Luminy ® LX175 from Total- 

Corbion and BioFlex ® 1130 from FKUR, all composted 

within three weeks. This shows that the composting 

as an end of life option can be accelerated for many 

bioplastics and that industrially compostable bioplastics 

have the potential to become home compostable with a 

simple device. As a result, bioplastics packaging waste 

does not have to leave the premises and will not mix with 

conventional plastics. 

An internet shippable stackable bin has been produced 

by Synprodo since the end of 2017 and can be tailor made 

in larger dimensions to suit the needs of sport clubs, 

canteens or schools, mixing food waste with bioplastics. 

Sport clubs or schools can convert their entire canteen 

waste stream to only using bioplastics. MT 

www.synbra-technology.nl 


Applications 

Race Tesla with bio-composites 

Electric GT and Bcomp reveal lightweight renewable natural fibre 

composite body panels and tease “secret weapon” LED display 

Electric GT (headquartered at Circuit Pau-Arnos, France), 

has announced its unique partnership with Swiss company 

Bcomp - manufacturers of high-performance 

lightweight composite materials to replace some traditional 

carbon fibre panels in the Electric GT racing car. Bcomp (Fribourg, 

Switzerland) has developed a proprietary high-performance 

lightweight material for the automotive industry, producing 

high-performance, cost-efficient materials that can 

replace or reinforce carbon fibre and other engineering materials, 

and cut up to 40 % weight with maintained performance. 

Its powerRibs ® - and ampliTex ® reinforcement fabrics 

have first been used within Bcomp’s initial Sports & Leisure 

markets, and can typically be found in products such as skis, 

snowboards, surfboards, canoes and guitars. In addition, the 

company has collaborated with the European Space Agency 

ESA on the development of lightweight space applications for 

several years. 

Working with Electric GT, Bcomp has also teased a 

revolutionary LED system within the natural fibres which can 

create a display for live data and telemetry on the outer body 

of the racing car. 

Bcomp revealed the new technology at the Electric GT 

headquarters at Circuit Pau-Arnos, where EGT’s sustainable 

credentials are put into action from the ground up, creating an 

incubator for technology and clean energy. 

Electric GT CEO Mark Gemmell said: “Not only do 

Bcomp’s revolutionary natural fibre panels give us increased 

performance in terms of damping and stiffness, Bcomp have 

also assisted us in achieving a 20 % weight saving compared 

to the road-going production version of this car. That is quite 

staggering. 

“In addition to the performance characteristics these 

materials offer, we are also working with Bcomp to develop 

our secret weapon - bespoke LED arrays within the fibre 

composite panels, so that the cars will have the capability to 

display key information to the watching crowd and viewers at 

home. 

“From race numbers to race telemetry, energy levels and 

even biometric feedback from the drivers, the possibilities are 

endless and this is just the start of how we bring fans to the 

heart of the racing action.” 

Christian Fischer, CEO at Bcomp said: “At Bcomp, we’re 

really excited about the global shift towards clean, sustainable 

mobility. Our goal is to contribute with our lightweight, highperformance 

renewable materials, and EGT offers the perfect 

platform to show to the world how the future mobility will look. 

“When you meet like-minded people, things can go really 

fast. Just like us, Electric GT wants to explore the new 

opportunities of technology and push boundaries, which is 

how the idea of integrating LED arrays into our translucent 

body panels was born.” 

“From our first contact with Mark and his colleagues at 

Electric GT, it was clear that both teams wanted to create 

something entirely new and different, that would completely 

change the game plan for racing. We cannot wait to see where 

this partnership takes us.” MT 

www.electricgt.co | www.bcomp.ch 


Report 

Product communication 

for bioplastics 

Uncharted territory and an adventure for the companies involved. 

Results of a study 

“And the companies that bring 

the products to market are in for an 

adventure...” [1]. 

After making the decision to use bioplastics, companies 

are often faced with the question if and how this new material 

can be implemented in product communication, and yet there 

are presently almost no established methods of doing this. 

The feeling of adventure in the quote above expresses the 

uncertainty experienced by many companies, and interviews 

conducted in the Product Communication research project – 

being a part of the Junior Research Group at IfBB (Institute 

of Bioplastics and Biocomposites, Hanover, Germany) 

– confirm this. The underlying conditions for marketing 

products containing bioplastics were analyzed with the goal of 

developing effective communication strategies. 

24 interviews were conducted in 2016 with 35 communication 

executives. The focus was placed on questions concerning 

the existing knowledge, requirements and reservations 

with respect to the use of bioplastics. The survey addressed 

companies that either produce or sell bioplastic products, 

as well as representatives from politics, non-governmental 

organizations (NGOs), the scientific community and relevant 

associations. 

The reasons for the interest in bioplastics are manifold and 

range from a desire for the use of sustainable materials to 

perceived pressure from business or the customer: 

“But we also see it as a marketing tool, 

we can’t do without it. That’s an issue. 

If we are asked about it, we have to have 

something to show.” [2]. 

The fear of resource scarcity is also a common reason for 

choosing bioplastics. 

Bioplastics offer real advantages that can be conveyed in 

product communications. On the one hand, the interviewees 

acknowledged the positive aspects for the environment such 

as the reduction of both CO 2 

output and oil consumption: 

“Yes, petroleum-free, 100 % from 

renewable resources and odorless, these 

are the three main arguments” [3]. 

On the other hand, the higher costs, difficult cultivation 

conditions, technical limitations and public criticism of 

competition with food production were often mentioned as 

disadvantages: 

“In our view, it is quite true that those 

materials should be preferred, which do 

not compete with land use. Thus, material 

out of waste would be our first choice” [4]. 

Nevertheless, biodegradability is an advantage if it 

fits the product properties and the application; however, 

disadvantages are presented by the fact that the disposal 

options are unclear; and that many technical difficulties still 

exist. 

Those interviewees indicated that the features and 

appearance of the products need to be emphasized: 

“It really does make sense to find new 

materials with new qualities such as better 

barrier properties or, in the simplest case, 

an improved ability to be printed upon 

or molded. Add the aspect of their being 

biobased, and you have created a real 

business opportunity...” [5]. 

When businesses gather information on this subject, 

they primarily use internal sources such as their suppliers, 

trade associations, their own departments, and scientific 

publications, while the communication goals vary according to 

the target group. These goals can be anything from informing 

and clarifying up to the generation of pull effects. The biggest 

challenge for communication is that this topic generally 

requires much explanation, especially regarding the disposal 

options. Communication activities should start in-house and 

must include both informing and training. 

Furthermore, the topic of bioplastics often meets with false 

expectations and prejudices and is sometimes perceived to 

lack in relevance [6]. A fear of criticism and association with 

greenwashing was noticeable: 

“You’re more aware of defensive issues, 

because you definitely want to avoid being 

accused of greenwashing“ [7]. 


Report 

This inhibits communication, but it also creates the 

incentive for companies to communicate more clearly. 

