Issue 05/2022

Bioplastics - CO 2 -based Plastics - Advanced Recycling 

bioplastics MAGAZINE Vol. 17 

Highlights 

Fibre / Textile / Nonwoven | 10 

Building & Construction | 20 

Basics 

Feedstocks, different generations | 56 

... is read in 92 countries 

ISSN 1862-5258 Sep/Oct 05 / 2022

Discover the world of 

sustainable plastics! 

And the best way to do that is with a delicious coffee that you enjoy from a reusable cup 

made of Bio-Flex ® . Visit us at K 2022 and discover how to make circular plastic products 

work with FKuR’s bioplastics, high-quality recyclates, mass-balance resins or bio-recyclate 

hybrids. We support you on your journey to a circular economy and help you achieve your 

sustainability goals.

If you enjoy the, currently questionable, pleasure of living in central Europe 

you’ll have noticed, summer is over and the time of warm blankets, hot 

tea (or another hot beverage of choice), and staying inside has begun. The 

change of season also heralds the approach of the most important event in 

the plastics industry the K show in Düsseldorf (19.–26.10.). And, as always, 

the last issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE before the K show features a preview 

(pp.30–41) of many companies working in the areas of bioplastics and 

renewable carbon that are worthwhile to check out. The centrefold of this 

issue also features a map of the fairgrounds with (hopefully) all relevant 

companies on one view. 

This year’s K show is bound to be interesting with two of the three 

central themes being Climate Protection and the Circular Economy. 

Companies are bound to show their newest claims of sustainability and 

circularity – but I hope that this year we will get more to see than the 

simple statement of (just) “it’s recyclable” and more along the lines 

of “look what great cooperations and infrastructure we’re building to 

actually recycle our products at end-of-life”. 

Time will tell if the industry as a whole is moving towards real solutions 

(be that biobased, recycling, or CCU) to tackle the two plastics crises we 

have at our hands or if half-baked ideas and mere lip service to the new 

ideals of circularity and sustainability will be all it amounts to – smoke 

and mirrors to keep doing business as usual. 

Next to our extensive K-preview this issue also features the articles 

about Building & Construction, with a very interesting three pager about 

The Exploded View, an art installation showing all kinds of biomaterials 

in the field of construction, and Fibres / Textiles / Nonwovens where, 

among others, we look at enzymatic recycling. 

In this issue’s Basics article we go traditionally bio again, looking 

at different kinds of feedstocks for bioplastics. Meanwhile, the segment 

10 years ago has a slightly different flavour this time around as instead of 

asking a previous article contributor to comment on developments we as 

bioplastics MAGAZINE are looking back at how our position towards CO 2 

-based 

plastics has changed over the years. 

I hope to see many of you at the K show next month, and preferably at 

our Bioplastics Business Breakfast mini-conference during the trade show 

(20.–22.10.) which will focus on Bioplastics in Packaging, PHA – opportunities 

and challenges, and Bioplastics in Durable Applications. 

But for now, I will get myself a hot tea, a warm blanket, and sit on my balcony 

with a good book – listening to the rain. 

Sincerely yours 

dear 

readers 


Bioplastics - CO 2-based Plastics - Advanced Recycling 

Editorial 

Highlights 



Basics 



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ISSN 1862-5258 Sep/Oct 05 / 2022 

Alex Thielen 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/22] Vol. 17 3

Imprint 

Content 

34 Porsche launches cars with biocomposites 

Sep / Oct 05|2022 

Fibres / Textiles / Nonwovens 

10 Biobased textile coating 

12 Enzymatic degradation of used textiles for 

biological textile recycling 

18 Flax-based thermoplastic biocomposites 

CCU / Feedstock 

17 Biogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 

) for plastic 

production 

Building & Construction 

20 The future of construction is biobased 

24 Wheat gluten based bioplastic in construction 

26 Thermal insulation makes an important 

contribution to climate neutrality 

28 Low-carbon wastewater evacuation system 

made from bio-attributed PVC 

29 Cellulose-based passive radiative cooler 

Materials 

42 Single-use packaging, lids, and tableware made 

from wheat bran 

44 Performance products with high biocontent 

polyurethanes 

From Science & Research 

46 Print, recycle, repeat – biodegradable 

printed circuits 

48 Biopolymers – Materials, Properties, 

Sustainability 

50 Bioplastics IN SPACE 

Certification 

52 Sustainability certification-ISCC 

3 Editorial 

5 News 

8 Events 

10 Fibres / Textiles / Nonwovens 

14 Application News 

17 CCU / Feedstock 

20 Building & Construction 

30 K-Preview 

34 K-Showguide 

42 Materials 

46 From Science & Research 

52 Certification 

54 10 years ago 

56 Basics 

58 Glossary 

62 Suppliers Guide 

66 Companies in this issue 

Publisher / Editorial 

Dr Michael Thielen (MT) 

Alex Thielen (AT) 

Samuel Brangenberg (SB) 

Head Office 

Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

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41066 Mönchengladbach, Germany 

phone: +49 (0)2161 664864 

fax: +49 (0)2161 631045 

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www.bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Media Adviser 

Samsales (German language) 

phone: +49(0)2161-6884467 

fax: +49(0)2161 6884468 

sb@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Michael Thielen (English Language) 

(see head office) 

Layout/Production 

Michael Thielen / Philipp Thielen 

Print 

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1004 Riga, Latvia 

bioplastics MAGAZINE is printed on 

chlorine-free FSC certified paper. 

bioplastics MAGAZINE 

Volume 17 - 2022 

ISSN 1862-5258 

bM is published 6 times a year. 

This publication is sent to qualified subscribers 

(169 Euro for 6 issues). 

bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 

92 countries. 

Every effort is made to verify all information 

published, but Polymedia Publisher 

cannot accept responsibility for any errors 

or omissions or for any losses that may 

arise as a result. 

All articles appearing in 

bioplastics MAGAZINE, or on the website 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com are strictly 

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Opinions expressed in articles do not 

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unless otherwise agreed in advance and in 

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Please contact the editorial office via 

mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com. 

The fact that product names may not be 

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not an indication that such names are not 

registered trademarks. 

bioplastics MAGAZINE tries to use British 

spelling. However, in articles based on 

information from the USA, American 

spelling may also be used. 

Envelopes 

A part of this print run is mailed to the 

readers wrapped in bioplastic envelopes 

sponsored by BIOTEC Biologische Naturverpackungen 

GmbH & Co. KG, Emerich, 

Germany. 

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Sulzer acquires 

stake in Cellicon 

Sulzer (Winterthur, Switzerland) has 

partnered with CELLiCON (Hoevelaken, the 

Netherlands) to scale up its groundbreaking 

manufacturing technology for nano structured 

cellulose – a highly sustainable, plant-based 

alternative to conventional polymers. The 

technology slashes the traditionally high costs 

and footprint associated with nanocellulose, 

allowing it to be scaled and used as a building 

block for a wide variety of everyday products. 

The partnership is part of Sulzer’s strategy 

to continue its grow path in renewables 

and enable its customers’ sustainable 

manufacturing practices. Sulzer has acquired 

a minority stake in Cellicon with an option to 

increase its holding in future. 

Cellicon has developed groundbreaking 

technology, known as G2 technology, that 

greatly reduces the costs, cycle times, and 

environmental footprint associated with 

the production of nanocellulose, thereby 

enabling the large-scale adoption of this 

highly sustainable biopolymer. Nanocellulose 

is a building block for a multitude of 

materials and products such as textiles and 

high-performance fibres, composites like 

superglues and coatings, transparent films, 

and replacements for starch and polystyrene. 

Sulzer Chemtech will support Cellicon in 

the scale-up and commercialization of the 

G2 technology. As a result, the collaboration 

will help Cellicon achieve its strategic goals 

and long-term vision while strengthening 

Sulzer Chemtech’s portfolio of processing 

technologies for biobased and renewable 

feedstocks. In particular, the solution can 

be used to further enhance the properties of 

polylactic acid (PLA), the most used bioplastic 

worldwide for which Sulzer Chemtech is the 

global leader. MT 

www.sulzer.com 

www.cellicon.org 

CJ Biomaterials’ PHA 

soon to be in Accor hotels 

CJ Biomaterials, a division of South Korea-based (Seoul) CJ 

CheilJedang, recently announced that it has signed a Memorandum 

of Understanding (MOU) with the global hotel chain Accor (Issy-les- 

Moulineaux, France) to begin developing hotel amenities that are 

made with biobased and biodegradable PHA. 

Through this agreement, the two companies will work together 

to replace single-use plastic amenities that are provided to all 

Accor hotel guests, which will help the hotel chain to deliver on 

its commitment to phase out all single-use plastic items in guest 

experience from its hotels by the end of 2022. 

Established in France in 1967, Accor operates more than 5,000 

hotels in 110 countries around the world. Their catalogue of brands 

includes Fairmont, Pullman, Novotel, the Delano, Swissotel, and 

other luxury hotel chains. Through the initial agreement, Accor and 

CJ Biomaterials will replace plastic products used at Accor’s hotel 

chains in Korea, including cups, plastic bags, combs, stationery, 

and various amenity containers with PHA-based products. The two 

organizations will then expand the agreement to hotels in the Asia- 

Pacific region, and if positive results are obtained, the intent is to 

expand the use of PHA globally. 

In addition to eliminating all single-use plastic items in guest 

experience from its hotels by the end of this year, Accor added specific 

guidelines to encourage the use of materials that are biodegradable 

at home, in the soil or at sea, or that are recycled or derived from 

paper or wood. CJ Biomaterials is a pioneer in the development of 

PHA and is the world’s first and only producer of amorphous PHA, 

which is TÜV OK Certified for industrial and home compost, soil 

biodegradable, and marine biodegradable. It is considered home 

compostable meaning that it does not require specialized equipment 

or elevated temperatures to fully degrade. 

CJ Biomaterials has started producing amorphous PHA at its 

manufacturing facility in Pasuruan, Indonesia, and plans to increase 

production to meet expected demand. Branded as PHACT ® Marine 

Biodegradable Polymers, CJ Biomaterials' amorphous PHA is 

a softer, more rubbery version of PHA that offers fundamentally 

different performance characteristics than the crystalline or semicrystalline 

forms that currently dominate the PHA market. AT 

www.cjbio.net 

https://all.accor.com 

News 

daily updated News at 


Picks & clicks 

Most frequently clicked news 

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

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

tinyurl.com/news-20220727 

Angel Yeast partners with PhaBuilder to open PHA factory 

(27 July 2022) 

Angel Yeast (Yichang, Hubei, China), a globally listed yeast and yeast 

extract manufacturer, has inked an agreement with Bejing-based 

PhaBuilder Biotechnology (China) to build a large manufacturing base for 

polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in Yichang. The pair will set up a joint venture 

company to drive the application of synthetic biology in the biotechnology 

industry. 


News 



Mass-balanced raw 

materials for PC plastics 

Covestro (Leverkusen, Germany) will now be supplied 

with the two mass-balanced raw materials phenol and 

acetone from INEOS’ (London, UK) INVIRIDIS product 

range. Covestro uses these CO 2 

-reduced products to 

manufacture its high-performance polycarbonate plastic. 

It is used in headlights and other automotive parts, but also 

in housings for electronic devices, light guides and lenses, 

medical devices, and many other high-value applications. 

"By switching to mass-balanced renewable raw 

materials, we aim to significantly reduce our indirect 

emissions in the supply chain and offer products with 

a reduced carbon footprint", says Sucheta Govil, Chief 

Commercial Officer of Covestro. "In doing so, we’re 

helping our customers to meet their climate goals and 

advance the transition to a circular economy". 

New label for circular intelligent solutions 

Lily Wang, global head of the Engineering Plastics 

segment, emphasizes the further benefits for 

customers: "We offer them a drop-in solution that they 

can quickly and easily integrate into existing production 

processes without requiring any technical changes. The 

products show the same good quality as their fossilbased 

counterparts". As part of the CQ family of circular 

intelligent solutions, Covestro offers them under the 

names Makrolon ® RE, Bayblend ® RE, Makroblend ® 

RE, and Apec ® RE. With its new CQ concept, Covestro 

highlights the alternative raw material basis in products 

and thus gives a clear indication to customers who are 

looking for such products. 

Certification by ISCC Plus and RSB underlines Ineos’ 

strong commitment to working with the bioeconomy and 

reflects the strong sustainability of Inviridis. 

Gordon Adams, Business Director of Ineos Phenol, 

said, "As part of our sustainability strategy, we have 

developed these more sustainable phenol and acetone 

products, which we have named Inviridis. This new 

product range provides our customers with drop-in 

product options that meet their stringent quality and 

performance requirements. At the same time, we’re 

moving the industry toward a more climate-friendly 

economy for phenol and acetone without compromising 

its unique product attributes". AT 

www.covestro.com | www.ineos.com 

Technip acquires 

Biosuccinium technology 

from DSM 

Technip Energies (La Défense, Nanterre, France) 

announced the purchase of Biosuccinium ® technology 

from DSM (Heerlen, the Netherlands), adding a technology 

solution to its growing Sustainable Chemicals portfolio. 

This technology synergizes with recently developed 

proprietary biopolymer technologies and provides a 

commercially referenced production of biobased succinic 

acid (bio-SAc) that serves as feedstock for the production 

of polybutylene succinate (PBS). The purchase includes 

a wide range of patent families and proprietary yeast 

strains, which have been demonstrated in production 

facilities of licensees at large scale. 

Biosuccinium technology will be the only technology for 

the production of biobased succinic acid to be licensed on 

the market. MT 

www.technipenergies.com | www.dsm.com 

LG Chem and ADM launch 

joint ventures for lactic 

acid and PLA Production 

LG Chem (Seoul, South Korea), a leading global 

diversified chemical company, and ADM (Chicago, IL, 

USA), a global leader in nutrition and biosolutions, 

held a signing ceremony in mid-August launching 

two joint ventures for US production of lactic acid 

and polylactic acid to meet growing demand for 

a wide variety of plant-based products, including 

bioplastics. Pending final investment decisions, the 

joint ventures have chosen Decatur, Illinois, USA, as 

the location of their intended production facilities. 

The first joint venture, GreenWise Lactic, would 

produce up to 150,000 tonnes of high-purity corn-based 

lactic acid annually. ADM would be the majority owner of 

GreenWise and would contribute fermentation capacity 

from its Decatur bioproducts facility to the venture. The 

second joint venture, LG Chem Illinois Biochem, would 

be majority-owned by LG Chem. It would build upon 

LG Chem’s expertise in bioplastics to build a facility 

that will use the product from GreenWise Lactic to 

produce approximately 75,000 tonnes of PLA per year. 

The joint ventures, which are subject to required 

regulatory approvals, hope to make final investment 

decisions around the Decatur projects in 2023. Pending 

final investment decisions and approvals, construction 

would be targeted to begin in 2023, and production 

in late 2025 or early 2026, with the two joint ventures 

supporting more than 125 jobs in the Decatur region. MT 

www.adm.com 

6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/22] Vol. 17

Toray invents 100 % biobased adipic acid 

Toray Industries (Tokyo, Japan) recently announced that it has developed the world’s first 100 % biobased adipic acid, a raw 

material for nylon 66 (polyamide 66), from sugars from crop residues and other inedible plant resources. This achievement 

came from using a proprietary synthesis technique combining the company’s microbial fermentation technology and chemical 

purification technology that harnesses separation membranes. 

The company has started to scale up its capabilities in this area. It will test polymerization of nylon 66, develop production 

technology, conduct market research, and take steps to commercialize applications for this biobased adipic acid by around 

2030. 

Nylon 66 has been used for many years in fibres, resins, and other applications due to its exceptionally durable, strong, and 

rigid properties. Pressures to develop eco-friendly nylon 66 have risen in recent years amid a growing awareness of the need to 

realize a sustainable society. One challenge is that conventional chemical synthesis for producing adipic acid, the raw material 

of nylon 66, generates a greenhouse gas called dinitrogen monoxide. 

Toray was the first in the world to discover microorganisms that produce an adipic acid intermediate from sugars. The 

company reconfigured metabolic pathways within microorganisms to enhance production efficiency by applying genetic 

engineering technology, which artificially recombines genes to streamline synthesis in microorganisms. It also employed 

bioinformatics technologies to design optimal microbial fermentation pathways for synthesis. Quantity of the intermediate 

synthesized by microorganisms has increased more than 1,000-fold since the initial discovery, and the efficiency of synthesis 

has improved dramatically. AT 

www.toray.com 

News 



Plants 

(Inedible biomass) 

Microbial 

fermentation 

Membranebased 

purification 

CO 2 

Sugars Adipic acid Nylon 66 

Hexamethylene 

diamine 

New bioplastics research centre in Australia 

A new University of Queensland-led training centre is set 

to become a hub for world-leading research in green plastic. 

The USD13 million Australian Research Council (ARC) 

Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics 

and Biocomposites, based at UQ’s School of Chemical 

Engineering, aims to make large-scale plastic pollution a 

problem of the past. 

Centre director, Steven Pratt, said scientists will work 

toward developing biobased and biodegradable plastics that 

have a minimal environmental impact. 

According to Pratt, there was a rapidly growing local and 

international market for better bioplastics. “But we need to 

consider their full life cycle, from the sustainable resources 

to make them right up to their end of life”, he said. 

The training centre is a partnership between The 

University of Queensland and The Queensland University 

of Technology, alongside the Queensland Government, 

Kimberly-Clark Australia, Plantic Technologies, Australian 

Packaging Covenant Organisation, Minderoo Foundation, 

and City of Gold Coast. 

Kimberly-Clark Australia Managing Director Belinda 

Driscoll said the company had set an ambitious goal to halve 

its use of fossil fuel-based plastic in the next eight years. 

“This partnership with the University of Queensland 

takes an important step toward creating more sustainable 

products and reducing our environmental footprint”, said 

Driscoll. 

Plantic Technologies Chief Technology Officer Nick 

McCaffrey said the company looked forward to further 

expanding the science and engineering behind its unique 

products. 

“The research outcomes could further improve biobased 

materials and extend the shelf life of packaged foods”, 

McCaffrey said. 