The results of the interviews show that green marketing is 

not necessarily advantageous for various reasons. The topic 

of bioplastics is too complex; and the potential pitfalls and 

challenges to communication efforts are too great. When 

bioplastics are mentioned at all, product communication 

should instead inform and explain the issue by being 

transparent. It should also address prejudices. 

In effective product communication, focus should be 

placed on the product: its quality, its properties, and its 

design. The material itself should be secondary, and for this 

reason, the properties of bioplastics should be represented 

as pleasant side-effects, not as a main feature. Potentially, 

this could lead to an increase in the perceived value of the 

product, but in order for this to come into effect, customers 

(end users, business customers, public authorities) will 

need some sort of confidence-building evidence in the form 

of certification or product labeling. 

The study results also indicate that there are still many 

challenges that communication cannot solve alone: For 

example, there is still a lack of uniform standards both 

on a national and on an EU level; the purchase prices are 

still high; production processes must be changed; and 

disposal infrastructures (composting, recycling) have 

to be expanded. In the case of small and medium-sized 

Enterprises, it makes sense to think about alliances to 

generate more market power and to carry out concerted 

marketing campaigns. With good products to build upon, 

communication will be able to effectively support the 

establishment process. 

The research group FNG of the Institute of Bioplastics and 

Biocomposites (IfBB) at University of Applied Sciences and 

Arts in Hanover plans to introduce bioplastics products to 

the German market in cooperation with the business sector. 

Ecological and economic assessments and clarification of 

technical feasibility will also be carried out. The project 

is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Food and 

Agriculture (BMEL) under the sponsorship of the Agency 

for Renewable Resources (FNR). 

More information about the Junior Research Group at 

IfBB can be found here: http://fng.ifbb-hannover.de All 

results of the research project will be available on the IfBB 

website starting middle of January 2018. 

www.ifbb-hannover.de 

References 

[1] „Und das Abenteuer bestreiten halt die Firmen, die die 

Produkte auf den Markt bringen…” (interview partner 14, 

Applying company). 

[2] „Aber wir sehen das halt auch als Marketinginstrument, wir 

können nicht darauf verzichten, das ist ein Thema. Wenn wir 

darauf angesprochen werden, müssen wir so was haben“ 

(interview partner 14, applying company). 

[3]„Ja, erdölfrei, 100 % aus nachwachsenden Rohstoffen und 

geruchsneutral, das sind so die drei Hauptargumente“ 

(interview partner 18, applying company) 

[4] „Aus unserer Sicht ist es natürlich schon so, dass natürlich 

Ausgangsmaterialien, die jetzt vielleicht nicht so sehr auch in 

Konkurrenz zum Land-Use stehen, bevorzugt werden sollten. 

Also eben Material aus Abfällen wären für uns ... erste Wahl“ 

(interview partner 22, trade company). 

[5]„Sinn macht es wirklich, neue Materialien zu finden, die 

irgendwelche neuen Eigenschaften haben, zum Beispiel 

einfach bessere Barriereeigenschaften oder im einfachsten 

Fall lassen sie sich besser bedrucken oder verformen. Wenn 

dann noch die Biobasiertheit dazukommt, dann hat man 

einen wirklichen Mehrwert geschaffen für die Industrie...“ 

(interview partner 25, association). 

[6] Pls. see also results of the focus groups: a survey with a total 

of 48 consumers in the context of the FNG research project 

(2016): here: Webinar 3 (German language only, registration 

via e-mail is required) 

https://www.ifbb-hannover.de/de/webinare.html 

[7] „Man geht da mit dem Thema eher bewusst defensiv um, 

weil man halt definitiv vermeiden möchte, in diese Ecke 

geschmissen zu werden, dass man halt Greenwashing 

betrieben hat“ (interview partner 14, applying company). 

By: 

Miriam Jaspersen 

FNG II-Projekt 

Hochschule Hannover, Germany 

Wiebke Möhring 

FNG II-Projekt 

Technical University Dortmund, Germany 


Basics 

Blown Film 

Extrusion 

By Michael Thielen 

Blown Film Extrusion is an established process which 

is used to manufacture a wide range of thin commodity 

and specialized plastic films mainly for the packaging 

industry, but also for other sectors, such as for example 

mulch films for agricultural applications. Also known 

as Film Blowing Process, this extrusion process generally 

comprises the extrusion of a molten thermoplastic tube 

and its constant inflation to several times its initial diameter. 

This forms a thin, tubular product which may be used 

directly, or indirectly by slitting it to create a flat film. 

Materials used 

In the process of Blown Film Extrusion, the common 

resins that are used are polyethylenes (LDPE, HDPE and 

LLDPE). However, various other materials, including many 

biobased and biodegradable plastics, can also be used in 

this process, as a blend with other resins or even as single 

layers or in multi-layer film structures. In few instances 

of multilayer production, when the individual materials 

are not able to gel together, a multi-layer film might delaminate. 

This can happen if polyethylene or polypropylene 

is combined with other thermoplastics. Hence, to overcome 

this issue, various tiny layers of special adhesive resins are 

used purposefully in between. These tiny layers are called 

tie layers. 

Process of blown film extrusion 

The extrusion and subsequent tube-forming of the plastic 

melt is done via an annular slit die, generally vertically in 

the upward direction, for the formation of a thin walled melt 

tube. The introduction of air takes place through a hole in 

the die’s center for blowing up the tube just like a balloon. 

The cooling of the hot film is done by a high-speed air ring 

that blows onto it. This air ring is mounted above the die. 

Then the following procedures take place: 

The tube of the film continues its movement upwards 

(constantly cooling) until it is squeezed by two opposing flat 

surfaces (collapsing frame) to collapse the tube before it 

enters the primary nip rolls at the top of the tower structure. 

The now collapsed tube is transported on idler rolls down 

the tower by the secondary tension-controlled nip. 

On higher output lines, an exchange of air inside the 

bubble is necessary. This is called IBC (Internal Bubble 

Cooling). 

Finally, the collapsed tube is kept as it is or is slit into 

two individual sheets or webs. Then the film is wound onto 

cores to make film roll stock. The film can also be sent to 

an in-line sealing machine to make bags. This process can 

also be carried out off-line at a later stage. 

Depending on where the inflated melt-film starts to 

solidify (so-called frost line) a short neck process or – if the 

frost line lies rather high – a long neck process are being 

distinguished. As an example, PE-LD is usually run on in a 

short neck process, whereas PE-HD is preferably run on 

long neck equipment. 

Advantages of blown film extrusion 

• In a single operation, flat as well as gusseted tubing can 

be formed. 

• Regulation of film thickness and width with the control 

of air volume in the bubble 

• Capability of biaxial orientation, which allows uniformity 

in all the mechanical properties 

• Very high productivity 

• Allows combination of different materials as well as 

properties 

Applications of blown film extrusion 

In this extrusion process, the blown film is used either 

in tube form (for plastic sacks and bags) or a sheet can be 

used by slitting the tube. Typical applications of the Blown 

Film Extrusion or Film Blowing includes following: 

industry packaging 

• shrink film 

• stretch film 

• bag film 

• container liners 

consumer packaging 

• packaging film for frozen products 

• shrink film for transport packaging 

• food wrap film 

• packaging bags 

• form, fill and seal packaging film 

laminating film 

• laminating of aluminium or paper used for packaging 

milk, coffee, and similar products 

agricultural film 

• Mulch film 

• greenhouse film 

• crop forcing film 

• silage film 

• silage stretch film 

films for packaging medical products 

[1, 2] 

Blown film extrusion of bioplastics 

Most bioplastics can be run on conventional blown 

film extrusion equipment. However, due to their different 

flow behavior – just like changing any other polymer – 

most bioplastics need a new and exact adjustment of the 

extrusion dies, output speeds, temperatures etc. for the 

respective operating points. 


Basics 

As an example, some particularities of BASF’s ecovio ® 

blown film types (F and FS - grades) shall be mentioned 

here: 

The ecovio blown film grades can be run on conventional 

blown film extrusion lines in thicknesses ranging from 

usually 8 up to 250 μm (depending in the product type). 

All existing downstream equipment (winding-, printing-, 

cutting- and welding/sealing, bag-making equipment etc) 

can be used. 

Conventional spiral mandrel die heads of the latest 

generation can be used to process ecovio F and FS. The range 

of usable die gaps is rather wide. Existing metallocene‐ dies 

with gap widths of 1.2-1.8 mm can be used as well as die 

gaps as narrow as 0.8 mm. 

Ususally ecovio is being processed in a normal- (or 

short)-neck process (PE-LD). To a limited extent, it can 

also be run on existing PE-HD long neck equipment. The 

neck-length however, should be significantly shorter as for 

running PE-HD. 

Usual blow up ratios for ecovio are in the range of 1:2.5 up 

to 1:4 (e.g. mulch films). 

The ecovio F and FS grades are pre-compounded with a 

certain amount (1~2 %) of slip- and antiblock masterbatches 

to adapt sliding properties, avoid fold formation and reduce 

blocking of the film. However, additional adding of such 

additives may be advised. [3] 

Sources: 

[1] www.industrialextrusionmachinery.com 

[2] www.kpfilms.com 

[3] BASF brochure “ecovio® Biologically degradable solutions for extrusion 

applications” 

The 3-layer plant of the machine manufacturer 

Hosokawa Alpine. The picture shows the plant in the 

Augsburg test centre (Photo courtes Hosokawa-Alpine) 

Nip Rolls 

Collapsing 

Frame 

Stabilizing Cage 

Air Ring 

Winder 

Extruder 

Die 


Report 

Situation 

in France 

By: 

Marie Plancke 

Secrétaire Générale 

Club Bio-plastique 

Paris, France 

Two years ago, France’s Energy Transition for Green 

Growth bill was voted into law by the National Assembly. 

This wide-reaching Act aims to provide effective 

tools to boost green growth, to reduce environmental 

impacts and is strongly committed to a circular economy 

transition. A key aspect of the law is to tackle unemployment 

through green growth by relocating industrial plants 

in territories. 

As biobased and biodegradable plastics are predicated 

on a systemic approach that starts from the soil and ends 

in the soil, they illustrate a concrete model of the French 

perspective on a circular economy focused on territories. 

The starch from which French bioplastics are made, indeed, 

comes from, potatoes and maize cultivated in French soil. 

Biorefineries and plastics converting companies can be 

integrated into local areas where bioplastics are produced. 

Club Bio-plastiques, the French representative of the 

bioplastics industry (from agro-resources to their final 

conversion) has been invited to work on the French Circular 

Economy roadmap which is scheduled for publication in 

March 2018. 

Bioplastics in France: now & tomorrow 

Since January 1 st 2017, thin-walled single-use plastics 

bags have been banned. The bags must be made from 

plastic with a minimum biobased content of 30 %, and 

be home compostable, compliant to the French home 

composting standard NFT 51 800. The minimally required 

biobased percentage will increase progressively to 60 % in 

2025. 

Checkout carrier bags must now be reusable, which 

means they must be have a thickness > 50µm to be in 

compliance with the law. Nevertheless, many PE single-use 

bags can still be found at small city markets, although most 

supermarkets are now in conformity. Club Bio-plastiques 

continues to work on this issue with the Environment 

Ministry in order to meet the single-use plastic bags ban. 

The Ministry for Economic Affairs has commissioned a 

report about the environmental & economic benefits of this 

regulation that will be published in 2018. 

Under the Energy Transition Act, a ban on disposable 

cups, glasses and plates not made of bioplastic will go 

into effect on January 1 st 2020 . Although members of 

Club Bio-plastiques are very pleased and welcome this 

latest weapon in the fight against plastic pollution, they 

warned the Ministry and its representatives about the 

home composting obligation. Under the law, “cups, glasses 

and plates” must be made of bioplastic with a minimum 

biocontent of 50 % and home compostable (in compliance 

with the French standard), which leads to a technical issue 

for companies. Although industrial composting would not 

have been a problem, the industry has not yet been able to 

produce disposable plates, cups and glasses that are home 

compostable - in spite of massive R&D investments. The 

problem is the thickness. Manufacturers of these products 

do not expect to successfully produce home compostable 

serviceware before the year 2020. 

Another deadline will occur in 2025 with the 

generalization of source separation, the first step for the 

separate collection of biowaste, which could help towards 

achieving the targets of the Circular Economy Package 

(decrease of landfilling and so on). Indeed, by requiring 

source separation and organic waste valorization, the Act 

aims to enhance compost quality. The French Agency for 

the Environment (ADEME) published a best practices guide 

for biowaste collection last spring, highlighting the use of 

biodegradable bags in the process. 

The importance of organic waste collection, and role of 

biobased and biodegradable plastics in the model were 

emphasized in discussions during the Food & Farming 

General State led by the government. Invited to participate 

and to discuss on the bioeconomy and the Circular 

Economy, Club Bio-plastiques also called for a ban on 

oxofragmentable mulch films. These products are still used 

in France despite their environmental impact, and in spite 

of existing biodegradable mulch films solutions. 

www.bioplastiques.org 


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Opinion 

Position Paper: Plastic bags 

Background 

What do lettuce from the weekly market, a pack of 

headache pills, a DVD, a teddy bear and jeans have in 

common? At first glance, you would think: nothing. But a 

second look reveals: often when you buy them, all these 

items are put in a disposable polymer bag, better known as 

plastic bag. 

Statistically, 45 plastic bags per capita were used in 

Germany in 2016 [1]. In a city like Oberhausen with 210,000 

citizens this amounts to a total of almost 10 million bags 

per year. While some of the plastic bags are reused several 

times after their initial use, for example as a means of 

transport or as a garbage bag, most of them directly 

end up in the mixed waste bin or, as it should be, are fed 

into recycling via the yellow bin, the German lightweight 

packaging collecting system. Especially so called hygiene 

bags with a wall thickness of less than 15 μm (0.015 mm), 

often used for fruit and vegetables bought at markets and 

grocery stores, are just used once. 