The training centre will also focus on training to develop 

industry-ready researchers in chemical and materials 

engineering, polymer chemistry, environmental science, 

social science, policy, and business. AT 

www.uq.edu.au 


Events 

Bioplastics Business Breakfast 

Programme: 

For details of the event, see next page or visit www.bioplastics-breakfast.com 

Thursday, October 20 th , 2022 

8:00–8:05 Welcome remarks Michael Thielen, bioplastics MAGAZINE 

8:05–8:25 The current policy situation in Europe Stefan Barot, EUBP 

8:25–8:45 The commercialization roadmap for the recycling of PLA bioplastics François de Bie, TotalEnergies Corbion 

8:45–9:05 CO 2 

reduction by using renewable PP for thermoformed packaging applications Martin Bussmann, Neste 

9:05–9:25 PLAIR - a new material made from plants and air Philippe Wolff, Ricoh 

9:25–9:35 Questions & Answers 

9:35–9:55 Compostable solutions for food packaging to tackle plastic pollution Gregory Coué & Carlos Duch, Kompuestos 

9:55–0:15 Biobased coating for Packaging application opportunities & challenges Lorena Rodríguez Garrido, AIMPLAS 

10:15–0:35 Advanced biobased and compostable films for packaging & amination application Frank Hoebener, Natur-Tec Europe 

10:35–0:45 Q&A 

10:45–1:05 Coffee / Networking break 

11:05–1:25 Second generation feedstock for PLA to improve sustainability of packing Albrecht Läufer, BluCon Biotech 

11:25–1:45 Packaging films based on BO-PLA, PHA, and bio-PP Allegra Muscatello, Taghleef Industries 

11:45–2:05 Added value of compostable products in packaging applications Erik Pras, Biotec 

12:05–2:25 Compostable packaging - Pros & Cons Bruno de Wilde, OWS 

12:25–2:30 Q&A 

Friday, October 21 st , 2022 


8:05–8:25 Natural PHAs - Niche or Mainstream Jan Ravenstijn, GO!PHA 

8:25–8:45 A new family of PHA for biomedical and other applications Ipsita Roy & Andrea Mele, Univ. of Sheffield 

8:45–9:05 PHA: Turning challenges into opportunities Ruud Rouleaux, Helian 

9:05–9:25 PHA Application Development Amir Afshar, Shellworks 

9:25–9:35 Q&A 

9:35–9:55 A Better Circular Solution: Incorporating Amorphous PHAs into Your Polymers Hugo Vuurens, CJ Biomaterials 

9:55–0:15 Application examples for PHA compounds Eligio Martini, MAIP 

10:15–0:35 Happy Cups – How it’s made Thiemo van der Weij, LIMM Recycling 

10:35–0:45 Q&A 


11:05–1:25 Colors with a purpose Daniel Ganz, Sukano 

11:25–1:45 Joining efforts to address PHA adaptation to packaging technologies Fred Pinczuk, BEYOND PLASTIC 

11:45–2:05 Renewable Carbon Plastics Michael Carus, nova-Institute 

12:05–2:25 Japan’s policy for bioplastics towards 2030 and 2050 and expectation to PHA Hiroyuki Ueda, Mitsubishi UFJ Research 

12:25–2:30 Q&A 

Saturday, October 22 nd , 2022 


8:05–8:25 Can biopolymers contribute to a carbon positive chemistry? Lars Börger, EUBP 

8:25–8:45 PLA in technical applications Alexander Piontek, Fraunhofer Umsicht 

8:45–9:05 Recyclable, durable and circular biopolymer solutions Christina Granacher, BeGaMo 

9:05–9:25 Bio-PE and Bio-PP for durable applications Floris Buijzen, Borealis 

9:25–9:35 Q&A 

9:35–9:55 Polymer architecture for custom-made biomaterials with adaptable end-of-life Stefaan De Wildeman, B4Plastics 

9:55–0:15 Biobased raw materials for high performance composites Stefan Seidel, Bond-Laminates 

10:15–0:35 Biobased polymeric flexibilizers Christian Müller, Emery Oleochemicals 

10:35–0:45 Q&A 


11:05–1:25 Biocomposites based on biodegradable bioplastics and degradable glass fibre reinforcements Ari Rosling, ABM Composites 

11:25–1:45 Short Fiber Reinforced Polymer (SFRP) Emanuel Martins, Earth Renewable Technologies 

11:45–2:05 Bioplastics in durable applications Juliette Thomazo-Jegou, AIMPLAS 

12:05–2:25 Bioplastics for toy applications Harald Kaeb, Narocon 

12:25–2:30 Q&A 

Subject to changes 


8. Generation 

The all-rounder – for many applications 

Register now 

organized by 

20–22.10.2022 

Messe Düsseldorf, Germany 

BIOPLASTICS 

BUSINESS 

BREAKFAST 

B 3 

Bioplastics in 

Packaging 

PHA, Opportunities 

& Challenges 

Bioplastics in 

Durable Applications 

www.bioplastics-breakfast.com 

Gold Sponsors 

Media Partner 

Silver Sponsor 

Supported by 

JOINING PLASTICS 

FÜGEN VON KUNSTSTOFFEN 

RFP 

Rubber | Fibres | Plastics 

www.wegenerwelding.de 

info@wegenerwelding.de 

At the World‘s biggest trade show 

on plastics and rubber: K‘2022 in 

Düsseldorf, Germany, bioplastics 

will certainly play an important 

role again. On three days during 

the show bioplastics MAGAZINE 

will host a Bioplastics Business 

Breakfast: From 8am to 12pm 

the delegates will enjoy highclass 

presentations and unique networking 

opportunity. 

Venue: 

CCD Ost, Messe Düsseldorf 

The trade fair opens at 10 am. 

On-site registration is possible


Biobased textile coating 

PLA and PHA based formulations for textile coating and screen-printing 

Centexbel (Kortrijk, Belgium) is proud to have won 

the Techtextil Innovation award 2022 in the category 

“new approaches to sustainability & circular economy” 

with a breakthrough innovation in biobased coatings. This 

invention introduces a novel method of applying PLA or 

PHA coatings and prints on textiles using a waterborne 

formulation. The advantage of this approach is that it 

completely avoids the use of organic solvents or specialized 

equipment, resulting in a reasonable pricing and decreased 

environmental impact. Due to its innovative character this 

development was patented under EP3875545A1. 

PLA and PHA are not too stiff for coatings 

Polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) 

are known to be stiff and brittle polymers. Centexbel 

started its efforts on testing how to process them into 

coatings more than 5 years ago. Methods like solvent 

casting, emulsification, hotmelt coating, extrusion coating 

and plastisols were explored. Especially plastisols are 

interesting because they are well known in the textiles 

industry for processing the stiff polymer PVC into highly 

flexible coatings. The finding that plastisols can also 

be used for biobased thermoplastic polymers was key 

for the development. 

Formulation composition 

The concept of this award-winning formulation originated 

from a PVC plastisol, a mixture of PVC powder and 

plasticizer. However, this approach was impossible with PLA 

or PHA since only a small fraction of PLA or PHA could be 

dispersed in plasticizer. To solve this issue Centexbel added 

water and biobased processing additives to obtain a stable 

waterborne dispersion. In the end, this dispersion has a solid 

content of 40 %, is relatively cheap, roughly 4–5 EUR/kg for 

the PLA-based dispersion and is compatible with a range 

of fillers and colourants. Depending on the used plasticizer 

the biobased content ranges from 75 % to 100 %. 

Plasticizer screening 

A large part of the innovation was the search for good 

plasticizers for PLA and PHA, needing to both improve 

the flexibility and show minimal migration. There is a 

whole range of biobased plasticizers available that were 

screened, amongst which esters of citric acid, levulinic acid, 

glycerol, fatty acids or isosorbides. These can be between 

30 % to 100 % biobased. A specific finding was that when 

plasticizers are used in combination with surfactants, a 

much lower level of migration could be observed. This is a 

very important finding as especially PLA is known for its low 

long-term compatibility with plasticizers. 

Plasticizers influence polymers in many ways. They 

impact crystallinity, Tg, flexibility, melting point and 

viscosities. It is therefore interesting to see that by a smart 

choice of plasticizer different properties can be achieved. Of 

course flexibility is the main parameter that is influenced, 

but another important parameter is biodegradability. The 

process of biodegrading relies heavily on whether bacteria, 

chemicals and enzymes can reach the polymer. This is why 

the speed of biodegradation can be different depending 

on the crystallinity of a polymer. When the polymer is 

amorphous, enzymes can reach single polymer strands, 

which is not the case when crystallinity is increased and 

polymer chains are packed in stable crystalline structures. 

It was therefore interesting to see that when crystallinity is 

decreased, the speed of biodegradation was increased. This 

trade-off carries on when looking at additives, crosslinkers 

that improve durability or adding fillers that can increase 

disintegration rate of the materials. 

Figure 1: upscaling 

of the pastes is easy 

This development was made within the BIONTOP and 

HEREWEAR projects that have received funding from the Bio 

Based Industries Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s 

Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant 

agreement No 837761 and the Horizon 2020 programme under 

grant agreement No 101000632. Centexbel promotes the use 

of biobased coatings through its Biocoat initiative that is a joint 

project of Sirris and Centexbel. It is part of the COOCK collective 

R&D and collective knowledge transfer initiative of VLAIO under 

the grant agreement HBC.2019.2493 


COMPEO 

Textiles 

Properties and first implementations 

Coatings and prints prepared with this PLA or PHA 

dispersion need a thermal treatment at 160°C for 3 

minutes after which a range of properties was determined: 

• Excellent abrasion resistance (80,000 cycles on 

Martindale using wool and a pressure of 9kPa) 

• Crumple flex (9,000 cycles): Good flexibility if screenprinted 

but mediocre for coatings. PHA-based products 

are more flexible than PLA. 

• Tunable biodegradation 

• Good UV stability 

• Mediocre wash resistance 

The coatings and prints show clear strengths and 

weaknesses, even though development continues 

to improve the flexibility, wash resistance and 

application temperature. 

The formulation has already been successfully adapted 

for use on wallpaper (in cooperation with Masureel 

International) and coated flax fabric used in the production 

of thermoplastic composites (in cooperation with Flaxco 

and Finipur). In addition to these industrial processes, 

Centexbel demonstrated that these dispersions can 

be used in carpet backing, artificial leather and barrier 

coatings. On top of that improvements are ongoing for 

use in fashion and Centexbel is continuously looking for 

further opportunities for cooperation. 

Leading compounding technology 

for heat- and shear-sensitive plastics 

Join us 

K 2022, Düsseldorf 

October 19 – 22, 2022 

Hall 16 Booth A59 

www.centexbel.be 

Uniquely efficient. Incredibly versatile. Amazingly flexible. 

With its new COMPEO Kneader series, BUSS continues 

to offer continuous compounding solutions that set the 

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

industries, including for biopolymers. 

Figure 2: Wallpaper print (Masureel), artificial leather 

(Centexbel) and thermoplastic composite (Flaxco) 

• Moderate, uniform shear rates 

• Extremely low temperature profile 

• Efficient injection of liquid components 

• Precise temperature control 

• High filler loadings 

By: 

www.busscorp.com 

Willem Uyttendaele, Brecht Demedts, Myriam Vanneste 

Centexbel 

Kortrijk, Belgium 



Enzymatic degradation of used textiles 

for biological textile recycling 

The competence centre Bio4MatPro is part of the 

Bioeconomy Model Region initiative in the Rhenish 

Mining Area and funded by the German Federal 

Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The ambition of 

Bio4MatPro is the biological conversion of different industries 

such as chemicals, consumer goods, and textiles to become 

an essential part of a circular (bio)economy. The project 

EnzyDegTex focuses on the biological transformation of 

textile recycling using enzymatic degradation and microbial 

synthesis of chemical base materials and (bio)polymers. 

Safeguarding economic resources and capacities in the 

Rhenish Mining Area, Germany, and Europe, the development 

and expansion of circular economies will be an important 

aspect in the future. Textile waste is currently disposed of in a 

linear rather than circular manner. Thus, there is a very high, 

almost entirely untapped potential for establishing circular 

economic processes for textiles. More than 1.5 million tonnes 

of post-consumer textile waste are generated annually from 

private households in Germany [1]. Recycling textiles poses 

challenges due to the complexity of textile constructions 

with diverse, often unknown manufacturer-dependent 

mixes of different fibre materials, extensive use of additives 

and dyes, and multi-layer constructions with mechanically 

inseparable layers. Therefore, recyclin widely used textiles 

such as polyester-cotton blends is challenging with the 

recycling approaches available today. Instead, the majority 

of textile waste is currently downcycled once into low-quality 

products like painting fleeces or insulation materials, which 

are disposed of later at the end of their second use phase. 

The aim of project EnzyDegTex is to close the loop of textile 

recycling and to provide renewed raw materials from textile 

waste for the chemical, plastics, and textile industries. The 

use of enzymes enables selective degradation of materials 

present in textiles, e.g. polyesters in polyester-cotton blends. 

Thus, custom-fit recycling processes can be designed using 

the enzymatic approach, so that complex textile constructions 

can be treated and respective raw materials returned. 

For the development of the EnzyDegTex recycling 

process, process chains with the following sub-steps 

are being investigated: 

• Selection and preparation of the textile waste 

• Development and implementation of the 

enzymatic degradation 

• Enrichment and purification of 

suitable degradation products 

• Microbial synthesis of chemical 

base materials and polymers 

• Development and validation of 

suitable spinning processes 

• Development of textile products 

Enzyme for polyester 

degradation from textile waste 

The development of enzymatic degradation processes 

includes the screening and engineering of promising 

enzymes that can specifically degrade synthetic polymers or 

typical additives and dyes from textile material blends. The 

degradation products are subsequently used as feedstock 

for the microbial synthesis of textile raw materials. Target 

raw materials are, for example, mono – and oligomers 

for the synthesis of melt – or solvent-spinnable polymers. 

The spinnability of the purified polymers is first evaluated 

through polymer characterisation measurements and 

spinning trials on lab-scale spinning plants. Subsequently, 

melt and solvent spinning processes at a pilot scale are 

developed for suitable polymers. The resulting yarns are 

further processed into textile demonstrators as nonwovens, 

weaves, or knits using classic textile surface manufacturing 

processes. In addition, the yarn and textile properties are 

characterised and compared to benchmark products from 

clothing applications. After three successful project years, 

the feasibility of biological textile recycling into new chemical 

base materials and textile products is demonstrated. 

The implementation of developed products and processes 

in the Rhenish Mining Area has great potential to play a key 

role in transforming the linear textile disposal into a circular 

(bio)economy. With the high availability of textile waste and 

the local biochemical industry, the region has excellent 

conditions for creating valuable products from textile 

waste and new jobs. Moreover, in terms of sustainability, 

a contribution towards resource efficiency will be made 

and the amount of incinerated or exported and landfilled 

textiles will be reduced. 

By: 

www.ita.rwth-aachen.de 

Ricarda Wissel, Stefan Schonauer, 

Henning Löcken, Thomas Gries 

ITA Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen 

University, Aachen, Germany 

Project partners from RWTH Aachen University: 

Institute of Biotechnology (BIOTEC) 

Institute of Applied Microbiology (iAMB) 

Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) 

[1] bvse e.V: Bedarf, Konsum, Wiederverwendung und Verwertung 

von Bekleidung und Textilien in Deutschland, 2020, URL: 

https://bit.ly/bvse-studie2020 


4 + 5 April 2023 – Nuremberg, Germany 

Save the date 

Call for papers 

+ 

www.bio-toy.info 

organized by 

Media Partner 

Coorganized by 

Innovation Consulting Harald Kaeb 

Speakers of bio!TOY 2021 

®

Application News 

Sustainable 

PLAYMOBIL toys 

With the new PLAYMOBIL (Zirndorf, Germany) product 

series Wiltopia, children discover our Earth, its special 

features and its inhabitants. Without dry facts, but 

with lots of play fun and sustainable material in proven 

Playmobil quality! 

Playmobil and plastic recycling partner Coolrec 

(Waalwijk, the Netherlands) show exactly how this 

works in their Explainer clip, which is being released to 

coincide with the launch of the product series. 

Long-lasting quality – designed with the 

environment in mind 

Wiltopia is the first product range from Playmobil to be 

made from an average of over 80 % sustainable material. 

PCR plastics – i.e. plastics that have already been used 

by consumers and subsequently fed into the recycling 

loop – and biobased plastics are used. This conserves 

unused resources and above all the environment by 

giving already used materials a new life. All of the new 

items in the Wiltopia range naturally match the proven 

Playmobil quality. 

The explainer video clip: From the old 

refrigerator to new Playmobil sets. 

But how does it actually work exactly? Playmobil 

and recycling specialist Coolrec, a subsidiary of 

Renewi (Milton Keynes, UK), have produced a clip 

(https://youtu.be/dZd2N0dGJYU) for this purpose. In 

a child-friendly way, it shows how the Wiltopia items 

are made from recycled plastics that Coolrec extracts 

from discarded refrigerators. Pretty cool and really 

good for the planet! In the spirit of transitioning to a 

circular economy, the old refrigerators are stripped of 

the materials that are no longer needed. The plastics 

from the refrigerators are then shredded and turned 

into flakes. The flakes are turned into Coolrec pellets 

using advanced mechanical recycling processes, and 

you can make just about anything from them! Like all 

the animals and playsets in the new Playmobil product 

line Wiltopia and much, much more! AT/MT 

www.playmobil.com | www.coolrec.com 

Industrial compostable 

stretch film 

Anhui Jumei Biological Technology (Anhui, China) is a 

focused developer and manufacturer of compostable raw 

materials and products. Until June 2022, Anhui Jumei 

has supplied a total of 3,500 tonnes of compostable cling 

wrap to the market. These new cling wrap products 

are delivered to customers in 22 countries and regions 

worldwide to replace traditional plastic wrap and to reduce 

environmental pollution. 

The compostable cling wraps of Jumei were approved for 

the OK Compost label in March 2019 and certified home 

compostable one year after. 

In recent years it became a trend for households to 

embrace more disposable compostable products as the 

public is increasingly concerned about environmental 

issues. New regulations and legislative restrictions 

banning toxic plastics placed on the market prevailed soon, 

making the compostable cling wrap a popular substitute 

for households. So, it is no surprise that compostable cling 

wraps are broadly used in households, supermarkets, 

hotels, restaurants, and industrial food packaging. The 

current annual output is 1,000 tonnes. 

Jumei compostable cling wrap meets various 

requirements for food packaging applications: 

1. Food grade with no odour and high transparency 

2. Safe for microwave oven and refrigerator 

3. Good for fresh and cooked food packaging 

4. Biodegradable and compostable 

Jumei has made every effort to make as many 

compostable alternatives as possible to reach more end 

consumers. They are never satisfied and feel an obligation 

to improve their products even more. It is their mission to 

address the global plastic problem with the most viable and 

sustainable products. AT/MT 

www.ahjmsw.com 

Wiltopia by PLAYMOBIL [m] (Photo: Playmobil) 


Hall 6 

Stand C52 

M·VERA ® 

Biocompounds 

Discover our wide range of biodegradable and/or biobased 

materials for injection moulding, extrusion, thermoforming, 

3D printing and films – with various end-of-life scenarios. The 

M·VERA ® grades have different amounts of renewable carbon 

content and are food contact approved. 

Matching color and additive masterbatches are also provided. 

BIO-FED · Member of the Feddersen Group 

50829 Cologne · Germany · Phone: +49 221 888894-00 · info@bio-fed.com · www.bio-fed.com

BOOK 

STORE 

New 

Edition 

2020 

New 

Edition 

2020 

ORDER 

NOW 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/books 

email: books@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

phone: +49 2161 6884463 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/22] Vol. 17 25

C 

M 

Y 

CM 

MY 

CY 

CMY 

K 

Soother made with renewably-sourced feedstock 

Neste (Espoo, Finland), Borealis (Vienna, Austria), and MAM (Vienna, Austria) collaboratively announce an exciting product 

development made possible by value chain collaboration. MAM has been creating innovative and unique baby products such 

as soothers and baby bottles for more than 45 years and has recently launched its first climate-neutral soother. The new MAM 

Original Pure soother is composed of renewably-sourced polypropylene (PP) from the Bornewables portfolio of circular 

polyolefins, manufactured with Neste RE produced entirely from renewable raw materials. 

The packaging of MAM Original Pure soother, which also functions as a steriliser box, is also made using Bornewables. This 

development is an excellent example of how eco-efficient design and the use of circular polyolefins can substantially reduce the 

carbon footprint of a product while at the same time guaranteeing its safety and superior product quality. 


In their efforts to defossilise and reach their sustainability 

targets, many industry sectors are seeking safe and costefficient 

alternatives for plastics made using fossil-based 

feedstock. Grades in the Borealis Bornewables portfolio are 

often the ideal replacement solution. Using renewable Neste 

RE feedstock consisting of renewable propane which is derived 

for this collaboration solely from vegetable oil origin waste and 

residue streams, the Bornewables are produced according to 

the mass balance model which enables circular polyolefins 

to be tracked, traced, and verified throughout the entire value 

chain. Neste supplies Neste RE feedstock to Borealis for 

dehydrogenation. It is first converted to renewable propylene, 

then to renewable polypropylene (PP) at Borealis’ ISCC PLUS 

certified production facilities in Belgium. MT 

www.neste.com | www.borealisgroup.com | www.mambaby.com 

TPE 

ISSN 1868 - 8055 PVST ZK17761 

Volume 14 / 2022 

Magazine 

RFP 

ISSN 1863 - 7116 PVST 73484 

Rubber | Fibres | Plastics 


PU 

ISSN 1864 - 5534 PVST 66226 


Magazine 

International 

RADO-Titelseite-GAK-07-8-2022.PRINT 05.08.22 

ISSN 0176-1625 PVSt 4637 75. Jahrgang August 2022 

Gummi | Fasern | Kunststoffe 

Contact us! 

• Interview with 

A. Arrighini, Marfran 

• Trend report 

North America 

• Editorial 

• Interview 

Eruption of techniques Compensate 

and strategies to 

for interference 

break up and recycle rubber with nature 

• TPV for fuel cells • Wood as 

flame-retardant 

03 

• Trend report Localisation 

and regionalisation: 

Changing landscape of 

global supply chain 

2022 

• Trend report 

North America 

RP_P03_ADV Antifiamma_210x297mm.indd 1 

• Emerging trends in 

plastics recycling 

• Follow-up report 189 

exhibitors spread over 

three halls at Hannover 

fair ground 

02 


• DKT/IRC 2021 

Wichtiger Branchentreffpunkt 

in turbulenten 

Zeiten 

• Material flows of 

U.S. polyurethane 

• Amino functional 

04 

sulfonates 

• Mechanische 

Prüfung 

Mehraxiale 

Eigenschaften von 

Elastomeren 

• Integrative 

Simulation 

Modellierung des 

Relaxationsverhaltens 


• Rheologie 

Korrektur von Wandgleiteffekten 

07 

08 


Practical content from the areas of 

Development, processing and application* 

*Trend-setting and expertly packaged. 

Dr. Gupta Verlag 



Woodly partners with R-kioski 

R-kioski (Vantaa, Finland) has chosen the Woodly ® heat-sealed bag as their new form of packaging for takeaway products. With 

approximately 480 stores in Finland, R-kioski is a franchise-driven convenience store chain, which offers its customers food and 

beverages, as well as wanted everyday goods and services. 

The heat-sealable bag is recyclable and made from 100 % carbon neutral and wood-based Woodly material. Consumers can 

recognize the packaging from the Woodly logo. Takeaway sandwich products packaged in Woodly heat-sealable bags are available 

in R-kioski stores across Finland starting this week. 

R-kioski is taking further steps towards sustainability by choosing Woodly’s wood-based packaging. The Woodly bag increases 

product shelf life and preserves hygienic qualities and freshness. 

“Sustainability is part of our everyday operations. As our world changes, we see that we need to move towards a new way of 

doing business, that fits into the future and Anthropocene era. This change is necessary not only for our own success, but also 

for future generations, to create opportunities for them to live a good life. We want to lead by example, and we want sustainability 

to be accessible to all by providing our customers with easy and convenient ways to make sustainable choices. As part of our 

sustainability strategy, we implement actions that bring real change and offer products that benefit both people and the planet. 

Woodly’s packaging is a good example of our actions to reduce excessive plastic”, says Ann-Charlotte Schalin, Communications, 

Sustainability & Talent Management Director of R-kioski. 

For Woodly (Helsinki, Finland), the collaboration with R-kioski 

is another huge step forward in reaching new audiences with 

Finnish material innovation and introducing Woodly material and a 

packaging solution to Finnish consumers. 

“Everyone knows R-kioski in Finland. R-kioski is a wellestablished 

brand in Finland and we are excited about us working 

together and supporting R-kioski with its goal to provide consumers 

sustainable products,” comments Jaakko Kaminen, Woodly CEO. MT 

www.woodly.com 

| www.r-kioski.fi 

14–15 November 

Cologne (Germany) 

Hybrid Event 

advanced-recycling.eu 

Diversity of Advanced Recycling of Plastic Waste 

All you want to know about 

advanced plastic waste recycling: 

technologies and renewable 

chemicals, building blocks, 

monomers, and polymers based 

on recycling 

Topics 

• Markets and Policy 

• Circular Economy and Ecology of Plastics 

• Physical Recycling 

• Biochemical Recycling 

• Chemical Recycling 

• Thermochemical Recycling 

• Other Advanced Recycling Technologies 

• Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) 

• Upgrading, Pre- and Post-treatment Technologies 

Organiser Sponsored by Contact 

Dr. Lars Krause 

Program 

lars.krause@nova-institut.de 

Dominik Vogt 

Conference Manager 

dominik.vogt@nova-institut.de 


Biogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 

) 

for plastic production 

Materials manufacturer Covestro (Leverkusen, 

Germany) and SOL Kohlensäure (Burgbrohl, 

Germany) have concluded a framework agreement 

for a supply partnership for biogenic carbon dioxide (CO 2 

). 

With immediate effect, SOL, as one of the most important 

European suppliers of gases and gas services, will supply 

the liquefied gas to Covestro sites in North Rhine-Westphalia, 

where it will be used to produce plastics such as MDI 

(methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) and polycarbonate. Under 

the terms of the framework agreement, SOL Kohlensäure 

will already supply up to 1,000 tonnes of biogenic CO 2 

this 

year. From 2023, the supply volume is to be further increased 

substantially, enabling Covestro to save the same amount of 

CO 2 

from fossil sources at its NRW sites. 

“We have set ourselves the goal to become fully circular. 

To this end, we want to convert our raw material base to 

100 % renewable sources. We are very pleased to have found 

a partner in SOL Kohlensäure who will support us in this 

transformation with a pioneering spirit”, explains Daniel 

Koch, Head of NRW Plants at Covestro. 

“We at SOL Kohlensäure are advancing the shift to more 

sustainable CO 2 

sources. In this way, we are increasing 

security of supply, becoming independent of fossil raw 

materials, and reducing our environmental footprint 

at the same time”, emphasizes Falko Probst, Sales 

Manager at SOL Kohlensäure. 

From waste product to raw material 

The CO 2 

used is obtained by SOL Kohlensäure from 

various sources, such as bioethanol and biogas plants. In 

these plants, CO 2 

is produced as a by-product during the 

treatment of various biomasses, such as plant residues. This 

is separated by SOL Kohlensäure, purified and then made 

available to Covestro production as a raw material. 

In this way, the supply partnership supports the circular 

concept and contributes to reducing emissions. 

Covestro’s Lower Rhine sites in Leverkusen, Dormagen, 

and Krefeld-Uerdingen are ISCC PLUS certified and can 

supply their customers with more sustainable products made 

from renewable raw materials. 

Goal of climate neutrality by 2035 

Covestro has set itself the goal of becoming fully circular. 

This also includes using alternative raw materials. Biomass, 

CO 2 

, as well as end-of-life materials and waste replace fossil 

raw materials such as crude oil or natural gas. Carbon is 

managed in a circular way. In realizing these ambitions, both 

companies are relying on long-term supply partnerships. 

In addition to biogenic CO 2 

, Covestro is investigating the 

use of other technical gases from renewable sources. The 

materials manufacturer is already offering its customers 

its first sustainable products, such as climate-neutral MDI. 

With the expansion of its alternative raw material base, this 

portfolio is set to grow further in the coming years. 

ISCC (“International Sustainability and Carbon 

Certification”) is an internationally recognized system for the 

sustainability certification of biomass and bioenergy, among 

others. The standard applies to all stages of the value chain 

and is recognized worldwide. ISCC Plus also encompasses 

other certification options for instance for technical-chemical 

applications, such as plastics from biomass (see pp. 52). AT 

https://www.covestro.com/ 

Biogenic gas being delivered, Luis Da Poca (SOL) connects the tank 

Delivery of biogenic CO 2 

to Covestro site in NRW 

Inspection and acceptance of the delivery, from left to right: 

Katharina Rudel, Chemical Technician Covestro; Marcus Ney, Plant 

Manager Covestro; René Theisejans, Production Expert Covestro 

CCU / Feedstock 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/22] Vol. 17 

17


Flax-based thermoplastic 

biocomposites 

SeaBioComp, a European project developing novel 

biobased thermoplastic composite materials, has 

successfully produced a number of demonstrator 

products for the marine environment, using different 

manufacturing processes, to showcase its flax-based 

thermoplastic biocomposites. 

Project partners in the team, including research organisations, 

textile and composite specialists, universities, and 

cluster organisations, have been working together for the 

past 3 years to develop, 

mechanically test, and 

research a number of 

biobased formulations 

using different manufacturing 

techniques. Two 

different kinds of biocomposites 

have been developed 

by the consortium; 

a self-reinforced PLAcomposite 

which has 

been made into a variety 

of non-woven and woven 

fabrics suitable for use in 

compression moulding, 

and a flax reinforced polylactide (PLA) or acrylic (PMMA) 

reinforced composite for use via RIFT, compression moulding 

and additive manufacturing. 

Extensive testing of the 

mechanical properties of 

the various biocomposites 

has concluded that these 

materials are close to and 

in some instances perform 

better than conventional 

non-biobased composites 

(sheet moulded composite, 

SMC) currently in use 

in the marine environment 

today. The new biobased 

products have been shown 

to use the same compression 

moulding conditions as conventional products and 

sometimes the process cycle time can be shorter. 

The project has shown that the combination of 

thermoplastic polymers, natural fibres, and 3D printing 

technologies can result in technically complex designs and 

applications being produced for the marine environment. 

Several initial prototype products, including a fender and 

other port structures, have successfully been produced 

using 3D printing; scale model offshore wind turbine blades 

manufactured via monomer infusion under flexible tooling 

(MIFT) and complex curved structures using compression 

moulding techniques. 

The project has released a series of technical leaflets 

detailing the various production methods using selfreinforced 

biocomposites and flax-based biocomposites 

for marine applications, including compression moulding, 

monomer infusion and additive manufacturing. These 

technical leaflets will be of interest to manufacturers 

of marine products as 

well as supply chain 

companies and the 

academic sector and are 

available as downloads 

from the project website. 

In addition, the project 

has also determined 

whether these biobased 

self-reinforced polylactic 

acid (SRPLA) products 

are suitable for use in the 

marine environment from 

a durability and microplastic 

formation perspective. A new paper, published in 

Polymer Testing, Science Direct discusses the potential for 

SRPLA to be considered a promising material for sustainable 

marine applications. 

The motivation for the 

project is to reduce the 

use of fossil-based materials 

in the marine sector 

by developing biobased 

composites that have 

long-term durability with 

reduced CO 2 

emissions 

and environmental impact 

on the marine ecosystem. 

Early research in the project 

identified flax as the 

most suitable natural 

plant fibre to be used as reinforcement in the biocomposite. 

During growth, flax absorbs a lot of CO 2 

and cleans the soil 

through phytoremediation. 

Organisations interested in biobased materials for the 

marine environment are invited to join the SeaBioComp 

Interest Group via their website. AT 

http://www.seabiocomp.eu/ 


BOOK STORE 

Category 

New 

Edition 

2020 

NEW NEW 

NEW 

This book, created and published by Polymedia 

Publisher, maker of bioplastics MAGAZINE is available in 

English and German (now in the third, revised edition), 

and brand new also in Chinese, French and Spanish. 

The book is intended to offer a rapid and 

uncomplicated introduction to 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, as well as lay readers. It gives 

an introduction to plastics and bioplastics, explains 

which renewable resources can be used to produce 

bioplastics, what types of bioplastics 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. 

The book is complemented by a comprehensive literature 

list and a guide to sources of additional information 

on the Internet. 

The author Michael Thielen is 

publisher of bioplastics MAGAZINE. He is 

a qualified mechanical design engineer with 

a PhD degree in plastics technology from the 

RWTH University in Aachen, Germany. He 

has written several books on the subject of 

bioplastics and blow-moulding technology 

and disseminated his knowledge of plastics 

in numerous presentations, seminars, guest 

lectures, and teaching assignments. 

New 

Edition 

2020 

ORDER 

NOW 

www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/books 

email: books@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

phone: +49 2161 6884463 19 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/22] Vol. 17


The future of construction 

is biobased 

The creative studio Biobased Creations was founded in 

2019 with the main goal with to use storytelling, design, 

and imagination to tell the story of a changing value 

system. The founders, Pascal Leboucq and Lucas De Man, are 

neither architects nor builders, calling themselves “merely 

artists” artists trying to tell a story. A story about society 

at a pivot point in time, leaving a system of overproducing 

and under-reusing. This is not because we all, as a society, 

suddenly became green or good, but because the old system 

has reached its limits. Change never comes from innovation 

alone, it is driven by crisis and uses the innovation that is at 

hand to overcome that crisis. 

As artists, Pascal a designer and Lucas a storyteller, they 

are fascinated by this period of transformation we are in, 

especially because it is still unclear which way it will go. Are 

we going for a world where sustainability and vulnerability, 

solidarity and equality become the main values, or will we 

see a greenwashing of old values like greed, growth, and 

inequality? What they do know is that the current crisis is 

pushing us to build our homes, buildings, and environments 

more sustainable and that by doing so, we will have to 

change a bigger system of how we deal with our farming, 

our neighbourhoods, our health, and even our ideas of value. 

You can’t build truly sustainable without considering the 

whole chain around it. 

The journey towards biobased building 

In 2017 and 2018 Pascal and Lucas were the artists in 

residence of the Rabobank (Utrecht, Netherlands) where 

they discovered mycelium as a material. Mycelium are the 

roots of mushrooms and they form amazing networks under 

the earth’s surface. Mixing this mushroom with a dry carrier 

like hemp or reed makes it possible to grow, without much 

effort and in any mould you like, an amazing building material 

in just two weeks. Mycelium is light, fire retardant, water 

resistant, and has incredibly high acoustic insulation on top 

of that. The designer Eric Klarenbeek introduced the artists 

to the material, which lead to the request to make an art 

installation for the bank with them. They loved mycelium and 

its amazing qualities over traditional building materials. You 

can grow it everywhere, very fast, it takes up huge amounts 

of CO 2 

, it’s not expensive, it’s light and healthy, perfect for 

insulation – so they thought “everybody has to be working 

with it”. But as it turned out, just a handful of small studios 

were experimenting with it and only on a very small scale. 

This was the beginning of a much bigger journey for the two 

artists. How could they show the (mostly conservative) world 

of construction that there are new, beautiful materials with 

the same and often better qualities as the old materials out 

there? Materials that come from nature and can go back to 

nature after use. Materials that take up CO 2 

and can store it. 

Materials that take way less time to grow than wood and can 

be used on the inside and outside of buildings. Materials that 

might help farmers with new business perspectives when 

the meat industry dissolves. They wanted to scale up these 

innovations and build a proper construction. 

This led to a collaboration with the Dutch Design 

Foundation, taking them up on their request for a natural 

pavilion – born was The Growing Pavilion. 

Photo: Oscar Vinck 

It is a ten-tonne CO 2 

-negative, five metres high, eight 

metres wide, 95 % biobased pavilion. 

They got six designers that already worked with biobased 

materials and challenged them to go bigger than ever. The 

growing pavilion was an ode to a new aesthetic, the beauty 

of nature, and building with nature. They created 88 panels 

of mycelium and coated them with a biobased coating. 

Each panel had its own mould and its own different level of 

mouldiness. Together they show the beauty of fungi in all its 

colours. Besides mycelium, they used Kerto Wood for the 

frame and created a roof of cotton that let the rainwater in 

to feed the plants. They also had a floor made from cattail, 

burlap, and potato starch and the benches were made from 

rice straw. It was not only a display of biobased materials and 

a new way of building, it was a place where people could come 

together to understand that the world is changing. 

Photos: Eric Melander 


By: 

By Lucas De Man and Pascal Leboucq 

Biobased Creations 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands 

The Growing Pavilion premiered at the Dutch Design Week 

2019. An exhibition of different biobased designers was 

installed, there were musicians starting off each day and 

specially trained storytellers to talk to the visitors about the 

materials in the pavilion. The focus was on explaining how 

each material grows, can be harvested, holds CO 2 

, can be 

materialized and after use can be composted. The story of a 

circular system was new but very enlightening to many people. 

The Growing Pavilion welcomed over 75,000 visitors and 

received international attention with a Highly Commended 

Dezeen award as an absolute highlight. After the Dutch 

Design Week 2019, Pascal and Lucas received so many 

requests from other biobased designers and producers to 

display their materials, that they decided to take the next step. 

They were tired of constantly hearing from builders and 

policy officers that biobased materials are cute but only a 

possible solution in the far future. “They are not good enough 

yet”, “they miss the right certificates”, “they are not tested 

yet, it cannot be used on a large scale yet”, and so on. At 

the same time, they saw the problems with the climate, with 

CO 2 

and nitrogen levels growing exponentially. “Why don’t 

we build a house”, they thought. A house on a real scale 

that showcases what is already possible today and what will 

be possible tomorrow when it comes to biobased building. 