The amount of plastic litter in the oceans is still increasing 

– in total it is estimated to be 27-66,7 million tonnes [2] – 

and more and more pictures of starved birds and beached 

whales with their stomachs full of plastics fragments and 

bags instead of food are going around the world [3]. That 

is why plastics, especially in the form of plastic bags and 

packaging, are increasingly becoming a subject of harsh 

criticism. For many years, plastic bags have been one of 

the top 10 litter items found during beach clean-ups [4]. 

Several initiatives, like plastic-free shops [5] or plastic-free 

cities [6], aim at completely abandoning these products. 

In April 2016 the Federal Ministry for the Environment, 

Nature conservation, Construction and Nuclear Safety 

(BMUB) and the Trade Association of Germany (HDE) 

signed a voluntary agreement to reduce the use of plastic 

bags by half in the next ten years. Therein, the participating 

companies commit themselves to charge their customers 

a reasonable fee for plastic bags from 1 July 2016 at the 

latest. Exceptions are only made for very light carrier bags 

with a wall thickness below 15 μm (i. e. hygiene bags) and 

freezer and long-life carrier bags with a wall thickness of 

more than 50 μm. The latter types had already mostly been 

charged for anyway. 

Many retailers have reacted and do not offer free bags 

anymore but charge a fee for plastic bags instead. Some 

even go a step further. The German food retailer REWE, for 

example, has completely stopped the sale of plastic bags 

since 1 June 2016 and nowadays offers alternatives made 

from cotton, jute or paper as well as reusable bags from 

recycled materials or cardboard boxes [7]. In September 

2016 the German discounter Lidl also announced not to 

offer standard plastic bags any more starting in 2017 [8]. 

Today, one can find long-life carrier bags, cotton and paper 

bags as eco-friendly alternatives in their stores [9]. 


Opinion 

By: 

Jürgen Bertling, Stephan Kabasci 

Markus Hiebel, Leandra Harmann 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT 

Oberhausen, Germany 

But how should the subject be evaluated from a scientific 

perspective? Experts from Fraunhofer UMSICHT have 

compiled the following facts and assessments. 

Position of Fraunhofer UMSICHT 

1. Similar to the criticized material polyvinyl chloride 

(PVC) the plastic bag has become a highly symbolic icon in 

environmental debates. It has been singled out from a variety 

of plastic products which have quite a similar relevance from 

an environmental perspective. Its importance regarding the 

quantitative environmental impact is frequently overrated 

and the complexity of the overall problem with polymers in 

the environment tends to be oversimplified. This makes an 

unbiased discussion based on facts difficult. 

2. The mass fraction of plastic bags accounts for less 

than one percent of the total consumption of plastics. With 

45 per capita and year the consumption of plastic bags 

in Germany is well below the EU average of 198 bags per 

capita and year. Nevertheless, there are countries such as 

Luxembourg and Ireland which show a significantly lower 

consumption [1, 10]. 

3. Life cycle assessments (LCA) do not show specific 

advantages of paper and cotton bags over bags made from 

conventional plastics or bio-plastics. A multiple use of bags 

has positive effects on LCA results [11]. However, LCAs are 

quite limited in their informative value. For example, long 

term necessary paradigm shifts (from fossil to renewable 

sources), the technical level of development of materials or 

products (learning curve of efficiency) or the impact of litter 

– including microplastics – in the environment are not or 

not sufficiently considered yet. 

4. The utilization of biodegradable materials as alternative 

sources for plastic bags needs further investigation. It is 

known that not all biodegradable plastics degrade as quickly 

in different environmental compartments (e.g. on and in 

the soil, in fresh and sea water) as it is proven in standard 

laboratory tests. However, even a slower degradation – 

albeit lasting several years – would already improve the 

situation compared to the extremely long lasting standard 

plastics bags (mostly made out of the polyolefines PE or 

PP). Closer examinations of degradation mechanisms and 

kinetics in the environment as well as sociological studies 

dealing with the suspected rebound effect of increased 

littering of biodegradable bags into the environment are yet 

to be carried out. 

5. Plastic bags made of polyethylene (PE) with catalytic 

additives which enhance oxidative fragmentation (so 

called oxo-degradables) are to be strictly rejected. They 

purposefully produce microplastics which can have severe 

consequences in the low trophic levels (plankton, bivalves, 

worms etc.) of the food chain (please see our position paper 

on microplastics for further information) [12]. 

450- 

400- 

350- 

300- 

250- 

200- 

150- 

100- 

50- 

Number of plastic bags used per capita in 2010 in the EU [13] 

0- 

Bulgaria - 421 

Czech Rep. -297 

Greece - 269 

Romania - 252 

Italy - 204 

EU 27 - 198 

Cyprus - 140 

UK - 137 

Spain - 133 

Malta - 119 

Sweden - 111 

Belgium - 98 

Netherlands - 81 

France - 79 

Denmark - 79 

Finland - 77 

Germany - 71 

Austria - 51 

Luxembourg - 20 

Ireland - 18 


Opinion 

6. Biobased polymers are an important strategic route 

since a path change away from fossil raw materials to 

renewable sources will be unavoidable in the long term. 

Regardless of biodegradation this route should be followed 

in any case. Another long-term option could be the material 

use of carbon dioxide using regenerative energies for its 

extraction. 

7. Multiple uses and improved end-of-life management 

are necessary for all types of shop-ping bags. 

8. A general ban on plastic bags is rather to be rejected. 

Instead, strategies should be pursued promoting careful and 

responsible use. These include, for example, measures of 

environmental education, deposit systems or fees for plastic 

bags in shops. The latter has al-ready been implemented 

successfully in Germany following the voluntary agreement 

of the Federal Ministry for the Environment and the Trade 

Association of Germany (HDE). 

9. Furthermore, any means that facilitate plastic recycling, 

such as collecting systems, which facilitates an efficient 

separate collection, or an abandoning of multi-material 

systems, should be reasonably accompanied by political and 

regulatory measures. 

These facts and recommendations form the basis for 

technical and social innovations which are developed by 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT. 

Plastic bag consumption – examples from 

around the world 

The per capita consumption of plastic bags varies 

from country to country. In 2010 Bulgaria led the EU 

member states with 421 bags, followed by the Czech 

Republic (297), Greece (269), Ro-mania (252) and Italy 

(204). Germany already was at the lower end of the 

range with 71 bags per capita in 2010. According to 

most recent figures, it has reduced its consumption 

further down to 45 bags per capita per year [1]. Less 

plastic bags were only used in Luxemburg (20) and 

Ireland (18) – see the following figure. The low value for 

Ireland can be explained by a former introduction of a 

fee for plastic bags. 