This way they could unite all the hardworking designers, 

producers, and builders that are inventing these materials 

and they could show the world that it is possible. And that 

it is possible already today. They could show the world that 

building sustainable can look and feel sexy as hell and that it 

is not only good for the environment but also good for people 

because biobased is healthy. 

That is when they started their project The Exploded 

View. In 2020, they first build The Exploded View 

Materials and Methods. 

A house, scale ¼ with over 40 different biobased materials, 

reused materials, and different building methods like urban 

mining, local mining, modular building, and detachability. 

Every room in the house got its own nature theme and 

the materials to match it. They had plants, water, earth, 

fungi, textile, food, and later they even added bacteria. 

They showcased the installation both live and online 

because the premiere at the Dutch Design Week happened 

during the lockdown. 

The exploded View Materials and Methods is a research 

installation that showcases the many possibilities when it 

comes to biobased building. It is built to travel, which it has 

been doing ever since it was showcased for the first time and 

there are still new rooms and new materials being added. 

Online they share all the information of every material and 

are openly asking for help with all the information that still 

needs to be researched. 

When they built the Growing Pavilion they got most of their 

funding from art funds and a few partners linked to design 

and art. This time they really wanted to involve the building 

world itself. So they became curators of the Embassy of Circular 

and Biobased Building 

at the Dutch Design 

Week and invited all kinds 

of organisations, institutions, 

and governments to 

become a partner and to 

share not only resources 

but also knowledge, network, 

and communication. 

This worked so well that 

they decided to continue 

this during the next step. 

In October 2021 the 

artistic duo introduced the 

visitors of the Dutch Design 

Week to The Exploded 

View Beyond Building, an 

exhibition in the shape of 

a real-sized house showcasing 

over 100 biobased 

materials together with 

over 100 partners. It was 

a rollercoaster of a ride to 

get this project done but 

they all together did. 

Pascal and Lucas 

had a few goals 

with this installation. 

First, they wanted to show 

what is already possible 

on a large scale when it 

comes to biobased materials. 

One-third of all 100 

materials in The Exploded 

View Beyond Building are 

already available today 

on a mass scale and for a 

competitive price, one-third 

will be consumer ready like 

that in the coming five 



21


years and the last third of materials 

displayed are more experimental. 

Secondly, they wanted to show how 

sexy and beautiful these materials can 

be. People touch, smell, and feel the 

materials and fall in love with them. 

This is not a subjective comment 

from their side, this is what they got 

back in the thousands of reviews they 

got on their questionnaires. Every 

material had a label and a QR code which you could scan 

for more information on what it is, how it’s made, by whom 

it’s made, what you can use it for, and when and where it is 

available. This way they not only seduce the people, they could 

also share all the information to facilitate networking and 

flow of information. 

Thirdly, they‘ve built their installation with laminated 

veneer lumber (LVL) in the computer and straight out of the 

factory. On-site, they only had to assemble it like a giant Lego 

project. Modular building will be essential if we want to beat 

the shortages in housing and the best and most affordable 

way to make them is out of wood. In other words, if you want 

to build more and fast, you have to do it sustainably. The great 

extra aspect of modular building is that you grow or shrink 

your house. This implies a total rupture of our thinking about 

building, living, and owning. Because now you can actually 

move your house, it is modular and dismountable, or you can 

add a piece or sell a part when you need more or less space. 

Fourthly, they used the same idea as with The Exploded 

view Materials and Methods to give each room a clear theme 

like water, earth, fungi and bacteria, plants, food, living 

materials, and sewage. But they also added gardens around 

and on top of the house to show where the materials actually 

originate from and also because they wanted to talk with 

the visitors about water collection, 

green cities, nature inclusivity, 

and waste management. 

Last but not least, they added 

stories to the materials and 

methods. Or to say it better, they 

went beyond just the building aspect 

of this house. Because if you want 

to build more sustainably, you have 

to consider the whole chain around 

it. So, they collected, and still are 

collecting, stories on four themes: 

Neighbourhood, Farming, Health, and Value. 

If we are going to build more sustainably and with more 

biobased materials, which we must, then we will have to 

change the way we use our lands. Where will we grow our 

wood, hemp, reed, algae, and mycelium? Who will do this? 

Lucas and Pascal believe that farmers will become the 

producers for the building industry, but are they up for it? Do 

they get help with it? Are we, as a society, up for it? 

We will also have to change the way we construct our 

neighbourhoods. How can we build in such a way that insects, 

bees, and small animals find a place to live as well? How 

do we build so that our houses and parks help with water 

management? Are we going to grow crops in or on buildings? 

Will our future cities be more of a fusion of brick and nature? 

Will we harvest our buildings? 

We will also have to change the way 

we value the impact of health. We 

can construct our buildings so that 

they can breathe instead of sealing 

them off. Biobased materials are 

way healthier to work with and to live 

amongst than traditional building 

materials. It has been proven over and 

over again. Are we going to take this 

into account when we tender? Is this 

going to be a more important value for 

consumers and governments? The health of our construction 

workers is valuable right? 

Building more sustainable also means that we will have 

to change the way we look at ownership. Do I keep all the 

materials in my house? Or does the supplier or the builder 

keep them so that they can reuse them in high quality to really 

make them circular? What does that mean for pricing? Can I 

resell my walls and my insulation after 20 years? We also will 

have to look at how we validate aspects such as CO 2 

storing 

capacity or longevity of materials when we make our tenders 

or when we look at certifications of materials. 

Building with biobased materials implies a 

whole new way of thinking and doing. 

And in this last bit of text lies the whole crux. Do we fully 

understand that sustainability demands a radical change 

in the way we do things today? Can we build with natural 

materials that are easy to grow, hold a lot of CO 2 

, are 

price competitive, healthier, and can be decomposed after 

use? Yes, we can. They are there and they are growing in 

numbers, quality, and production capacity. But are we ready 

for what they imply? We have to build more sustainable that 

is a given fact, and nobody denies it. But what Pascal and 

Lucas, non-architects, non-builders, “merely” artists, are 

trying to do with their work is to tell 

the bigger story. They want to open 

the dialogue that we have to work 

together way more than we do now. 

That we have to remove the walls 

between the different departments 

like agriculture, construction, 

science, health, education, and so on 

if we truly want to build a sustainable 

environment for all of us to breathe in. 

We are evolving towards a new value 

system, not because we are smarter 

and ethically better than before, but because we have to. It 

is up to us now to choose how we want that value system to 

look like, what values we really want to propagate and how 

we are going to deal with the consequences of our choices. 

You cannot have a cake and not eat it. 

Biobased Creations wants to use storytelling and 

imagination to open up a continuous practical ethical 

dialogue with all that are concerned. Will you join them? 

Both The Growing Pavilion and The Exploded View Beyond 

Building could be visited during the Floriade Expo 2022 

(April – October 2022). 

The Exploded View Materials and Methods is on the road, 

for dates and locations check www.theexplodedview.com 

www.biobasedcreations.com 


Teaming Up for Change 

Transforming Together 

A sustainable future requires urgent action — innovative, proactive 

approaches that keep us on the offense and reactive solutions for a preventive 

defense. And, we need to work together. 

Through the expertise and creative power of our people, DuPont Mobility & 

Materials is innovating solutions to challenges aligned to the UN Sustainable 

Development Goals. Plus, we are collaborating with customers and the supply 

chain to help industries transform toward a low carbon and circular future. 

Sustainability is a team sport. Let’s keep all hands on the ball. 

dupont.com/mobility/sustainability 

Visit us at the K Show – Hall 6, Stand C43 – to learn more. 

DuPont, the DuPont Oval Logo, and all trademarks and service marks denoted with , SM or ® are owned by affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. unless otherwise noted. © 2022 DuPont.


Wheat gluten based bioplastic 

The energy released by the construction industries 

increases year after year, raising concerns about 

growing CO 2 

emissions. It is worth noting that the 

construction industry is responsible for 23 % of world plastic 

waste production and ca. 37 % of global energy-related 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributed to the 

construction sector [1]. Plastics-based products are used 

in the construction industries during packaging as well 

as in window panels, interior decor, and in electrical and 

electronic products. 

After the end-life of such products, a significant portion 

is recycled, while the remainder is either released into 

the environment or ends up in landfills, leading to serious 

environmental issues. This growing global environmental 

impact has steered construction science and engineering 

toward biobased plastics such as wheat gluten (WG), which 

could contribute to a low-carbon future. Bioplastics have 

evolved over time as a result of both scientific advances 

and market demand. For instance, DUS Architecture 

(Amsterdam, the Netherlands) has built a 700 m 2 canal 

house out of bioplastic using 3D printing technology [2 ]. 

Bioplastic has also been used in concretes as aggregates 

[3]. Elsewhere, Aectual, a Dutch company based in 

Amsterdam, has demonstrated the use of bioplastics to 

create sustainable, customizable flooring solutions [4]. These 

applications highlight the role of bioplastics in creating a 

more sustainable future. 

improve mechanical properties, it cannot improve flame 

resistance. On the other hand, the addition of a flame retardant 

imparts fire safety but reduces mechanical strength. Hence, 

gluten with balanced mechanical strength and flame 

resistance along with reduced water/moisture sensitivity 

could be a viable option for construction application. 

This issue was addressed by the research group at the 

Structural and Fire Engineering Division at Luleå University 

of Technology, Sweden. As part of their research, they treated 

gluten bioplastic with pyrolysis biochar and sustainable fireretardants 

using a novel technique. According to Oisik Das, 

a senior lecturer leading the study, this gluten with biochar 

and fire-retardant is more sustainable, eco-friendly, and 

efficient for creating potential structural components in 

construction engineering. His recently completed research 

project, funded by Brandforsk in Sweden (grant number 321- 

002), sought to investigate the possibility of balancing the 

fire and mechanical properties in bioplastics by incorporating 

biochar doped with sustainable fire retardants. Sustainable 

fire-retardants were doped inside the numerous pores of 

biochar (Figure 1), and this functionalised biochar was then 

integrated within gluten bioplastic. The project discovered 

that using a thermal method, fire retardants can be effectively 

doped inside the pores of biochar and can then be used to 

create gluten bioplastic having good fire-safety properties 

without compromising on mechanical strength. 

Bioplastics, like gluten, are innocuous to the environment 

and their degradation does not lead to detrimental 

microplastic production. Gluten has acceptable mechanical 

and cohesive properties and can be formed into desired 

shapes. The use of WG-based bioplastics has the potential 

to replace traditional plastics in construction applications. 

Despite the fact that gluten is environmentally friendly and 

has mechanical properties comparable to conventional 

plastics, the question of “How effective is gluten bioplastic for 

construction applications?” remains somewhat unanswered. 

Aside from strength, gluten should also possess fire and 

water resistance properties to meet the requirements of 

construction applications. Unfortunately, gluten is sensitive 

to water and prone to degradation during a fire. However, 

reinforcements and flame retardants can help in resolving 

these issues, albeit separately. While reinforcement can 

Figure 1: Thermally doped fire retardants 

(here naturally-occurring lanosol) in biochar pores [5]. 

References: 

1. Hamilton, I., Rapf, O., Kockat, D.J., Zuhaib, D.S., Abergel, T., Oppermann, M., Otto, M., Loran, S., Fagotto, I., Steurer, N. and Nass, N., 2020. 2020 global status 

report for buildings and construction. United Nations Environmental Programme. 

2. https://www.bioplasticsmagazine.com/en/news/meldungen/2016-01-11-Bioplastic-elements-facade-Europe-Building.php (assessed on 19-09-2022). 

3. Oberti, I. and Paciello, A., 2022. Bioplastic as a Substitute for Plastic in Construction Industry. Encyclopedia, 2(3), pp.1408-1420. 

4. https://www.engineering.com/story/aectual-3d-prints-everything-from-floors-to-walls (assessed on 19-09-2022). 

5. Perroud, T., Shanmugam, V., Mensah, R.A., Jiang, L., Xu, Q., Neisiany, R.E., Sas, G., Försth, M., Kim, N.K., Hedenqvist, M.S. and Das, O., 2022. Testing 

bioplastics containing functionalised biochar. Polymer Testing, p.107657. 

6. Das, O., Loho, T.A., Capezza, A.J., Lemrhari, I. and Hedenqvist, M.S., 2018. A novel way of adhering PET onto protein (wheat gluten) plastics to impart water 

resistance. Coatings, 8(11), p.388. 


Remaining water (%) 

Another major issue with gluten is its dimensional 

instability under high moisture conditions. Oisik Das and 

his co-workers came up with the novel idea of laminating 

gluten with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film using 

cross-linkers, which resulted in significantly improved water 

barrier properties (Figure 2.a) while keeping the dimension 

100 

95 

90 

85 

80 

75 

in construction 

Neat WG 

PET 

Ground 

Brushed 

(a) 

70 

0 1 2 3 4 

By: 

Oisik Das, 

Senior Lecturer & International Coordinator 

Vigneshwaran Shanmugam 

Department of Civil, Environmental 

and Natural Resources Engineering 

Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden 

intact (Figure 2.b) under high moisture conditions. Based on 

the aforementioned, it is possible to alleviate some of the 

performance properties of gluten bioplastic taking it one step 

closer to being used in the construction industry, but further 

research is needed to determine its load-bearing capacity 

as well as creep resistance and fatigue-related properties. 

Figure 2: State 

of the neat and 

PET-layered gluten 

films (samples 

named Ground 

and Brushed) 

when exposed to 

saturated water 

vapor (100 % relative 

humidity) on the 

inside of a cup 

and 50 % relative 

humidity on the 

outside [6]. 


Days 

Leading Event on Carbon 

Capture & Utilisation 

Learn about the entire CCU value chain: 

• Carbon Capture Technologies 

and Direct Air Capture 

• CO2 for Chemicals, Proteins 

and Gases 

• Advanced CCU Technologies, 

Artificial Photosynthesis 

• Fuels for Transport and Aviation 

• Green Hydrogen Production 

• Mineralisation 

• Power-to-X 

1 

Best CO2 

Utilisation 

2023 

O R G A N I S E R N OVA -I N S TIT U T E 

I N N OVAT I O N 

AWA R D 

Call for Innovation 

Apply for the Innovation 

Award “Best CO2 

Utilisation 2023” 

Organiser 

Contact 

Dominik Vogt 



co2-chemistry.eu 


25


Thermal insulation makes an important 

contribution to climate neutrality 

Thermal insulation of buildings and the cold chain plays 

a vital role in saving CO 2 

emissions and conserving 

fossil raw materials. Covestro is one of the leading 

raw material suppliers for one of the most efficient 

insulation materials used for this purpose for a long time: 

Rigid polyurethane (PU) foam. Given the ongoing climate 

change and the drastic measures required to combat it, its 

importance is currently growing once again. 

This is reason enough for Covestro to further increase the 

sustainability and insulating performance of its foams and 

develop innovative solutions for more effective production. 

Climate-neutral raw material for insulation 

For example, Covestro now offers one of the two main 

raw materials for PU rigid foam, renewable [1] toluene 

diisocyanate (TDI) and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), 

in a version that is climate-neutral [2] from the cradle to the 

factory gate: On balance, no CO 2 

emissions are generated 

in the aforementioned part of the value-added cycle. This 

increase in sustainability is due to the use of alternative 

raw materials based on plant waste and residual oils, which 

are allocated to the products with the help of certified mass 

balancing according to ISCC PLUS. With such climate-neutral 

solutions, Covestro helps its customers achieve their own 

sustainability goals and master the transition to a circular 

economy. The products can be incorporated into existing 

process technology for the construction, refrigeration, and 

automotive industry customers without any significant 

changes. And with these polyols, Covestro is now able to offer 

selective prepolymers for various adhesive applications. 

Small refrigerators with plenty of interior space 

In the cold chain, too, rigid PU foam has been the insulating 

material of choice for decades to keep food from spoiling 

efficiently and permanently. In the future, it will be important 

to not only further increase the insulation performance, but 

also to have the largest possible interior space in which to 

store a lot of refrigerated goods, and yet limited external 

dimensions of the refrigerator. Here, PU vacuum insulation 

panels (VIPs) offer an advantageous solution: they take up 

little space but provide efficient insulation with low energy 

consumption and CO 2 

emissions. Even at the end of their 

useful life, PU VIPs still reduce the carbon footprint: Thanks 

to their use, refrigerators are made from only a few different 

materials and can be recycled more easily. 

More effective and sustainable production 

of insulation elements 

For the production of rigid foam insulation boards and 

metal sandwich elements, customers have to spread a PU 

reaction mixture on a top layer. Covestro has developed 

an innovative technology using casting rakes that enables 

a uniform distribution of the liquid mixture, simplifying 

the production process but also increasing the quality of 

the insulation elements. Insulation Board Fastline (IBF) 

technology also reduces out-of-spec batches and production 

waste – waste that would otherwise have to be disposed of or 

recycled. The casting rakes can be easily integrated into the 

existing production. 


Efficiently insulated windows 

The efficient thermal insulation of doors and 

windows naturally makes another important 

contribution to reducing energy consumption 

and CO 2 

emissions from buildings. While 

multi-pane windows made of insulating glass 

have proven themselves in practice, for a few 

years now, composite materials made of 

polyurethane resins in combination with glass 

fibres using pultrusion technology have been 

providing excellent insulation of 

window and door frames. They 

also give them good strength 

and fire resistance. 

Covestro produces the polyether polyols in Dormagen, 

Germany, using the mass-balanced precursor propylene oxide 

from the shared site with LyondellBasell in Maasvlakte, The 

Netherlands. There, the two partners produce propylene 

oxide and styrene monomer as part of a joint venture. Both 

of the above-mentioned sites are certified according to 

the internationally recognized ISCC PLUS standard. 

“With the introduction of both main components 

(TDI and MDI) for polyurethanes based on 

alternative raw materials, we have reached 

another important milestone on the road to 

climate neutrality,” says Sucheta Govil, 

Chief Commercial Officer of Covestro. 

“We can now help customers in a variety 

of industries meet their climate goals and 

drive the transition to a circular economy. At the same time, 

we are reducing the CO 2 

footprint in various value chains”. AT 



[1] The more sustainable polyether polyol as well as the renewable TDI 

are produced with the help of the mass balance approach using 

renewable raw materials – from biowaste and plant residues – which are 

mathematically attributed to the product. 

[2] Climate neutrality is the result of an internal assessment of a partial 

product life cycle from raw material extraction (cradle) to the factory 

gate (Covestro gate), also known as cradle-to-gate assessment. The 

methodology of our life cycle assessment, which has been critically 

reviewed by TÜV Rheinland, is based on ISO standards 14040 and ISO 

14044. The calculation takes into account biogenic carbon sequestration 

based on preliminary data from the supply chain. No compensatory 

measures were applied. 