Some non-European countries have already imposed 

complete bans. In Bangladesh plastic bags were 

first banned in the capital city of Dhaka in 2001 and 

subsequently prohibited throughout the country. The 

reason was that they were partly made responsible 

for blocking wastewater sys-tems leading to floodings 

in 1988 and 1998. In Morocco, plastic bags have been 

banned com-pletely since 1 July 2016. The country 

previously ranked second behind the USA with an 

annual consumption of 900 bags per capita and 26 

billion in total. 

Ultrathin plastic bags are prohibited in China, Kenia, 

Rwanda and South Africa. In the city of San Francisco 

plastic bags also got banned. Furthermore, in China 

plastic bags are charged for, as well as in Washington 

D. C. and Los Angeles. Some further countries also 

consider implementing laws because farm animals 

have increasingly started to feed on plastic bags and as 

a consequence have suffered from health problems. 

Sources: [1, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18]. 

References: 

[1] GVM (2017): Ein Drittel weniger Kunststofftüten in Deutschland - 

Presseinformation des Handelsverband Deutschland: Datengrundlage 

(GVM - Gesellschaft für Verpackungs-marktforschung). Last time 

checked: 2017, June 28. https://www.einzelhandel.de/index.php/ 

presse/aktuellemeldungen/item/127648-ein-drittel-wenigerkunststofft%C3%BCten-in-deutschland 

[2] Eunomia (2016): Plastics in the Marine Environment. Bristol, United 

Kingdom 

[3] Spiegel Online (2017): Müll im Meer: Wal hatte 30 Plastiktüten im Magen. 

Last time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/ 

natur/muell-im-meer-wal-hatte-30-plastiktueten-im-magen-a-1132942. 

html 

[4] Ocean Conservancy (2016): 30th Anniversary International Coastal 

Cleanup: Annual Re-port. Washington DC 

[5] Utopia (2016): Verpackungsfreier Supermarkt: einkaufen ohne 

Verpackung. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.utopia.de/ 

magazin/plastikfreie-laeden 

[6] IBP - Interkulturelle Begegnungsprojekte e.V. (2015): Unplastic 

Billerback. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.unplasticbillerbeck.de/ 

[7] Süddeutsche Zeitung (2016): Rewe stoppt Verkauf von Plastiktüten. Last 

time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/ 

plastikmuell-rewe-stoppt-verkauf-von-plastiktueten-1.3014599 

[8] Presseportal (2016): Lidl Deutschland spart ab 2017 jährlich 3500 

Tonnen Plastik: Lidl nimmt bundesweit Standard-Plastiktüte aus dem 

Sortiment und setzt auf Mehrfachver-wendung seines erweiterten 

Tragetaschensortiments. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www. 

presseportal.de/pm/58227/3434594 

[9] LIDL Deutschland (2017): Tragetaschensortiment - Lidl Deutschland 

- lidl.de. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. https://www.lidl.de/de/ 

tragetaschensortiment/s3219 

[10] Zeit Online (2013): Umweltverschmutzung: EU will Plastiktüten- 

Verbrauch begrenzen. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.zeit. 

de/wissen/umwelt/2013-11/plastik-eu-kommission 

[11] Environment Agency (2011): Evidence. Life cycle assessment of 

supermarket carrierbags: a review of the bags available in 2006. Report: 

SC030148. Bristol: Environment Agency (En-vironment Agency science 

report) 

[12] Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik 

UMSICHT (2015): Fraun-hofer UMSICHT nimmt Stellung: Thema 

Mikroplastik. https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/de/nachhaltigkeit/agnachhaltigkeit/umsicht-nimmt-stellung/mikroplastik.html 

[13] European Commission - DG Environment (2011): Assessment of impacts 

of options to reduce the use of single-use plastic carrier bags: Final 

report 

[14] Umweltbundesamt (2013): Plastiktüten. UBA: Dessau-Roßlau 

[15] Doyle, T.; O’Hagen, A. M. (2013): The Irish ‘Plastic Bag Levy’: A 

mechanism to reduce marine litter? (Marine Litter in Eurpean Seas) 

[16] Süddeutsche Zeitung (2016): Marokko: Kommt nicht in die Tüte. Last 

time checked: 2017, April 28. http://www.sueddeutsche.de/panorama/ 

marokko-kommt-nicht-in-die-tuete- 1.3104571 

[17] Deutschlandfunk (2016): Energiewende-Gesetz: Frankreich will 

Plastiktüten teilweise ver-bieten. Last time checked: 2017, April 28. 

http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/energiewende-gesetz-frankreich-willplastiktueten-teilweise.697.de.html?dram:article_id=358804 

[18] Earth Policy Institute (2014): Plastic Bags Fact Sheet 

tinyurl.com/postion-bags 


Brand Owner 

Brand owner’s 

perspectives 

What is driving investment in biobased 

materials. 

Respondents said growth factors for biobased materials 

include consumer demand for environmentally-friendly 

products (65 %) and packaging (46 %), as well as brands 

wanting to improve public image (48 %). 

On this page our readers usually find a statement from 

a brand owner. This issue, however, we give ourselves 

a break. Not because we are lazy, but simply because 

our friends at Sustainability Consult did such a good job 

with their survey on #WhatBrandsWant. In this issue we 

publish an excerpt from their report. 

Sustainability Consult, the leading bioeconomy 

communications and PR consultancy (Brussels, Belgium) 

realised that they (just like we) often hear the same 

questions: 

• How can biomaterials manufacturers make it easier for 

brands to engage? 

• What can the biobased industry do to encourage brands 

to invest in biobased materials? 

• How do biobased solutions fit in with brand sustainability 

goals? 

• How can brands help the biobased industry to grow? 

So they decided to ask over 40 brands across different 

sectors ranging from apparel, footwear & textiles, to food 

& beverages and personal care. The results offer an insight 

on the drivers and barriers affecting market growth in the 

biobased materials sector. 

Here are some of their findings: 

Level of knowledge 

Respondents from brands were informed about biobased 

materials, with 59 % claiming they were informed, 39 % 

well-informed and only 2 % not informed about biobased 

materials. This trend was also reflected by those brands not 

currently using biobased solutions. 

not informed 

well informed 

informed 

What information are brands exactly looking 

for? 

To evaluate whether to adopt biobased materials, 63 % 

said they need more information from suppliers on pricing, 

61 % on availability and 57 % on performance. 

peformance 

availability 

pricing 

0% 

0% 

10% 

20% 40% 60% 80% 

20% 

30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 

improve their public image 

Consumer demand for 

environmentally-friendly packaging 

Consumer demand for 

environmentally-friendly products 

What are the biggest barriers? 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 

Among the brands, 87 % indicated cost as the biggest 

barrier to widespread uptake of biobased materials. 

Performance (42 %) and security of supply (37 %) were 

identified as the next biggest barriers. 

security of supply 

performance 

cost 

0% 

20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 

Do brands owners communicate externally on 

their use of biobased materials? 