23–25 May • Siegburg/Cologne 

23–25 May • Siegburg/Cologne (Germany) 

renewable-materials.eu 

The brightest stars of Renewable Materials 

The unique concept of presenting all renewable material solutions at 

one event hits the mark: bio-based, CO2-based and recycled are the only 

alternatives to fossil-based chemicals and materials. 

ORGANISED BY 

NOVA-INSTITUTE 

SPONSORED BY 

COVESTRO1 

RENEWABLE 

MATERIAL 

OF THE 

YEAR 2023 

First day 

• Bio- and CO2-based 

Refineries 

• Chemical Industry, 

New Refinery Concepts 

& Chemical Recycling 

Second day 

• Renewable Chemicals 

and Building Blocks 

• Renewable Polymers 

and Plastics – 

Technology and Markets 

• Innovation Award 

• Fine Chemicals 

(Parallel Session) 

Third day 

• Latest nova Research 

• The Policy & Brands 

View on Renewable 

Materials 

• Biodegradation 

• Renewable Plastics 

and Composites 

INNOVATION AWARD 


Submit your 

Application for the 

“Renewable Material 

of the Year 2023” 

Organiser 

Award 

Sponsor 

Contact 

Dominik Vogt 




27


Low-carbon wastewater evacuation 

system made from bio-attributed PVC 

Vynova (Tessenderlo, Belgium), a leading European 

PVC and chlor-alkali company, and Nicoll (Herstal, 

Belgium), European leader in thermoplastic solutions 

for the building sector and part of Aliaxis Group, have sealed a 

commercial agreement to use bio-attributed PVC for Nicoll’s 

HOMETECH ® silent wastewater evacuation system. This will 

enable Nicoll to offer a low-carbon solution without any 

compromise on quality, durability, and performance. 

As part of the agreement, Vynova is supplying bio-attributed 

PVC marketed under its VynoEcoSolutions brand to Nicoll in 

France. The use of Vynova’s bio-attributed PVC is estimated 

to reduce the carbon footprint of Nicoll Hometech by 60 % 

compared to the conventional end product. As it already 

incorporates 20 % externally recycled plastic and is 100 % 

recyclable itself, Nicoll Hometech will become the first silent 

evacuation system made with 100 % low-carbon PVC. 

“We are delighted to work together with an industry 

leader like Nicoll to reduce the carbon footprint of their 

PVC pipe range, supporting our mutual sustainability 

goals and helping the construction sector shift towards a 

low-carbon future”, comments Rudy Miller, Vice President 

Vinyls Business at Vynova. 

“This new bio-attributed resin is a logical next step to 

further concretize our sustainability ambitions. As a market 

leader, we set the pace for innovative, sustainable solutions”, 

says Benoît Fabre, Vice President Aliaxis France. 

Vynova’s bio-attributed PVC is produced from biomass 

feedstock that does not compete with the food chain 

and is marketed under the VynoEcoSolutions brand. The 

VynoEcoSolutions portfolio also includes the company’s 

circular-attributed and renewable PVC ranges, renewable 

caustic soda as well as its low-carbon potassium 

derivatives offering. 

The bio-circular ethylene which is used as feedstock for 

Vynova’s bio-attributed PVC is supplied by petrochemical 

company SABIC (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) from its production 

facilities in Geleen (the Netherlands) and forms part of 

SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio for circular solutions. 

“Partnerships along the value chain, such as this 

collaboration with Nicoll and SABIC, are essential to realizing 

the transition towards a more sustainable and circular 

plastics industry. This cooperation underlines our strong 

commitment to being an industry leader in that transition”, 

concludes Vynova President Christophe André. AT 

www.vynova-group.com 

www.aliaxis.com 

https://nicoll.be/ 

https://www.sabic.com/ 


Cellulose-based passive 

radiative cooler 

Heating and cooling account for large proportion 

of buildings’ energy use in many countries, such 

as China and the USA, which makes it the largest 

individual energy expenditure. As a result, passive radiative 

cooling has become an attractive approach to saving building 

energy efficiencies. To date, traditional cooling devices show 

poor daytime cooling performance in hot, humid regions 

because the cooling materials are heated up by the sun. 

Thus, designing tuneable daytime radiative cooler to meet 

the requirements of different weather conditions is still a big 

challenge, especially in hot, humid regions. 

In a recent study, a dual-function strategy of aerogel was 

put forward to construct tuneable cellulose nanocrystal 

(CNC) aerogel coolers with high solar reflectance, high 

infrared emissivity, and low thermal conductivity, which show 

great value in energy-saving buildings. Nanocrystal cellulose 

aerogel coolers were fabricated via facile freezing casting of 

crosslinked CNC suspensions. 

The CNC suspensions crosslinked by silane agent (MTMS) 

were poured into the desired moulds and frozen in liquid 

nitrogen, before they were freeze-dried to obtain the CNC 

aerogels. Finally, the obtained CNC aerogels were thermally 

treated in the oven drying at 80 °C. The resulting CNC aerogel 

coolers exhibit an ultra-white structure, which can reflect 

96 % sunlight. Meanwhile, CNC aerogel coolers show a 

strong infrared emittance (92 %) and an ultralow thermal 

conductivity (0.026 W/mK). They can achieve a sub-ambient 

temperature drop of up to 9.2 °C under direct sunlight and 

promisingly reached the reduction of ~7.4 °C even in hot, 

moist, and fickle extreme surroundings. 

More importantly, the elasticity of aerogel coolers enables 

the dynamically tuneable cooling capacity by simply changing 

the compression ratio of aerogel coolers, which can meet 

the different cooling requirements in various regions all over 

the world. Meanwhile, compared with traditional cooling 

materials, such as PE fabric, PVDF coatings, photonics, and 

so on, the prepared CNC aerogel coolers are sustainable and 

eco-friendly – it can be easily isolated from wood and can be 

considered a nontoxic and biodegradable material. 

Most importantly, as-prepared CNC aerogel coolers can be 

used for many scenarios such as: 

1. as cooling materials around building, outdoor 

construction or devices, 

2. but also for small devices running outdoors in summer 

under direct sunlight, 

3. or as protecting materials against sunlight or warm 

conditions, such as for fresh fruit in warm weather, e.g. 

during transport in summer. 

Specially, these aerogel coolers can be easily assembled 

into bulks with different sizes and geometries, which can 

meet the various requirements of applications. The aerogel 

cooler (thickness of 1 cm) can act as an envelope of baseline 

buildings to reflect sunlight, dissipate heat by infrared 

radiation and reduce thermal convection from the ambient 

surroundings to the inner space, thereby resulting in reduced 

cooling energy consumption. 

The energy-saving modelling process was conducted 

based on baseline wall and roof material (Traditional building 

materials) properties and aerogel cooler performance to 

predict energy consumption. Twenty-three cities in China 

were selected for this study (thermal zones in China), which 

can expand the results of energy savings to the whole country. 

Our cooling energy savings of the aerogel cooler on outer 

surfaces of buildings indicates Haikou (6.89 kW/m 2 ), Taipei 

(5.61 kW/m 2 ), Changsha (4.96 kW/m 2 ), Wuhan (4.91 kW/m 2 ), 

and Nanchang (4.89 kW/m 2 ) possess the highest cooling 

energy in the chosen 23 cities in China. Specifically, compared 

with the traditional building consumption, the aerogel cooler 

could save 35.4 % cooling energy on average in China. 

In the future, the research will focus on: (1) improving 

the net cooling power of aerogel coolers by optimizing the 

infrared emissivity; (2) optimizing existent freeze casting 

technology to produce large-sized aerogel coolers: (3) 

designing weather-adaptive CNC-based coolers to meet the 

requirement of different season conditions. 

Full research at: 

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c00844 

https://wsu.edu/ 

Cooling savings (%) 

50 

40 

30 

20 

10 

0 

Average (one year) 

Percentage 

China 

Energy 

4x10³ 

3x10³ 

2x10³ 

1x10³ 

Cooling energy (W/m²) 

By: 

Fu Yu, Distinguished Professor 

School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering & Composite 

Materials Engineering Centre 

Nanjing Forestry University & Washington State University 

Pullman, WA, USA 

0 



29

them all, and they will all be showcased at the K. 

K’2022 Preview 

Show 

Preview 

K 2022, “The World’s No. 1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber” 

will again be the stage for approximately 3,000 exhibitors from 

61 countries that will occupy Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre in its 

entirety. The so-called K-Show is expected to attract more than 

200,000 trade visitors from all over the world to Düsseldorf between 

the 19 th and 26 th of October 2022. The latest K in 2019 registered 

3,330 exhibitors from 63 countries on 177,000 m² net exhibition 

space and 224,116 trade visitors, of these 73 % came from abroad. 

This year, sustainability is of unsurprising focus with two of 

the three declared guiding themes of the K-show being climate 

protection and the circular economy. They are the current answers 

of the industry to the threats of the climate crisis and global 

plastics pollution, including microplastics. In this race against 

time to find the best solutions for the end-of-life and feedstock 

issues of our industry, it is safe to say that claims of recyclability 

will be everywhere. Yet, real solutions have to go broader, looking 

at the issues on a wider scale. There is infrastructure to be built 

and systems to be developed in collaboration of players across 

the industry. If we really plan to defossilise the industry we 

need to look at solutions that are biobased, CO 2 

-based, and yes, 

based on recycled material. However, just because a material 

is recyclable doesn’t make it sustainable – only if it is actually 

recycled. Mechanical recycling is still the go-to approach here, 

but it is already becoming clear that even if scaled up it will not 

be enough to make our economy truly circular, luckily advanced 

recycling technologies are on the rise, eager to fill part of that gap. 

The open exchange and dialogue on solution-oriented 

innovations and sustainable developments across national 

borders and continents will also be in focus at this year’s K in 

(Foto: Messe Düsseldorf / Constanze Tillmann) 

Düsseldorf. It fulfils the ideal prerequisites for engaging in intense 

On the following pages a number of 

companies present their exhibits at K 2022. 

This will be rounded off by a comprehensive 

K-show-review in issue 06/2022. 

global networking and for jointly advancing projects. Because 

nowhere else is the plastics and rubber industry gathered in one 

place with such a high degree of internationality. There are no 

silver bullets and different regions in the world require different 

solutions, be it mechanical or chemical recycling, biobased or 

biodegradable, or carbon capture and utilisation – we will need 

Sukano 

Sukano (Schindellegi, CH) is presenting 

its circularity-designed products. For 

15+ years, Sukano has maximized 

and diversified the use of biopolymers 

to contribute to a circular economy. 

An expert on masterbatches and 

compounds in biodegradable and biobased 

polymers with in-house technical 

knowledge, Sukano recognizes 

the materials’ significant benefits, 

properties, and functionalities. 

Sukano aims to accelerate the growth 

of biodegradable and compostable packaging and foster 

innovation in semi-durables and medical applications to 

expand the market penetration and sustainable profile 

of biodegradable goods. With a complete portfolio and 

technical support, the company helps develop applications 

that optimize production yield, cycle times, and consistency. 

The K-show is the performance barometer for the entire 

industry and its global marketplace for innovations. For eight days, 

the “Who’s Who” of the entire plastics and rubber world will meet 

here to demonstrate the industry’s capabilities, discuss the latest 

trends, and set the course for the future. 

Initially focused on 

PLA, a biodegradable 

plastic made from 

organic sources, 

Sukano now has 

expanded into PBS(A) 

and PEF additive and 

colour masterbatches. 

The newest addition 

is the SUKANO ® PHA 

colours, which allow 

fully compostable end 

applications. Sukano’s 

Global Product Manager for Bioplastics, 

Daniel Ganz, will introduce the PHA colour palette 

and concept at the Bioplastics Business 

Breakfast on October 21, 2022. 

Climate protection and the circular economy are not only 

guiding themes of the trade show but are (and always have been) 

among the core targets of the bioplastics community, not only at 

the exhibitors’ stands but also in the supporting programme of 

K 2022, e.g. the 5 th Bioplastics Business Breakfast conferences 

hosted by bioplastics MAGAZINE (see pp 8 for details). 

www.sukano.com 

8a H28 


Gianeco 

Gianeco (Turin, Italy) is one of the first companies in Europe to successfully start recycling renewable, biodegradable, and 

compostable materials such as PLA, PBAT, PBS, and their compounds. 

One of our main products is recycled PLA (polylactide), a thermoplastic polyester polymerised from maize, i.e. from renewable 

sources. Polylactide is extremely versatile and is used in a wide variety of applications: for sheet and panel extrusion, injection 

moulding, compounding, and 3D printing. 

Among the latest products developed by Gianeco in collaboration with 

national research centres is Biogeo, a compound containing PLA, PBAT, and 

starch, for the extrusion of blown film; its use is aimed at the production of 

bags for organic waste and supermarkets. 

Recycled bioPBS will be also present among their products at the K show 2022. 

Gianeco staff are actively working on new solutions to recycle other biopolymers 

such as PHA and PHB, which still occupy only a small part of the bioplastics market. 

Why choose Gianeco’s recycled biopolymer? 

• it is 100 % recycled, thus contributing to the circular economy 

• it comes from renewable resources 

• is competitively priced compared to virgin biopolymers 

• has a low impact on the environment (biodegradable and compostable 

according to EN13432) 

• has a low carbon footprint 

www.gianeco.com 

7.2 E10 


traceless 

Traceless is a female-founded circular bioeconomy 

startup from Hamburg, Germany, offering a holistically 

sustainable alternative to conventional plastics 

and bioplastics to solve global plastic pollution! 

Their innovative, patented technology for the first time allows 

using food production residues to produce materials that are 

compostable under natural composting conditions. While 

biobased, the materials don’t cause land-use change, don’t 

need any hazardous additives or solvents and have up to 87 % 

lower CO 2 

emissions. 

Being neither chemically modified nor synthetically 

polymerized, they don’t fall under the EU Plastic Directive and 

by considering all impact indicators, traceless materials are 

uniquely sustainable. Already competitive with conventional 

plastics and bioplastics in quality, on an industrial production 

scale, their materials will be price competitive with virgin 

plastic, allowing to produce sustainable, affordable products 

for end customers of all demographics and income levels to 

become part of the solution to solve global plastic pollution. 

www.traceless.eu 8b F37-03 

UBQ 

UBQ Materials (Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel) is a climate tech 

developer of advanced materials made from unsorted 

waste, including all organics. The company diverts residual 

municipal solid waste from landfills and converts it into UBQ , 

a climate-positive thermoplastic that helps manufacturers 

reduce their carbon footprints, operate more sustainably, and 

power a circular economy. 

UBQ is a sustainable alternative to oil-based resins 

and other conventional raw materials, compatible with 

thousands of applications across diverse industries. 

The homogeneous raw material is USDA bio preferred 

and has UL2809 certification, as it contains 100 % postconsumer 

recycled content. 

UBQ Materials 

executives will be 

on hand at K 2022 to 

showcase its global 

expansion, starting with 

a large-scale facility in 

the Netherlands that 

will begin operating in 

2023. UBQ Materials 

will also demonstrate 

final products from a 

wide variety of industry 

leaders, including 

McDonald’s, PepsiCo 

and Mercedes-Benz, 

that are using UBQ 

to manufacture throughout their supply chains, including 

consumer-facing products. 

www.ubqmaterials.com 

7.1 A44 


31


LANXESS 

LANXESS (Cologne, Germany) 

presents new Tepex thermoplastic 

composites that are currently being 

developed starting from recycled or 

biobased raw materials. 

In the field of matrix materials 

for Tepex, recently PLA and PA10.10 

have been introduced to the 

markets. Development is about to be 

completed, e.g. on a matrix plastic 

based on PA6 for Tepex dynalite, that 

is produced starting from green cyclohexane and therefore consists of well 

over 80 % sustainable raw materials. 

When the matrix plastic is reinforced with continuous-fibre fabrics, the 

resulting semi-finished products exhibit the same outstanding properties 

as equivalent products that are purely fossil-based. Beneath plant-based 

flax fibre fabrics, another new family of reinforcements comprises variants 

that yield surfaces with a so-called forged carbon look. The corresponding 

components feature a grain that is reminiscent of marble. The high 

proportion of recycled material is based on carbon fibres from postindustrial 

waste. The fibres are used as non-woven material or as chopped 

fibre mats. A variety of thermoplastics is suitable as a matrix material, 

such as PA6, PA66, PP, and PC as well as the above-mentioned 

PLA and PA10.10. The mechanical 

performance of the 

new carbon composites approximates 

the high level of 

the continuous-glass-fibre reinforced 

composites of the 

Tepex range isotropically. 

www.lanxess.com 

6 C76-C78 

Kuraray 

Among other products, Kuraray (Tokyo, 

Japan) presents Septon Bio-series, a 

unique hydrogenated styrene farnesene block 

copolymer (HSFC) which makes them the first 

and only manufacturer of biobased HSBC 

materials on the market. As one of the leading 

suppliers of TPEs, Kuraray is responding 

to increasing industry demand for more 

sustainable materials that can significantly 

improve the environmental footprint of 

products. For example, the production of 

these novel TPE materials has much lower 

greenhouse gas emissions compared to 

conventional styrenic block copolymers. 

With the Septon bio-series, Kuraray gives 

manufacturers a new solution that enables 

new compounds and end-uses with a high biobased 

content to expand existing market areas 

and open up new ones. So far, Kuraray has 

achieved a bio content in Septon bio-series of 

up to 80 %. Further investigations are focused 

on maximizing the biobased content and 

finding additional synergies with other biobased 

raw materials. Kuraray is continuously 

working on improving the physical properties 

of these TPE materials to open up new fields 

of applications for its customers. 

www.elastomer.kuraray.com 

7a D06 

United Biopolymers 

United Biopolymers (Figueira da Foz, Portugal) 

through BIOPAR ® Technology allows the production of 

next-generation starch-based bioplastics, with added 

capabilities & functionalities. 

Biopar Technology enables 

the blending of two or more 

functional polymers to 

produce CoRez ® new material. 

Corez is a compound compostable 

resin which brings 

several competitive advantages 

over any other technologies 

available in the market. 

Corez new material, under 

the designation of Biopar 

currently allows formulation 

at 30 % and 40 % Green Carbon content which can be 

extended to a value of 90 %. CoRez under Biopar Technology 

apart of being certified as both Industrial Compostable and 

Home Compostable is also able to be recyclable. As extra 

features can be added the low processing temperatures, as 

well as the film brightness, transparency and the possibility 

to be processed at a low thickness in order to suit the 

toughest requirements. 

Corez’ aim is to become the industry reference for the 

new material generation replacing today’s conventional 

non-compostable and non-biodegradable plastic solutions. 

www.guiltfreeplastics.com 

8a C14 

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik 

Leistritz Extrusionstechnik (Nuremberg, Germany) will 

focus its presentation on its employees. Extrusion specialists 

will demonstrate their expertise in solving problems based 

on successfully concluded customer projects on the stage at 

the company’s booth. In addition, visitors will be able to learn 

about modern twin-screw extrusion technology & solutions 

for the recycling industry with intelligent control systems. 

This year, Leistritz will show how the team has succeeded 

in developing customized solutions with its technical 

know-how, commitment and enthusiasm. In regular stage 

shows, the extrusion specialists will explain, with the aid 

of successful application examples, how the individual 

expertise of Leistritz helps to solve technically challenging 

tasks. Daniel Nagl, Managing Director of Leistritz Extrusion 

Technology, explains: “We don’t sell anything simply off the 

shelf. Every one of our machines is designed individually to 

fulfil the needs of our customer”. 

Successfully implemented projects include for 

example biobased wine corks. The company Vinventions 

manufacturers closures for wine bottles. Plant-based raw 

materials based on sugar cane are used in the innovative 

compounding with direct extrusion process. Leistritz has 

been cooperating with Vinventions since 1997. Together, the 

two companies have realized 15 installations. 

www.leistritz.com 

6 F22 


Sirmax 

The Italian Sirmax Group based in Cittadella (Padua, Italy) is among 

the world’s leading producers of polypropylene compounds, engineering 

polymers, post-consumer compounds, and bio-compounds used in 

a variety of applications. In 2019 it acquired Microtec, a company that 

produces bioplastics. Today, with almost double the production, a second 

plant designated to biopolymers, and substantial R&D investments, 

Sirmax has developed an innovative family of 100 % biodegradable and 

compostable bioplastics called Biocomp. This bio-compound is made 

from raw materials of both renewable and fossil origin and its physical 

and mechanical properties are equivalent to those of traditional plastics. 

Biocomp can be used to 

make products with similar 

or superior characteristics 

compared to conventional 

plastics. Their applications 

and areas of use are centred 

around flexible and rigid 

packaging used in large-scale 

retail, agriculture, catering, 

and disposable packaging. 

The product is, therefore, 

not limited to the production of carrier bags – it also lends itself to 

compostable mozzarella, ice cream packaging and packaging for solid 

and liquid foods in general, refrigerator bags, paper-laminated packaging 

for the deli meats industry, packaging and accessories for clothing and 

fashion items, to the production of plates, glasses, trays, and cutlery, as 

well as freezer and ice cube bags as well as mulch films. 

www.sirmax.com 

8b C69 

Cabamix 

Cabamix (Cabannes, France) will 

introduce for the first time the new 

range Carbomax ® Phoenix as a result 

of the second phase of its strategy for 

a more sustainable industry. Carbomax 

Phoenix is made of 100 % recycled 

calcium carbonate, and rPE sourced 

from PCR, PIR, or chemical recycling. 

It allows to substantially enhance the 

recycled content of a finished products. 

Carbomax Phoenix is an interesting 

solution considering the fast-growing 

demand for recycled polymers. It is 

already perfect for film extrusion. 

Convince yourself, test it! 

For those who still don’t know it, 

Cabamix will also highlight Carbomax 

Bio, its premium calcium carbonate 

additive, up to 80 % biobased and certified 

compostable by TÜV Austria. 

There are many applications where 

compostability makes sense and where 

Carbomax Bio is commonly used like 

compostable flexible bags, mulch film 

for agriculture, coffee capsules… 

www.cabamix.com 5 D04-14 


BIO-FED 

BIO-FED (Cologne, Germany) is 

an expert in the development 

and production of biodegradable 

and/or biobased plastics 

as well as biomass-balanced 

PP compounds – all under the 

brand name M·VERA ® . At K 2022, the company will present 

its product range together with AKRO-PLASTIC, AF-COLOR 

and K.D. Feddersen on a joint booth. 

Aim of the company is to provide solutions for reducing 

the carbon footprint as well as for waste reduction with 

biodegradable and biobased products. This also includes 

bioplastics with sustainable organic fillers, such as 

cellulose, lignin, or starch. Biomass-balanced M·VERA PP 

compounds, which are certified according to REDcert2 and 

ISCC PLUS, as well as the matching masterbatches AF- 

CirColor ® , AF-CirCarbon ® and AF-CirComplex ® also make 

an important contribution to this. 

Most M·VERA bioplastics are biodegradable compounds, 

a lot of them are also partially to fully biobased. They are 

suitable for various different processing technologies 

such as blown film, injection moulding, extrusion, and 

thermoforming. The range also includes a mulch film 

type that is certified as soil degradable according to EN 

17033. Sustainable AF-Eco ® colour, carbon black and 

additive masterbatches suitable for all biodegradable 

compounds are also offered. 

www.bio-fed.com 

6 C52 

Evonik 

Evonik (Essen, Germany) is introducing a new 

sustainable high-performance plastic to its eCO product 

line: In the production of the polyamide 12 elastomer 

(PEBA) VESTAMID ® eCO E40, 50 % of fossil raw materials 

are saved and replaced by a starting material obtained from 

chemical recycling of used tires. In addition, only renewable 

energy is used in production, which reduces the carbon 

footprint by a total of 42 %. 

Vestamid eCO E40 is, without any restrictions, an 

immediate alternative with improved eco-balance for the 

long-established conventional moulding compound for 

sports shoe soles with high resilience. The soles exhibit 

excellent low-temperature impact strength, chemical 

resistance, and high elasticity, and are easy to colour, 

process, and overmould. 

Evonik will present Vestamid eCO, based on the 

mass balance approach 

Vestamid eCO and its other 

sustainable plastic materials 

under the motto “Next 

generation plastic solutions”. 

www.evonik.com 

6 B28 


33

Hall 1 

1 C50 Barnes 

1 A44 Lenzkes Spanntechnik* 

1 C30 Meusburger* 

Hall 3 

We design colors with a purpose to allow our 

3 E71-08 CIFRA 

3 D72-04 Futuramat 

planet to remain as colorful today and tomorrow. 

3 A52 ILLIG Maschinenbau 

Our SUKANO® PHA color Portfolio is available for industrially 

3 D72-04 Lactips 

and home compostable applications. 


3 D30 Saldoflex 

Hall 4 

4 A60 EVO-tech 

Hall 5 

5 D04-17 Addiplast Group 

5 F30-04 Agrana Stärke 

5 A32 Aquapak Polymers 

The Bornewables 

5 D04-20 Axens 

5 C21\D21 BASF 

5 B18 Biesterfeld Plastic 

opening up infinite 

5 B24 Biotec 

5 C24 BorsodChem 

5 B06 C.O.I.M. 

opportunities 

5 D04-14 Cabamix 

5 E26 Cabopol - Polymer Compounds, 

5 C07-01 CB2 

5 B18 Chimei 

Visit us in Hall 6, Stand A43 

5 B05-01 Cosmo Films Limited 

5 F30-02 Dichtungs- und Maschinenhandel 

5 B46 geba Kunststoffcompounds 

5 D04-07 GMP 

5 E20 Grässlin Nord 

5 A25 Green Plastics 

5 A39 Hubron (International) 

5 E01 ITENE 

5 A23 Kingfa Sci. & Tech. 

5 B05-05 Mynusco 

5 D04-12 Natureplast 

5 C05-06 Novoloop 

5 B06 Novotex Italiana 

5 A28 Plastribution 

5 E20 Sax Polymers Industrie 

5 C24 Wanhua Chemical Group 

5 B42 Westlake Corporation 

5 B42 Westlake Vinnolit 

5 E03 Yparex 

ad_Bioplastic_95x99_12_09_2022_high.indd 1 12.09.22 10:055 F30-01 Zell-Metall 

Hall 6 

6 C52 Akro-Plastic 

6 A62 Albis Distribution 

6 E77 Axia Plastics Europe 

6 E16 Begra Granulate 

6 C52 Bio-Fed 

6 A43 Borealis 

61W-01 Braskem 

6 D27 Braskem 

6 E62 Cabot Switzerland 

6 E80 ClickPlastics 

6 A75(1-2) Covestro Deutschland 

6 B11 DSM Engineering Plastics Europe 

6 C43 DuPont Spec. Prod. Operations 

6 E61 EMS-Chemie (Deutschland) 

6 B28 Evonik Industrie 

6 E28 Fainplast 

6 C16 Fine Organic Industries 

6 E48 FKuR Kunststoff 

6 A63 Grafe Advanced Polymers 

6 A42 ICL Europe Cooperatief UA 

6 D43 Interpolimeri 

6 C52 K.D. Feddersen 

61O-03 Kaneka Belgium 

6 A20 Kaneka Belgium 

6 C76-78 Lanxess 

6 D21 LG Chem 

6 E27 Meraxis 

6 A62 Mocom Compounds 

6 A26 Nexeo Plastics Germany 

6 E75 Nordmann, Rassmann 

6 A58 Novamont 

6 D75 Omya 

6 B55 Polimarky 

6 C50 Polymer-Chemie 

6 C24 Polymix - AMP 

6 B10 Radici Novacips 

6 D11 Reliance Industries Limited 

www.neste.com 

6 E29 Röhm 

6 D42 Sabic Sales Europe. 

6 D79 SCG Chemicals 

6 C50 SoBiCo 

6 C50 TechnoCompound 

6 E20 TotalEnergies Corbion PLA 

6 E08 UBE Europe 

6 D07 Weber & Schaer 

6 A62 WIPAG Deutschland 

Hall 7 

7.1 A23 A.J. Plast 

7.1 B41 A1 vmpex (Partnership) 

7.1 C25 Americhem Eng. Compounds 

7.2 B10 Anhui Jumei Biological Technology 

7a B10 bioplastics MAGAZINE 

7a D09-03 Business Innovation Partners 

7.2 B30 Carbokene FZE 

7.1 D24 Dirco Polymers 

7.1 A40 Doil Ecotec 

7.2 C09 Dongnam Realize Inc 

7.1 A12 Earth Renewable Technologies 

7a B10 European Bioplastics 

7.2 A13 Europlas (EuP) 

7.0 B08 Finproject 

7.0 B21 Forplas Plastik 

7.2 E10 Gianeco 

7.1 D41 GKG Goldmann 

7.2 E23 Henan Longdu Torise Biomaterials 

7.1 B33 IMS Polymers 

7.2 E07 Jiangsu Ruian Applied Bio-tech 

7.1 D01 Kandui Industries 

7.1 E03-25 Kanghui New Material Technology 

7.2 G29 KLJ Plasticizers 

7.1 A10 Kompuestos 

7a D06 Kuraray Europe 

7.1 A38 Laborplast 

7a D25 Marubeni International (Europe) 

7.2 G20 Mepani Industries 

7.1 B50 Merit Polyplast (Partnership) 

7a D18 Mitsui Chemicals Europe 

7.2 C21 nature2need 

7a D21 Nurel 

7a C01 Orlen Unipetrol RPA 

7.0 B08 Padanaplast 

7.1 D20 Palsgaard 

7.1 D39 Parsa Polymer Sharif Company 

7.2 F15 Pashupati Excrusion 

7.1 A10 Plásticos Compuestos 

7a B02 Polyplastics Europe 

7.1 C12 Ravago 

7a B28 RDG Kunststoffe 

7.2 C17 Rialti 

7.2 D20 S&P Global Commodity Insights 

7.2 B05 S.C. Rematholding 

7.1 E03-12 Shandong Ruifeng Chemical 

7.2 G33 Shandong Xiangsheng New Mat. 

7.1 E03-23 Shenzhen Esun Industrial 

7.0 B03 Silon 

7a C30 Sojitz Europe 

7a B15 Stahl Europe 

7.2 C12 Stavian Chemical 

7.2 A14 Sumika Polymer Compounds (EU) 

7.1 B23 Symplast 

7.1 D02 Técnicas para Economía Circular 

7.1 E06 Tecnofilm 

7.0 B24 TITK 

7.1 B06 Trifilon AB 

7.1 A44 UBQ Materials 

7a C06 Vinmar Chemicals and Polymers 

7a D40 West-Chemie 

Hall 8 

8a C34 ADBioplastics 

8a E12-05 AIMPLAS 

8b D60 almaak international 

8a G10 Avient Luxembourg 

8a F12 Benvic 

8a E35 Beologic 

8b H65 Blend Colours 

8b A58 Celanese Sales Germany 

8a F50 Chemieuro 

8b D11-12 Chongqing Huafon Chemical 

8a D01 Colloids 

8a F20 Constab 

8a H14 Cumapol Emmen

Note: All companies listed in this guide 

were found in the official K’2022 

catalogue under bioplastics. 

About companies listed in bold you find 

a short K-Show preview on pp 30-41. 

Members of European Bioplastics are 

marked in orange. 

Show 

Guide 

Joint booth Hall 7a, B10 

1 

Hall 6 booth A43 

BIOPLASTICS 

BUSINESS 

BREAKFAST 

B 3 

20. - 22.10.2022 

8a H14 

8a H14 

8b H55 

8b F77 

8b F51 

8a F26 

8b E68 

8b F65 

8a H34 

8a F11-1 

8a E36 

8a K46 

8a K27 

8b F22 

8a C32 

8b F05-02 

8b H11-06 

8a G10 

8a J21 

8a B09 

8b H25 

8b E71-05 

8a F20 

8b H24 

8b C21 

8a G33 

8a H31 

8a J13 

8a D12 

8b C11-06 

CuRe Technology 

DuFor Resins 

EEC Egyptian European Company 

Elachem 

Emeraude International 

epsotech Germany 

Euro Commerciale 

Everkem 

Fortum Recycling and Waste 

FSK 

Fünf Kontinent Technik 

Gema Elektro Plastik 

Gestora Catalana de Residuos 

Granulat 

Granzplast 

Hangzhou Zhoupu New Mat. Tech. 

Henan Techuang Biotechnology 

HoKa 

IMCD Deutschland 

Inno-Comp 

Innovate Manufacturing Inc 

Intereva 

Kafrit Industries 

Keremplast 

Koksan PET ve Plastik Ambalaj 

Lehmann & Voss 

Lifocolor Farben 

Lubrizol Advanced Materials Spain 

LyondellBasell 

Majumi Chemicals 

8a C16 

8b F63 

8b C69 

8a E28 

8b D52 

8a K32 

8a G41 

8b E11-03 

8a H14 

8b E80 

8b E35 

8a C39 

8a B28 

8a B28 

8b E77 

8b C69 

8b E41 

8a D40 

8a D39 

8a H28 

8a B40 

8b A54 

8b E71-07 

8a F33 

8a K08 

8a D01 

8a K20 

8b F37-03 

8a H42 

8b E61 

Merit Plastik Kaucuk 

Mexichem Specialty Compounds 

Microtec 

pal plast 

PEBO 

Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry 

Plastika Kritis 

Polynk Technology 

Polyvel Europe 

Puro Bioplastics Corporation 

Rajiv Plastics 

Renk Master Plastik 

Romira 

ROWA Group Holding 

SCJ Plastics 

Sirmax 

SK Chemicals 

Snetor 

Stir Compounds 

Sukano 

Symphony Environmental 

Taro Plast 

Telasis Tekstil 

TER Plastics Polymer Group 

Tisan Engineering Plastics 

Tosaf Group 

TPV Compound 

traceless materials 

Tricon Energy 

TW Plastics 

8a C14 

8a E12-02 

8b F63 

United Biopolymers 

Unnox Group SLU 

Vestolit 

Hall 10 

10 G09 FSKZ 

Hall 11 

11 C10 Compra Recykling 

11 I65 Plasmatreat* 

11 H74 Star Automation* 

Hall 12 

12 C13 Campetella Robotic Center* 

12 C36 PlastFormance 

12 A59 Polykum 

12 C02-07 We Technology Automation* 

Hall 13 

13 A13-B13 Arburg 

13 A33 BMB* 

13 B47 Kurtz 

13 D93 T. Michel 

Hall 14 

14 A68 Biofibre 

14 A50 Fanuc 

Hall 15 

15 D22 Sumitomo Demag* 

15 B42 Engel 

Hall 16 

16 A59 Buss 

16 F22 Leistritz 

FG (Open area) 

FG-CE06 Kurtz 

FG-4-04.1 Mitsubishi Chemical 

Bornewables PP, 

based on Neste 

products can be 

seen at exhibitors 

marked with 

Advertisement 

You can use this 

detachable double 

page as your 

personal show 

guide.


Lifocolor 

The Lifocolor Group (Lichtenfels, Germany), is bringing its 

mission, “We bring colour to the circular economy”, to life 

at the K 2022 trade fair. As fair highlight and reference of 

its Eternal colours concept, the Europe-wide masterbatch 

manufacturer will present its biodegradable, plant-based 

colour concentrates. Further new products to be unveiled 

at the Lifocolor stand include a new white concentrate for 

pharmaceutical and drug packaging as well as a new portfolio 

of high temperature resistant masterbatches. The group will 

also explain to partners how it is pursuing the proclaimed 

goal of net zero emissions by 2050. 

At K 2022, a special focus will be on the innovation 

for the Lifocolor organic range: 100 % natural, plantbased 

colour concentrates. The Lifocolor Group will 

present its first colour series of colours comprising of 

biodegradable, biobased plastics. 

Lifocolor will also present its extended LifoCycle product 

portfolio which is focused on the colouring and optimisation 

of recycled products. It incorporates high-quality, recyclable 

colour and additive batches as well as support in the sorting of 

plastics. Lifocolor offers twelve on-trend 

colours for 2023 which are on a 

100 % recycled polypropylene 

basis and will explain to 

visitors how much variety 

is currently possible in the 

colouring of plastics within 

the closed-loop cycle. 

www.lifocolor.de 

8a H31 

Kompuestos 

Kompuestos (Palau Solità i Plegamans, Spain) will be 

presenting its broad portfolio of products specifically 

designed to comply with their customers’ needs whilst 

providing solutions toward a more sustainable economy. 

Kompuestos has been providing tailor-made solutions 

for the plastics industry for more than 35 years. Driven by 

innovation and sustainability, and committed to promoting 

the circular economy of plastics, the company offers duly 

certified compostable compounds and low-carbon footprint 

solutions as alternative materials to traditional fossil plastics. 

Particularly, the family of biobased, biodegradable and/or 

compostable resins developed by Kompuestos is fit-forpurpose 

for sensitive applications such as single-use bags 

and hard-to-recycle products and can be processed by 

conventional plastic manufacturing processes without added 

technological investments. 

www.kompuestos.com 

7.1 A10 

Covestro 

Covestro (Leverkusen, Germany) wants to align itself comprehensively with circularity and help make it the global guiding 

principle. To achieve this, the company develops innovative technologies to reuse plastics and return them to the value cycle – often 

in close cooperation with partners. 

The company’s focus to date has been on proven mechanical recycling, in which the plastic is chemically preserved, and more 

recent chemical recycling processes, in which the polymer molecules are broken down chemically. Other technologies of such 

raw material reprocessing – specifically enzymatic and pyrolytic – are under development. 