Communicating openly on their use of biobased 

materials demonstrates confidence in biobased technology 

and products. 71 % of the respondents do communicate 

externally, whereas 27 % said they don’t. 

do not commuexternaly 

nicate externaly 

communicate 

0% 

20% 40% 60% 80% 

What growth rates are expected for biobased 

materials? 

Most respondents expect the market to experience 

moderate growth (61 %), although brands already using biobased 

materials are more optimistic, with 43 % suggesting 

there will be strong market growth. In their comments, 

respondents highlighted the price of oil, lengthy product 

planning cycles, end-of-life options and legislative changes 

as having a strong impact on the evolution of the market. 

Perhaps more surprisingly, brands not using biobased 

materials also expect moderate growth. This is a positive 

sign of market development for biomaterials producers. MT 

The complete report can be downloaded for free at: 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.de/201706/whatbrandswant.pdf 


Automotive 

10 

Years ago 

Special 

Published in 

bioplastics MAGAZINE 

Article contributed by Christian Garaffa, 

Marketing Department, Project Manager 

Waste Management Area. 

A 

fter Ireland, San Francisco and Oakland in California, 

Modbury in Britain, the debate on disposable 

carrier bags has recently moved to London. Many 

other countries and cities are looking to introduce or already 

have some form of ban, tax, levy or some voluntary 

agreement on throwaway shopping bags (e.g. France or 

Italy). 

The question is always the same: how to manage the 

environmental issue posed by non biodegradable carrier 

bags? The common logic permeating the different choices 

is always the one dictated by the waste hierarchy: prevent, 

reuse, recover, dispose of. 

Factors like an intensive communication to the consumers 

and the introduction of reusable bags “for life” 

which can be used for several times before they are finally 

thrown away or given back to the store, are an essential 

part of this schemes. 

Compostable shopping 

carrier bags: what is the 

logic for their contribution 

to the environment? 

www.novamont.com 

How do compostable carrier bags place themselves into 

this picture? 

Compostable carriers can actually be a powerful aid to 

waste minimization and recovery policies especially there 

were organic waste collection schemes are to be set up 

or are already in place. In order for such schemes to be 

successful they must be hygienic for both consumer and 

collection crews and be as convenient as possible. The 

best way to ensure both these criteria is for consumers 

to line their kitchen caddy with a compostable liner which 

can then be tied and placed in the larger container. Using 

liners in this fashion not only keeps the system clean and 

hygienic from kitchen to collection to treatment facility, 

but by being simple to use, they also lead to higher levels 

of participation and subsequently greater amounts of food 

waste are recovered and less material is landfilled. 

A proper communication and the possibility for the 

householder to easily identify the compostable bags are 

completing the picture for this kind of schemes which are 

able to recover as much as 90% of the kitchen organics 

present in the household waste. 

In November 2017, 

Christian Garaffa, Novamont 

says: 

Since 10 years ago, Europe is 

now talking about circular economy 

and making efforts to make it really happen. Italy was the 

first Member State to adopt a single use plastic bag ban in 2011 

promoting reusable bags but also allowing shopping bags certified 

to EN13432 for reuse in the organic waste collection. At EU 

level in 2015 a new Directive set targets to reduce the current 

level of consumption of lightweight plastic carrier bags (Directive 

(EU) 2015/720). It also addresses biodegradable and compostable 

plastic carrier bags, recognizing as a matter of fact 

the value of such bags for re-use in organic waste collection. 

The directive was also a door opener for further legislation at 

Member State level such as France imposing fresh produce 

bags to be compostable in 2017 and Italy to follow suit in 2018. 

From 1 January 2020 also Spain will allow only compostable 

carrier bags and fresh produce bags. 

The city of Milan is the perfect example of the role played 

by compostable shopping bags as a key tool for high participation 

and capture rates of biowaste: 70 kilograms per 

person per year of just residential food scraps are being 

collected. At the beginning of this year the EU Commission 

issued a Communication on the role of waste-to-energy 

in the circular economy, COM(2017) 34, stating that “since 

2014, the city has almost reached 100 % collection of food 

and organic waste, providing an average of 120.000 tonnes 

of biodegradable waste per year. At full capacity (12.8 

MW), the city biogas plant should produce some 35.880 

MWh of electricity a year, enough to supply 24.000 people, 

and yield 14.400 tonnes of fertiliser.” These figures are 

unmatched by far by any other large European city and 

compostable plastic bags are the standard tool to collect 

these food scraps and every second compostable 

bag found in the waste analyses is a shopping bag. In 

conclusion, after then years the compostable bioplastic 

shopping bag model has scaled up and supports the 

best performing organic waste collection systems in 

Europe. A perfect example of real circular economy. 

20 bioplastics MAGAZINE [07/04] Vol. 2 

tinyurl.com/bags200704 


Report 

Bioplastics Survey 

By: 

Michael Thielen 

In this edition of our “Special focus on certain geographical 

areas” series, we take a closer look at France and Italy. 

To that end, we once again conducted the short, non-representative 

survey we used in previous editions to attempt to 

gain an idea of people’s notions and perception of bioplastics 

in these countries. 

In this sixth edition of the series, we visited an attractive 

plaza in a pedestrian area in the centre of Strasbourg in 

France. We approached a (non-representative) number of 

passers-by and asked whether they would be willing to 

answer a few brief questions. 

Of those we interviewed, 47.8 % were male and 52.2 % were 

female. About 60.9 % were aged between 20 and 40, while 

39.1 % were between the ages of 40 and 60. This represents 

the average distribution of people browsing this plaza on a 

sunny, but chilly Thursday morning in October. 

When asked whether they knew what bioplastics were, 

almost 40 % responded that yes, they did (and had no 

difficulties in proving this, as they went on to mention aspects 

such as biobased origin and/or biodegradable features). 

Like all previous surveys in this series, the other 60 % was 

interested in learning about what bioplastics were. And after 

a brief explanation about the features and benefits, most 

seemed convinced that bioplastics were beneficial for the 

environment and for the climate. 

Strikingly, however, we found the French people we spoke 

to that morning were rather more differentiated than we had 

hitherto experienced in the other countries, and this yielded 

a number of very intense discussions. Two young female 

students, in particular, were highly reluctant to agree to the 

fact that there might be benefits to opting for bioplastics. The 

first argued about fertilizers and solvents, and the energy 

needed to produce bioplastics, while the second merely said: 

“We recycle and that’s good enough”. 

Happily, in other conversations we found that some of the 

people were really interested: they asked questions about 

availability, the processes that take place during composting 

and much more. They seemed to have time, the sun was 

shining and it was a nice area … 

Finally, we also asked all our interviewees whether they 

would buy products made of bioplastics, if they should happen 

to see them on display at the store. 91.3 % confirmed that 

they would. And – no surprise after the abovementioned 

discussions – 13 % said that they would not be willing to 

pay more for such products, with most of the other 87 % 

responding: “a little more, yes” or “it depends on the product”. 