Polyurethanes (PU) and other thermoset products usually cannot be mechanically recycled. Chemical processes are the obvious 

choice here. Covestro has developed an innovative technology for recovering both core raw materials PU mattress foam. These 

are polyols and the isocyanate TDI, which are used in the production of mattress foam. The precursor is recovered from the TDI, 

and both raw materials can be reused for the production of new foam after reprocessing. The results achieved to date are being 

tested in a pilot plant at the Leverkusen site. Cooperating partners for this project are Interseroh (Cologne, Germany), an ALBA 

Group company, and the French environmental protection organization Eco-mobilier (Paris, France), which specializes in the 

collection and recycling of old furniture. 

A new collaboration with the Zurich-based bag company FREITAG (Switzerland) is the unlimited recycling of truck tarps, based 

on thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) from Covestro. At the end of their useful life, the tarps are to be recycled mainly chemically 

and used for new tarps or other products. It is important for the success of the project that the tarps are similarly robust, durable 

and water-repellent as the previous products. Freitag expects it to be a few years before bags made from the tarps are massproduced, 

but plans to put a first prototype on a truck as early as this year. 

Covestro is also coordinating the CIRCULAR FOAM research project with 22 industrial partners from nine countries, with 

the goal to use chemolysis or even pyrolysis to break down used PU rigid foams used in thermal insulation for buildings and 

refrigeration equipment. The aim is to recover both raw materials originally used – polyols and an amine used as a precursor for 

the isocyanate MDI. If the material cycle is successfully closed, up to one million metric tonnes of waste, 2.9 million tonnes of 

CO 2 

emissions and EUR 150 million in incineration costs could be saved in Europe every year from 2040. 


1 F01 


NaturePlast 

NaturePlast (Ifs, France) is specialized in bioplastics 

materials with more than 15 years of experience. The 

company is supporting manufacturers and contractors 

who wish to develop products from bioplastic materials 

(biobased and/or biodegradable). Their three areas of 

expertise comprise distribution of bioplastics, compound 

and biocomposite, service (training/technico-economical 

study/project engineering), and R&D (customized 

formulation/characterization). 

NaturePlast has the largest range of bioplastics in 

Europe, with almost all references available (PLA/PHA/ 

TPS/PBS/BioPP/BioPET/Bio PA...). 

Regardless for classic development based on 

plant fibres such as wood, miscanthus, hemp… 

NaturePlast develop a whole range of new biocomposite 

made from co-products (food and industrial). 

Therefore, for a few years, the company is developing 

new bioplastics based on fruit and vegetable pulp, 

kernel powder (olive), leather waste, algae from French 

coasts, seashell powder… 

This interest came, on one hand, from a wish of 

industrials to find new ways of valorization of their coproducts, 

and on the other hand, by their choice of nonnoble 

raw materials instead of agricultural resources 

competing with human food. 

www.natureplast.eu 5 D04-12 

Palsgaard 

Palsgaard (Juelsminde, Denmark) has announced 

the introduction of an efficient new plant-based, foodgrade 

anti-fouling additive for the polypropylene and 

polyethylene polymerisation process. The new product, 

Einar 981, has been developed to remove severe 

concerns about the ethoxylated amine chemistry 

currently used. Einar 981 will officially be introduced to 

the market at K 2022. 

Einar 981 is supplied as a clear and easily pumpable 

liquid for use in existing dosing systems. It eliminates 

static build-up during polymerisation and prevents 

fouling of the reactor wall, thus helping PP and PE 

producers maintain the cooling efficiency of the reactor. 

Building on Palsgaard’s proven chemistry of renewable 

anti-static polymer additives, it provides high anti-fouling 

efficiency at low concentrations (100–300 ppm) without 

any negative effects on catalyst mileage, productivity, or 

final polymer performance. 

The active compound of Einar 981 is a polyglycerol ester 

(PGE) blend of fatty acids derived from RSPO-certified 

sustainable palm oil. As a non-toxic and food-contact 

approved anti-fouling additive, the product offers a dropin 

regulatory-compliant solution to replace incumbent 

ethoxylated amines and can also be used as a more 

efficient alternative to sorbitan monooleates. This makes 

it an ideal process additive in the polymerisation of PP 

and PE materials for sensitive applications, including, 

e.g. medical devices and baby food containers. 

Einar 981 is produced in CO-neutral facilities and will 

be commercially available worldwide. 

https://www.palsgaard.com/ 7.1 D20 

Join us at the 

17th European 

Bioplastics Conference 

– the leading business forum for the 

bioplastics industry. 

6/7 December 2022 

Maritim proArte Hotel 

Berlin, Germany 

REGISTER 

NOW! 

@EUBioplastics #eubpconf2022 

www.european-bioplastics.org/events 

For more information email: 

conference@european-bioplastics.org 



TotalEnergies Corbion 

Biobased, recyclable, compostable, and innovative. Discover Luminy ® PLA at TotalEnergies Corbion’s 

booth. In the modern world, not only the “beginning of life” but also the most sustainable “end-of-life” 

options are important. 

Produced from sugar cane, PLA bioplastic is not only 100 % biobased but also 100 % recyclable. 

TotalEnergies Corbion (Gorinchem, The Netherlands) is proud to present the first commercially available recycled PLA (rPLA) 

with properties identical to virgin PLA. In Düsseldorf, the company presents a real-life closed loop system: PLA water bottles 

(made from recycled PLA) are used, collected, cleaned, and reprocessed into PLA! The Luminy recycled PLA grades boast the 

same properties, characteristics, and regulatory approvals, including food 

contact, as virgin Luminy PLA. 

Biodegradation and industrial compostability are also key features of 

Luminy PLA that can be best used to help divert organic waste from landfill 

or to prevent leakage of plastics into the environment. 

The stand will feature a special display to showcase teabags, coffee 

capsules, and organic waste collection bags – all applications that are best 

made from compostable materials. Visitors will also see a commercially 

available 3D printed surfboard, and with a 3D pen you can write in 3 

dimensions with Luminy PLA. Luminy PLA has also been the material of 

choice to replace thermoset caps and closures for a luxury cosmetics brand. 

Visit our stand and learn about PLA, from feedstock to end-of-life options. 

www.totalenergies-corbion.com 

6 E20 

Wyve PLA surfboard (Photo: Helene Cascarino) 

DSM 

DSM Engineering Materials (Geleen, The Netherlands) has been 

active in biobased plastics for decades. Its extensive portfolio consists 

of three traceable biobased polyamide solutions – EcoPaXX, Stanyl ECO, 

and ForTii ECO – as well as three mass-balanced polyamides: Stanyl 

B-MB, EcoPaXX B-MB, and Akulon B-MB. It also produces two biobased 

polyester solutions: Arnitel ECO and Arnitel B-MB. 

Its latest advance is Stanyl B-MB, an industry-first 100 % biobased 

high-temperature polyamide that delivers the same performance as 

conventional Stanyl with half the carbon footprint. As with its fossilbased 

equivalent, Stanyl B-MB’s high-temperature mechanics, flow 

and processing, and wear and friction resistance make it suitable for 

applications across the automotive, electronics, and consumer goods 

industries. The only difference is that both monomers used in Stanyl B-MB 

are derived from renewable sources, enabling a 3.3-tonne reduction in 

CO 2 

emissions per tonnes produced. 

This industry-first product is part of DSM Engineering Materials’ 

commitment to providing bio – and/or recycled-based alternatives 

for its entire portfolio by 2030 while promoting sustainable thinking 

across the value chain. 

www.dsm.com 

6 B11 

Automotive application 

(Chain tensioner) 

AIMPLAS 

AIMPLAS (Paterna, Valencia, Spain) will 

present its developments in biodegradable 

materials and materials from renewable 

sources, as well as its R&D&I projects on 

biotechnology and the use of biomass, 

among others. One of the projects to be 

presented will be the EOCENE project, 

which aims to obtain all composite 

compounds from renewable sources 

and develop sustainable technologies for 

obtaining controlled processes for the 

recyclability and valorisation of generated 

residues. The project will allow the 

development of new biobased and more 

eco-friendly thermoset resins by reducing 

the use of fossil-based compounds, which 

will reduce the carbon footprint by 20 %. 

Regarding technological services, the 

technology centre will present its technical 

assistance capabilities in the field of ecolabels 

and certifications, as it 

has the necessary capabilities 

to carry out biodegradability 

and compostability tests. 

AIMPLAS will also present 

its training courses in bioplastics 

and seminars on biopolymers and 

biotechnology, among others. 

www.aimplas.es 8a E12-05 


LANXESS 

Like many other industries, the urethane industry is facing 

the challenge to develop sustainable systems with reduced 

carbon footprint. Under the brand name Adiprene Green LF 

LANXESS (Cologne, Germany) provides a range of biobased, 

low free monomer prepolymers for polyurethane CASE 

(Coatings, Adhesives, Sealants, Elastomers) applications. 

Biobased LF prepolymers focus on renewable chemical 

building blocks that are designed to the specific needs of many 

different applications by exploring additional chemistries and 

optimization of molecular weight and structure. 

Progress has been made in developing biobased LF MDI 

prepolymers over a wide range of NCO content (free reactive 

isocyanate groups) which yield systems with lower viscosity 

at application temperature, improved high crystallinity, 

better wetting ability, and fast green strength in reactive hot 

melt and two-component adhesives formulations. The new 

LF MDI prepolymers enable hot-melt formulations with a 

bio-content of up to 75 %. Other Adiprene Green systems 

allow the manufacturing of PU elastomers with a biocontent 

of up to 90 %. 

www.lanxess.com 

6 C76-C78 

Biotec 

As a leading European bioplastics compounder since 

1992, Biotec (Emmerich, Germany) has always taken on the 

challenge to develop new sustainable biopolymer resins 

made from plant-based renewable resources. With 100 % 

biodegradable materials, the GMO-free and plasticizer-free 

products can be returned to their source to complete the 

natural life cycle that ends where it begins. 

One of their newest 

innovations is the 

Bioplast 120, a flexible 

alternative starchbased 

thermoplastic 

material with an 

ISCC+ certification 

suitable for blown 

film and sheet film 

extrusion. Completely 

biodegradable this 

product is compostable 

according to EN 13432 

at both industrial 

composting facilities 

and in well-maintained 

home composting 

units. As for all their 

grades, it can be processed on conventional equipment. 

The K-Show 2022 is the occasion where Biotec will also 

reveal its new identity. Visit their booth to witness the 

unveiling of further smart solutions for a better life! 

www.biotec.de 

5 B24 


8. KOOPERATIONSFORUM UND PARTNERING 

Biopolymere 

10. November 2022 | Online 

Bildnachweis: iStock©Petmal 

Jetzt anmelden! 

www.bayern-innovativ.de/biopolymere2022 



Buss 

The cornerstone of any system supplied by BUSS (Pratteln, 

Switzerland) is a COMPEO series co-kneader which is 

designed to incorporate high levels of additives gently and 

thoroughly into base materials. The modular machine design 

is so flexible that a specially configured compounding line 

is available for any application at any temperature up to 

400°C and for all plastics, ranging from thermally sensitive 

thermosets over biobased and biodegradable plastics to 

demanding engineering thermoplastics. 

The latest addition to the family of the series of five 

production units with throughput levels, depending on the 

application, of 100 to over 12,000 kg/h is the new compact, 

user-friendly COMPEO LAB laboratory compounder for 

throughputs of 50 to 100 kg/h for development, process optimization and small production campaigns. It offers all the advantages 

of the large COMPEO co-kneaders, including the combination of two-, three – and four-flight screw elements, and provides precise 

and reliable scale-up of process parameters to production conditions. 

www.busscorp.com 16 A59 

Novamont 

Mater-Bi is the innovative family of bioplastics, which uses renewable 

raw materials, developed by the Italian B Corp Novamont (Novara, Italy). 

It is biodegradable and compostable in home and industrial 

composting and biodegradable in soil according to the main European 

and international standards. It does not release microplastics, it has no 

eco-toxic effects and it biodegrades even at low temperatures. 

Its mechanical properties make it suitable for a wide range of 

applications: organic waste collection, large-scale distribution, food 

service ware, packaging and agriculture. It can be used as a standalone 

polymer or laminated with other polymers and/or paper and can 

be processed by the most common conversion technologies: blowing, 

casting, extrusion/thermoforming and injection moulding. When 

appropriate and preferable, Mater-Bi products can also be chemically 

or mechanically recycled with the recovery of valuable materials. The 

multi-material packaging of Mater-Bi and paper can also be recycled 

into the paper stream. 

It is a product constantly 

evolving towards increasing 

sustainability, thanks to the 

development of proprietary 

technologies for greater 

and more efficient use of 

renewable resources. 

www.novamont.com 

6 A58 

Polykum 

BIO-ELAN A 140 HS3, a bio-PBS compound 

developed for additive manufacturing by Exipnos 

(Merseburg, Germany) will be processed live 

in a large format printer at the Polykum stand. 

The printer uses the PBS granulate in its 

original form. The energy – and time-consuming 

production of filament is not necessary. The 

plant-based, biodegradable Bio-Elan compound 

is one of the first results of the RUBIO alliance 

project, in which 18 companies and research 

institutions from Central Germany are 

developing regional value-added cycles for bio- 

PBS with the support of the Federal Ministry of 

Education and Research. 

In addition, the Fraunhofer IMWS (Halle 

(Saale), Germany) will present new features of 

the material design app Polykum DigiLab at the 

Polykum booth. Users can literally immerse 

themselves in complex material data on the 

screen or even with VR glasses, or use the new 

DigiLab colour module to simulate the overall 

impression that a selected material creates with 

certain colours on CAD models. 

In addition to the Fraunhofer IMWS and 

Exipnos, two further members of the non-profit 

association will be presenting their innovations 

at the Polykum stand: Caldic GmbH and the 

Indian company Welset. 

www.polykum.de/en 12 A59 

Chimei 

Earlier this year, Chimei (Tainan City, Taiwan) announced the world’s first optical light guide plate made from chemically recycled 

MMA (https://tinyurl.com/chimei-MMA). 

The ability of this material to produce image quality that’s on par with virgin MMA means a massive breakthrough for the global 

display industry. CHIMEI is already working with AUO (a world-leading OEM supplier of display technology from Hsinchu, Taiwan) 

to bring it to the market. 

At K 2022, Chimei will be exhibiting this new product for the very first time. What’s more, they’re planning to launch a new brand, 

which will encompass their growing portfolio of sustainable materials. 

https://www.chimeicorp.com 

5 B18 


Bioplastics specialist 

presents broad product portfolio 

With “Plastics care for Future” at the world’s 

leading trade fair for plastics and rubber, K’2022, 

FKuR is once again setting an example for more 

sustainability in the use of resources. In line with the hot 

topics of the K Circular Economy and Climate Protection, 

FKuR will show visitors how they can implement the 

principles of a sustainable circular economy in their products 

using renewable raw materials and recycled plastics. 

From 19–26.10.2022, FKuR will be underlining what is at 

the top of its agenda in Düsseldorf in hall 6 at booth E48: 

The future of plastics must be without climate-damaging 

greenhouse gas emissions. 

Fit for the circular economy of the future? 

This is how it works! 

“For FKuR, the circular economy is not just an entertaining 

trend, it reflects our attitude to life”, explains Patrick 

Zimmermann, Managing Director of FKuR Kunststoff 

GmbH. “Benefit from our unique portfolio of sustainable 

plastics solutions for the circular economy: with our 

bioplastics, recyclates as well as bio-recyclate hybrids for 

all processing methods – such as injection moulding, film 

extrusion, thermoforming, and blow moulding – fossil 

resources can be conserved”. 

Plastics care for Future 

Bio-Flex ® is a family of biodegradable and certified 

compostable plastics based on renewable raw materials. 

The main applications of Bio-Flex ® include a wide range of 

flexible film applications, such as agricultural, household, 

and hygiene films, but are also used in injection moulded 

products or thermoformed articles. 

This means that FKuR not only provides its customers 

with trustworthy support in the selection of materials for 

products fit for circular economy but is also available to them 

at any time during the entire project with its many years of 

expertise in questions regarding the processing, recycling 

and marketing of products. 

At their booth, FKuR will show how customers use FKuR 

bioplastics or recyclates to make their products fit for 

circular economy and how they use logos and certificates to 

communicate their sustainable message to consumers while 

strengthening their brand image. At the booth, visitors will 

find many successful product examples from a wide range of 

sectors such as cosmetics, agriculture & horticulture, toys, 

packaging, or household goods. 

If you too would like to make your products even more 

environmentally friendly, visit FKuR at K 2022. 

www.fkur.com 

6 E48 


Terralene ® are bio-compounds based on polyethylene 

made from renewable raw materials (Bio-PE). All Terralene ® 

granulates are 100 % recyclable and can be processed by 

injection moulding, blow moulding, and film extrusion. 

In addition, the Terralene ® portfolio includes natural fibre 

reinforced grades, as well as biobased PP compounds and 

bio-recyclate hybrids. 

Green PE is a bio-based polyethylene made from the 

renewable raw material sugar cane. As a drop-in, Bio-PE 

is a renewable alternative to fossil polyethylene (PE). This 

biobased and 100 % recyclable plastic is used primarily in 

packaging for food and cosmetics as well as in household 

products, sports articles, and toys. 

360° approach – everything from a single source 

With FKuR’s 360° approach, customers receive everything 

from a single source: solutions are developed together to 

design plastic products and packaging in such a way that they 

meet all the requirements of the modern circular economy. 

(Reusable cups made from biobased bioplastic Bio-Flex ® 

(Photo: FKuR) 


41

Materials 

Single-use packaging, lids, and 

tableware... 

Pastas Doria develops a biocomposite using its own waste in 

conjunction with the ITENE research centre 

Organic waste is more and more becoming a source 

of resources for biobased raw materials. The Colombian 

company Pastas Doria (Mosquera, Cundinamarca, Colombia), 

belonging to Grupo Nutresa (Medellín, Colombia) is a company 

producing, among other products, pasta and cookies. The 

company is also strongly working on reuse through recovery 

and to add value to what has been considered as waste up 

until now and has developed a new alternative to traditional 

plastics, in conjunction with the Spanish research centre 

ITENE (Paterna, Valencia, Spain). 

bioplastics MAGAZINE talked to Claudia Patricia Collazos, 

Special Project Leader at Grupo Nutresa, and Miriam 

Gallur, Materials and Packaging Area Manager at ITENE, 

to find out more about this new development that is 

about to come to market. 

bM: Recovering industrial waste has huge potential.What 

was your approach to take advantage of the waste generated 

during the production process? 

Miriam: Recovering waste is a core line of business in 

our research centre. In our initial discussions with Claudia 

from Pastas Doria, we quickly identified the potential of bran 

waste. It is a plentiful source of waste for the company, as it 

is produced every day during the wheat milling process to 

make pasta and biscuits. This means that it is not seasonal, 

which is one of the disadvantages of other similar waste. 