What is paradoxical is that even in a country where, today, 

the use of biodegradable shopping bags is mandatory, some 

60 % of our non-representative choice of people knew little 

to nothing about or were unaware of bioplastics and their 

potential. And again, the results of this survey reveal that, 

given the knowledge and the chance, many consumers 

would opt for products using bioplastics and even be willing 

to pay a small premium. This indicates an obvious need for 

comprehensive end consumer education. Consumer behaviour 

can have a significant impact on the ways products affect the 

environment. Educating consumers about bioplastics offers 

a huge opportunity to promote these materials and to effect 

positive changes in the shopping choices people make. 

female 

20-40 

years 

40-60 

years 

Do you know what 

bioplastics are? 

Would you buy? 

Would you pay more? 

male 

YES 

39,1% 

NO 

60,9% 

YES 

91,3% 

NO 

8,7% 

YES 

87% 

NO 

13% 

47,6% 

55% 

50% 

55,6% 

52,4% 

45% 

50% 

44,4% 

44,4% 55,6% 71,4% 28,6% 54% 46% 

100% 

100% 

60% 40% 

66,7% 

33,3% 

33,3% 66,7% 


Suppliers Guide 

1. Raw Materials 

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: 

AGRANA Starch 

Bioplastics 

Conrathstraße 7 

A-3950 Gmuend, Austria 

technical.starch@agrana.com 

www.agrana.com 

BASF SE 

Ludwigshafen, Germany 

Tel: +49 621 60-9995 

martin.bussmann@basf.com 

www.ecovio.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 

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 

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 

62 136 Lestrem, France 

Tel.: + 33 (0) 3 21 63 36 00 

www.roquette-performance-plastics.com 

1.2 compounds 

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 

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.ecopond.com.cn 

FLEX-162 Biodeg. Blown Film Resin! 

Bio-873 4-Star Inj. Bio-Based Resin! 

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 

39 mm 

Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

Dammer Str. 112 

41066 Mönchengladbach 

Germany 

Tel. +49 2161 664864 

Fax +49 2161 631045 

info@bioplasticsmagazine.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 

Cardia Bioplastics 

Suite 6, 205-211 Forster Rd 

Mt. Waverley, VIC, 3149 Australia 

Tel. +61 3 85666800 

info@cardiabioplastics.com 

www.cardiabioplastics.com 

GRAFE-Group 

Waldecker Straße 21, 

99444 Blankenhain, Germany 

Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.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. 

Tel: +86 351-8689356 

Fax: +86 351-8689718 

www.jinhuizhaolong.com 

ecoworldsales@jinhuigroup.com 

API S.p.A. 

Via Dante Alighieri, 27 

36065 Mussolente (VI), Italy 

Telephone +39 0424 579711 

www.apiplastic.com 

www.apinatbio.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 

www.facebook.com 

www.issuu.com 

www.twitter.com 

www.youtube.com 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe 

Polyester Co., Ltd. 

No. 316, South Beijing Rd. Changji, 

Xinjiang, 831100, P.R.China 

Tel.: +86 994 2713175 

Mob: +86 13905253382 

lilong_tunhe@163.com 

www.lanshantunhe.com 

PBAT & PBS resin supplier 

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 

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 

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 

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 

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 

4. Bioplastics products 

TECNARO GmbH 

Bustadt 40 

D-74360 Ilsfeld. Germany 

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

www.tecnaro.de 

1.3 PLA 

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 

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 

NOVAMONT S.p.A. 

Via Fauser , 8 

28100 Novara - ITALIA 

Fax +39.0321.699.601 

Tel. +39.0321.699.611 

www.novamont.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 

weforyou PLA & Applications 

office@weforyou.pro 

www.weforyou.pro 

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 

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 

3. Semi finished products 

3.1 films 

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 

D-09, Jalan Tanjung A/4, 

Free Trade Zone 

Port of Tanjung Pelepas 

81560 Johor, Malaysia 

T. +607-507 1585 

icbp.bioplastic@gmail.com 

www.icbp.com.my 

President Packaging Ind., Corp. 

PLA Paper Hot Cup manufacture 

In Taiwan, www.ppi.com.tw 

Tel.: +886-6-570-4066 ext.5531 

Fax: +886-6-570-4077 

sales@ppi.com.tw 

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 

Molds, Change Parts and Turnkey 

Solutions for the PET/Bioplastic 

Container Industry 

284 Pinebush Road 

Cambridge Ontario 

Canada N1T 1Z6 

Tel. +1 519 624 9720 

Fax +1 519 624 9721 

info@hallink.com 

www.hallink.com 

6.2 Laboratory Equipment 

1.5 PHA 

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 

Infiana Germany GmbH & Co. KG 

Zweibrückenstraße 15-25 

91301 Forchheim 

Tel. +49-9191 81-0 

Fax +49-9191 81-212 

www.infiana.com 

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 

MODA: Biodegradability Analyzer 

SAIDA FDS INC. 

143-10 Isshiki, Yaizu, 

Shizuoka,Japan 

Tel:+81-54-624-6260 

Info2@moda.vg 

www.saidagroup.jp 



7. Plant engineering 

‘Basics‘ book 

on bioplastics 

110 pages full 

color, paperback 

ISBN 978-3- 

9814981-1-0: 

Bioplastics 

ISBN 978-3- 

9814981-2-7: 

Biokunststoffe 

2. überarbeitete 

Auflage 

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). 

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 

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 

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 +49 711/685-62814 

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 

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. 

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 61 for details, outside German y only) 

Osterfelder Str. 3 

46047 Oberhausen 

Tel.: +49 (0)208 8598 1227 

thomas.wodke@umsicht.fhg.de 

www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de 

narocon 

Dr. Harald Kaeb 

Tel.: +49 30-28096930 

kaeb@narocon.de 

www.narocon.de 

9. Services (continued) 

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 

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 

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 

Green Serendipity 

Caroli Buitenhuis 

IJburglaan 836 

1087 EM Amsterdam 

The Netherlands 

Tel.: +31 6-24216733 

www.greenseredipity.nl 


Events 

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now at 

Event 

Calendar 

bioplasticsmagazine.com 

the next six issues for €169.– 1) 

Special offer 

for students and 

young professionals 

1,2) € 99.- 

2) aged 35 and below. 

end a scan of your 

student card, your ID 

or similar proof ... 

European Biopolymer Summit 

14.02.2018 - 15.02.2018 - Duesseldorf, Germany 

www.wplgroup.com/aci/event/biopolymer-conference-europe/ 

You can meet us 

World Bio Markets 

20.03.2018 - 22.03.2018 - Amsterdam, The Netherlands 

https://www.biobasedworldnews.com/events/world-bio-markets 

International Seminar PLASTICS ARE FUTURE 

24.04.2018 - 25.04.2018 - Valencia, Spain 

http://www.plasticsarefuture.com/home.php 

CHINAPLAS 2018 

The 32nd International Exhibition on Plastics & 

Rubber Industries 

24.04.2018 - 27.04.2018 - Shanghai, China 

adsale.hk/t.aspx?unt=2545-CPS18_Bioplastics_EN_calender 

ISSN 1862-5258 

WWW.MATERBI.COM COME TO VISIT US AT 

Sep/Oct 

05 | 2017 



Highlights 

Fibres & Textiles | 14 

Beauty & Healthcare | 34 

Basics 

Land use | 43 

ISSN 1862-5258 

Nov/Dec 


Highlights 



Basics 


Polymer/Bioplastic Failure & Defects Problem Solving 

25.04.2018 – 26.04.2018 - Amsterdam 

http://innoplastsolutions.com/courses/polymers-bioplastic-faliure.html 

5 th PLA World Congress 

by bioplastics MAGAZINE 

29.-30. 05.2018 - Munich, Germany 

www.pla-world-congress.com 


e tore_bioplasticmagazine_11.12.2017_210x297_flagEBC_ese.indd 1 03/11/17 15:22 


+ 

r2_ 1.2017 


C, M, Y , K 

45, 0,90, 0 

C, M, Y, K 

50, 0 ,0, 0 

C , M, Y, K 

10, 0, 80,0 

C, M, Y, K 

0, 0, 0, 0 

Cover Story: 

Meet ICBP 

Malaysia‘s Bioplastics 

Industry Anchor |10 



Special 

Plastics Tomorrow via Biobased Chemicals & 

Recycling 

25.06.2018 - 28.06.2018 - New York City Area, USA 

http://innoplastsolutions.com/bio.html 

BIO World Congress 

16.07.2018 - 19.07.2018 - Philadelphia PA, USA 

www.bio.org/worldcongress 

25th Anniversary meeting of the Bio-Environmental 

Polymer Society (BEPS) 

15.08.2018 - 17.08.2018 - Rensselaer Polytechnic University 

(RPI) (Troy, New York) 

http://homepages.rpi.edu/~grossr/index.htm 

or 

Mention the promotion code ‘watch‘ or ‘book‘ 

and you will get our watch or the book 3) 

Bioplastics Basics. Applications. Markets. for free 

1) Offer valid until 28 February 2018 

3) Gratis-Buch in Deutschland nicht möglich, no free book in Germany 


Companies in this issue 

Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert 

ABB 10 

ACIB 36 

Adler Plastics 20 

Adsale (Chinaplas) 29 

Agrana Starch Bioplastics 58 

AIMPLAS 34, 36 

Amyris 26 

API Applicazioni Plastiche Industriali 7, 43 58 

Arlanxeao 14 

Avantium 34 

Barbier Group 13 

BASF 49 58 

Bcomp 45 

BeginAgain 24 

Beoplast 59 

Beta Analytic 14 

Bio4pack 41 59 

Bio-Fed Branch of Akro-Plastic 35, 58 

Bio-on 5 59 

Biotec 59 

BPI 6 60 

Braskem 7, 14, 38, 39, 41 

British Plastics Federation 5 

Bulldog Skin Care 39 

Buss 59 

Caprowachs, Albrecht Dinkelaker 59 

Caravelas 38 

Cardia Bioplastics 13 58 

Cathay Industrial Biotech 8 

Coop 41 

Corapack 39 

Covestro 21 

Dezhou Xinhuarun Techn. 20 

DIN-Certco 6 

Dr. Heinz Gupta Verlag 22 

DS Smith 44 

DSM 22 

Dynisco 27 

EcoPlaza 41 

Electric GT 45 

Ellen MacArthur Foundation 5 

EMS-Grivory 7 

Erema 25, 60 

European Bioplastics 6, 10, 43 60 

European Parliament 5, 6 

Ferguson Production 25 

FKuR 44 2, 58 

Ford Motor Company 17 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT 52 60 

Futamura 39 

Global Biopolymers 58 

Glycon 27 

Goodyear Tire & Rubber 40 

GRABIO Greentech Corporation 59 

Grafe 58, 59 

Green Dot Bioplastics 24 58 

Green Serendipity 60 

Growfun 40 

Gulf Petrochem. & Chem. Ass. 5 

Halder Topsoe 7 

Hallink 59 

Henkel 30 

Hexpol TPE 18 14 

Hydal 8, 11 

Indochine Bio Plastiques 59 

Infiana Germany 59 

InnProBio 8 

Inst. f. Bioplastics & Biocomp. 60 

Inst. F. Macromol. Studies 20 

Inst. Polym. Comp. & Biomat. 20 

IRIAF 37 

ISCC 16, 17 

Jinhui Zhaolong 58 

Kaneka 11 59 

Kingfa 58 

Kuraray 26 

Mädler 21 

Maip 10 

Malaysian Plastics Association 13 

Marks & Spencer 5 

Michigan State University 60 

Microtec 58 

Mid-Continent Tool & Molding 25 

Minima Technology 59 

Mondi 28 

Montgomery County Dept. 41 

Nafigate 8 

narocon 60 

Natureplast 37 

NatureWorks 23, 44 

Natur-Tec 59 

nova Institute 19, 60 

Novamont 59, 64 

NPE 33 

Nurel 58 

Packaging South Africa 5 

Parana 8 

PepsiCo 5 

Perstorp 16 

Pike's Peak Plastics 24 

plasticker 13 

Plásticos Romeros 36 

Plastiroll 39, 41, 43 

Plymouth Marine Laboratory 5 

Poiesz 41 

polymediaconsult 60 

President Packaging 59 

ProAmpac 41 

Promessa 41 

PTT/MCC 58 

Reverdia 20 

Rodenburg Biopolymers 40 

Roquette 58 

Roquette 21 

RPC 39 

Saida 59 

Sea-Lect Design 24 

Secos Group 13 

Sprig 43 

Stéfany Emballages Services 37 

Stellar Films 13 

Sukano 59 

SuperUnie 41 

Synbra 38, 44 

Synprodo 44 

Tapp Water 42 

Tecnaro 40 59 

Tesla 45 

TianAn Biopolymer 59 

Tipa 55 

Total-Corbion 9, 44 58 

Trinseo 7, 43 

Uhde Inventa-Fischer 60 

Unilever 5 

United Soybean Board 17, 40 

Univ. App. Sc. Hannover 46 

Univ. Leiden 36 

Univ. Stuttgart (IKT) 60 

Univ. Wageningen 40 

Univ Dortmund 474 

Vaude 20 

Veolia 5 

Waarmakers 37 

Wageningen Food & Biobased Res. 37 

Wageningen UR 21 

Weforyou 36 59 

Wildo Sweden 18 

Wolfgang Mock 40 

WWF 5 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Polyester 58 

Zaraplast 38 

Zhejiang Hangzhou Xinfu Pharm. 58 

Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials 59 

Issue 

Editorial Planner 

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2017/18 

Edit. Focus 1 Edit. Focus 2 Edit. Focus 3 Basics 

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