In particular, wheat bran was studied both as an additive 

to produce biocomposite materials and to synthesise new 

biopolymers. Once the waste had been chemically analysed, 

the first step of the project was to use it as an additive to 

PLA to produce biocomposites, as this is quick to implement 

at industrial scale. The required pre-treatment has been 

carried out at Pastas Doria’s factory and the production 

of the biocomposite and its industrial applications can be 

performed with conventional plastic processing machinery. 

The material developed is suitable for packaging and 

complies with food contact legislation as well as industrial 

compostability standards. 

bM: Why did a food company decide to venture into the 

field of biomaterials in the first place? What were the drivers 

behind Pastas Doria’s decision? 

Claudia: Grupo Nutresa’s sustainability strategy, as part 

of the Misión Mega 2030, and more specifically in terms 

of looking after the planet, encouraged us to undertake a 

whole host of Circular Economy initiatives. We obtain lots of 

by-products from our coffee, chocolate, pasta, biscuits, icecream, 

and meat manufacturing businesses, and we started 

to ask ourselves how we could extract value from them. We 

applied the Design Thinking methodology and came up with 

the idea of developing biomaterials. These are by-products 

to be recovered and returned to a new production process as 

raw materials. A decision was made to focus on wheat bran. 

bM: Why did you choose wheat bran? 

Caudia: The pasta and biscuit businesses generate around 

66,406 tonnes/year of wheat bran in their manufacturing 

processes. We had always sold this waste as animal feed and 

wanted to explore other ways of using it. We submitted our 

idea to a round of financing within a Grupo Nutresa innovation 

call and we won. This gave us access to venture capital, which 

meant we could develop the biocomposite with ITENE. 

bM: How did you go about transforming this waste into a 

new material? What obstacles did you come up against? 

Miriam: This project has gone through all the Technology 

Readiness Levels (TRLs), which go from a scale of 1 to 9, 

where 9 is the most mature technology, which means that 

it can be rolled out successfully. We started out three years 

ago with a TRL 2 for basic research to develop the material. 

We studied the extraction of only cellulose from the bran 

through to the direct use of different percentages of the 

bran that did not impair the main properties we wanted to 

obtain with the biocomposite, which was basically to avoid 

any loss of mechanical, water-vapour, and oxygen-barrier 

performance. Once validated in the laboratory, it was 

upscaled to TRL 6, where the biocomposites were developed 

at laboratory scale in ITENE by extrusion and the specific 

formula that complied with performance, food safety and 

industrial compostability was validated. Now we can say 

that the project is at semi-industrial scale, i.e., TRL 8, and 

it is almost at TRL 9, as it has been successfully produced 

at semi-industrial scale in ITENE’s pilot facilities. The main 

barriers we encountered were the degradation of waste 

components during the production processes. The objective 

was to obtain a formula containing the highest percentage of 

waste versus the selected biopolymer in order to maximise 

the amount of Pastas Doria’s waste that could be recovered. 

This meant having to carefully define the conditions required 

to use the highest percentage of waste in the formula and 

yet avoid substances that would degrade and subsequently 

migrate into the food. 

bM: Are we likely to see this product on the shelves 

in the near future? What end-use applications are 

currently envisaged? 


...made from wheat bran 

Materials 

Claudia: Yes, in the very near future. We have already 

developed a lid for containers (jars & pots) cups, singleuse 

cutlery and plates, scoops for scooping ice cream, 

ice-cream sticks, and many other applications. We 

are currently in the process of setting up a production 

plant to manufacture this new material in Cartagena de 

Indias (Colombia), which should be up and running by 

November. From there we hope to be able to distribute 

and market the product around the world. The company 

is a start-up called Tribio, which is an intrapreneurial 

venture within Grupo Nutresa, and will be producing the 

raw material for manufacturers of packaging materials 

and single-use plastics, as these are banned in Colombia 

and in many other South American countries, just as they 

are in Europe. We see this as a great business opportunity 

to create an alternative to conventional plastic. 

bM: Have you thought about manufacturing your own 

packaging with this new material? 

Claudia: Yes, at the moment we are going to use it in 

various Grupo Nutresa divisions. We have already thought 

about using this biocomposite for specific products such 

as ice-cream sticks and coffee capsules. We also have 

plastic converters located in Chile, Colombia, Central 

America, and the United States that are interested. For 

the moment, we want to focus on single-use plastics, and 

food and cosmetic packaging. 

bM: The product you have developed is food contact 

grade and complies with food legislation. The Food and 

Drug Administration (FDA) is in the process of authorising 

wheat bran for food contact in the United States at the 

moment. What is the current state of play on this issue? 

Miriam: Yes, you are right. We are pending FDA 

approval for food safety of the biocomposite, and we 

expect a positive response in the next three months. 

ITENE is also testing its food contact compatibility, 

according to European Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 on 

plastic materials and articles intended to come into 

contact with food. Global and specific migration tests of 

the final material in different food simulants have been 

carried out too. All the results have been positive, and the 

material is ready to be used in different food applications. 

Its industrial compostability was also successfully 

validated according to the EN 13432 European standard 

in ITENE’s laboratories. MT 

www.itene.com 


43

Materials 

Performance products with high 

biocontent polyurethanes 

Found in mattress foam and floor coatings, in textile 

adhesives and electronics, in membranes and 

construction materials, and in hundreds of thousands 

of other products, polyurethanes make a vital contribution to 

our functioning world. 

Polyurethanes are typically formed by the reaction between 

polyols – molecules with two or more reactive hydroxyl groups 

– and isocyanates. The vast range of properties polyurethanes 

can attain are driven in large part by the molecular structure 

of their component polyols and isocyanates and by the 

ratio of those components. Polyurethane manufacturers 

can adjust for hardness, flexibility, impact strength, 

resiliency, and tear and abrasion resistance, among other 

characteristics, by selecting the type and proportions of these 

building block molecules. 

Building with the WING Platform 

Checkerspot, an advanced materials company, is focused 

on expanding the palette for renewable building blocks. 

The team at Checkerspot is making high biocontent 

polyurethanes using polyols it generates from unique 

microalgal oils. The company has focused on developing cast 

polyurethane and rigid polyurethane foam formulations with 

the objectives of achieving end product performance with 

high biocontent. As a first product, Checkerspot selected a 

demanding and highly visible application set, backcountry 

skis, to demonstrate its materials. 

The taxing elements of the backcountry and the 

conditions of ski pressing provided a rich selective 

environment to solve materials and process 

challenges. Today, Checkerspot’s microalgaederived 

cast polyurethane (Algal Wall sidewalls) and 

polyurethane-based foam composite (Algal Core 

ski cores) have demonstrated performance benefits 

in the award-winning backcountry skis sold 

through Checkerspot’s outdoor brand, WNDR ® 

Alpine (Figures 1 & 2). The brand just announced 

an expansion into snowboards and split boards 

and is leveraging Checkerspot’s formulations in 

these new applications. 

Checkerspot recognized that in order to accelerate 

development and adoption of new molecules and 

materials, it needed to bring together elements and 

capabilities that reduce the friction and drop-off 

points that can hamper innovation. The company’s 

Wing Platform provides for a continuous handoff, 

an integrated through line, that connects molecular 

biology, materials science, and fabrication with end 

consumer engagement. Emergent properties of the 

raw and intermediate materials can be evaluated 

against process and product requirements, and 

learnings made at different points of the platform can be 

leveraged more readily. 

Charles J. Rand, Checkerspot’s Vice President of Materials 

Science and Applications Development, who additionally 

oversees formulation optimization and fulfilment, points 

to an advantage of the Wing Platform, “By connecting raw 

materials development, formulation design, manufacturing, 

and product feedback all in one organization, we can quickly 

iterate to dial in optimized material properties while being 

mindful of production and end-use performance”. 

Seeking change – and change agents 

The growing number of companies moving to reduce 

Scope 3 emissions, the rise of consumer awareness and 

concern for sustainability, and brands’ drive to differentiate 

their products is leading to greater demand for fossil-based 

carbon alternatives. Checkerspot’s aim is to extend the 

Wing Platform’s capacity for iteration, renewable molecule 

and material development, process efficiencies, and 

customer engagement to others seeking to build with more 

renewable starting points. 

Among the loudest voices seeking renewable and 

performant materials are industrial designers, product 

developers, and creatives. Checkerspot will be offering 

casting kits to engage and encourage the tastemakers who 

influence material selection. Expected to debut this fall, the 

Figure 1: The 2023 WNDR Alpine Intention 108 backcountry ski 

features a composite of domestically sourced aspen and algal 

hard foam (Algal Core) and an algal cast polyurethane sidewall 

(Algal Wall) to boost ride quality without increasing weight. 

Figure 2: Materials scientist Neal Anderson pours 

Checkerspot’s Algal Wall cast polyurethane to create 

WNDR Alpine ski’s sidewall. Checkerspot Design Lab, 

Salt Lake City, UT, USA. 


By: 

Adrienne McKee 

Director of Platform Partnerships 

Checkerspot, Inc. 

Berkeley, CA, USA 

Materials 

Checkerspot ® Pollinator Kit will ship with the Pollinator 

Series Cast Polyurethane Resin, a hand-mixable A and B side 

system that can produce durable and long-lasting parts. The 

formulation is compatible with standard tooling, moulding 

materials, and processes and is amenable to a wide range 

of colouration. Different kit options target casting novices as 

well as experienced users. The Pollinator Series casting resin 

represents a shift away from fossil fuel-based incumbents; 

each casted item made solely from the resin will be ≥55 % 

biobased (ASTM D6866) (e.g. Figures 3 & 4). The company 

envisions this kit and formulation to support rapid prototyping 

as well as be useful in product applications requiring fine 

detail moulding and a high-quality surface finish. 

Beyond materials sales, Checkerspot is partnering with 

brands, chemical multinationals, and manufacturers across 

different pillars of the Wing Platform. In a partnership with 

DIC (Tokyo, Japan), the company created a new class of 

novel, high-performance polyol that is being developed into 

commercial applications. Checkerspot recently announced 

a collaboration with Will & Co. to provide European partners 

with high performance, high biocontent polyurethane 

systems with attractive sustainability profiles. Checkerspot’s 

combined ability to customize high biocontent polyurethane 

formulations and work closely with customers’ manufacturing 

is a valuable proposition to accelerate materials adoption, as 

is evident by Checkerspot’s joint development work with DPS, 

the largest ski manufacturer in the USA. 

Says Rand of Checkerspot’s team, “We are eager to share 

the Wing Platform’s efficiencies, honed through close 

iteration between formulation design and WNDR Alpine 

product manufacturing, to create additional biobased 

products that meet the manufacturing complexities of 

our partners. Our goal is to expedite the use of renewable 

products in daily life”. 

Natural oil polyols (NOPs), polyols derived from plant 

oils, have long been deployed in PUs. As polyols comprise 

a large portion of polyurethane formulations, NOPs can 

displace fossil-based polyols on a substantial scale. 

However, the structures of NOPs are dictated by the 

biology of the castor bean plant, the soybean plant, or the 

palm plant. Checkerspot’s molecular foundry leverages 

microalgae in order to adjust the structure of the polyols 

it uses. By recapitulating the biology of a plant inside of 

a fast-growing, sugar-eating microbe, Checkerspot can 

more rapidly biomanufacture an array of polyurethane 

raw materials. Added benefits come in play into the 

forms of reducing land, water, and GHG relative to more 

traditional ways of making oils. 

Checkerspot’s cast polyurethanes, some reaching over 

70 % biocontent (ASTM D6866), are currently formulated 

to achieve hardness ranging from 60 Shore A to 75 Shore 

D. The company’s rigid foams are suitable for milling 

and carving, and can realize a range of densities and 

compression sets. Current rigid foam formulations 

are produced with >41 % (ASTM D6866) biocontent. 

Several of the company’s polyurethane systems and 

their underlying renewable building blocks have earned 

the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Certified 

Biobased Product label. This means that manufacturers 

using Checkerspot’s formulations are able to display a 

unique USDA label that highlights their percentage 

of biobased content. 

https://checkerspot.com/ 

https://www.dic-global.com/en/ 

Figure 3. ≥55 % biobased content climbing holds made with the 

Checkerspot Pollinator Series Cast Polyurethane. 

Figure 4. ≥55 % biobased content phone cases made with the 

Checkerspot Pollinator Series Cast Polyurethane. 


45


Print, recycle, repeat – 

biodegradable printed circuits 

A 

Berkeley Lab-led research team has developed a 

fully recyclable and biodegradable printed circuit. 

The advance could divert wearable devices and other 

flexible electronics from landfill, and mitigate the health and 

environmental hazards posed by heavy metal waste. 

According to the United Nations, less than a quarter of all 

U.S. electronic waste gets recycled [1]. In 2021 alone, global 

e-waste surged to 57.4 million tonnes, and only 17.4 % of 

that was recycled [2]. 

Some experts predict that our e-waste problem will only 

get worse over time because most electronics on the market 

today are designed for portability, not recyclability. Tablets 

and readers, for example, are assembled by glueing circuits, 

chips, and hard drives to thin layers of plastic, which must 

be melted to extract precious metals like copper and gold. 

Burning plastic releases toxic gases into the atmosphere, 

and electronics waste away in landfill often contain harmful 

materials like mercury, lead, and beryllium. 

learned that BC-lipase is a finicky eater. Before a lipase can 

convert a polymer chain into monomers, it must first catch 

the end of a polymer chain. By controlling when the lipase 

finds the chain end, it is possible to ensure the materials 

don’t degrade until the water reaches a certain temperature. 

For the current study, Xu and her team simplified the 

process even further. Instead of expensive purified enzymes, 

the biodegradable printed circuits rely on cheaper, shelfready 

BC lipase “cocktails”. This significantly reduces 

costs, facilitating the printed circuit’s entry into mass 

manufacturing, Xu said. 

By doing so, the researchers advanced the technology, 

enabling them to develop a printable conductive ink composed 

of biodegradable polyester binders (polycaprolactone), 

conductive fillers such as silver flakes or carbon black, 

and commercially available enzyme cocktails. The ink gets 

its electrical conductivity from the silver or carbon black 

particles, and the biodegradable polyester binders act as glue. 

But now, a team of researchers from the Department of 

Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley 

Lab) and UC Berkeley (Berkeley, CA, USA) have developed 

a potential solution: a fully recyclable and biodegradable 

printed circuit. The researchers, who reported the new device 

in the journal Advanced Materials, say that the advance could 

divert wearable devices and other flexible electronics from 

landfill, and mitigate the health and environmental hazards 

posed by heavy metal waste. 

The researchers supplied a commercial 3D printer with the 

conductive ink to print circuit patterns onto various surfaces 

such as hard biodegradable plastic, flexible biodegradable 

plastic, and cloth. This proved that the ink adheres to a variety 

of materials and forms an integrated device once the ink 

dries. Circuits were printed with flexibility (breaking strain 

≈80 %) and conductivity (≈2.1 × 10 4 S m −1 ). 

“When it comes to plastic e-waste, it’s easy to say it’s 

impossible to solve and walk away”, said senior author Ting 

Xu, a faculty senior scientist in Berkeley Lab’s Materials 

Sciences Division, and professor of chemistry and materials 

science and engineering at UC Berkeley. “But scientists 

are finding more evidence of significant health and 

environmental concerns caused by e-waste leaching into 

the soil and groundwater. With this study, we’re showing that 

even though you can’t solve the whole problem yet, you can at 

least tackle the problem of recovering heavy metals without 

polluting the environment”. 

Putting enzymes to work 

In a previous study, Xu and her team demonstrated a 

biodegradable plastic material embedded with purified 

enzymes such as Burkholderia cepacian lipase (BC-lipase) 

[3]. Through that work, they discovered that hot water 

activates BC-lipase, prompting the enzyme to degrade 

polymer chains into monomer building blocks. They also 

Junpyo Kwon, a Ph.D. student researcher from the Xu Group 

at UC Berkeley, is shown holding a recyclable, biodegradable 

printed circuit. The advance could divert wearable devices and 

other flexible electronics from landfill and mitigate the health 

and environmental hazards posed by heavy metal waste. (Credit: 

Marilyn Sargent/Berkeley Lab) 


To test its shelf life and durability, the researchers 

stored a printed circuit in a laboratory drawer without 

controlled humidity or temperature for seven months. After 

pulling the circuit from storage, the researchers applied 

continuous electrical voltage to the device for a month and 

found that the circuit conducted electricity just as well as 

it did before storage. 


Next, the researchers put the device’s recyclability to test 

by immersing it in warm water. Within 72 hours, the circuit 

materials degraded into their constituent parts – the silver 

particles completely separated from the polymer binders, 

and the polymers broke down into reusable monomers, 

allowing the researchers to easily recover the metals without 

additional processing. By the end of this experiment, they 

determined that approximately 94 % of the silver particles 

can be recycled and reused with similar device performance. 

Xu attributes the working enzymes’ longevity to the 

biodegradable plastic’s molecular structure. In their previous 

study, the researchers learned that adding an enzyme 

protectant called random heteropolymer, or RHP, helps to 

disperse the enzymes within the mixture in clusters a few 

nanometres (billionths of a metre) in size. This creates a 

safe place in the plastic for enzymes to lie dormant until 

they’re called to action. 

The circuit also shows promise as a sustainable alternative 

to single-use plastics used in transient electronics – devices 

such as biomedical implants or environmental sensors 

that disintegrate over a period of time, said lead author 

Junpyo Kwon, a PhD student researcher from the Xu 

Group at UC Berkeley. 

Now that they’ve demonstrated a biodegradable and 

recyclable printed circuit, Xu wants to demonstrate a 

printable, recyclable, and biodegradable microchip. 

That the circuit’s degradability continued after 30 days 

of operation surprised the researchers, suggesting that 

the enzymes were still active. “We were surprised that the 

enzymes ‘lived’ for so long. Enzymes aren’t designed to work 

in an electric field”, Xu said. 

For more in-depth information: 

https://bit.ly/print-recycle-repeat 

[1] https://time.com/5594380/world-electronic-waste-problem/ 

[2] https://weee-forum.org/ws_news/international-e-waste-day-2021/ 

[3] https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/04/21/compostable-plastic-nature/ 

“Given how sophisticated chips are nowadays, this 

certainly won’t be easy. But we have to try and give our 

level best”, she said. 

This work was supported by the United States Department 

of Energy, Office of Science. Additional funding was 

provided by the United States Department of Defense, 

Army Research Office. 

The technology is available for licensing through UC 

Berkeley’s Office of Technology Licensing. AT 

https://www.lbl.gov/ 

Images copyright by The Regents of the University of California, Lawrence 

Berkeley National Laboratory. 


45


Biopolymers – Materials, Properties, 

Sustainability 

Joint project planned for November 2022 

The Kunststoff-Institut Lüdenscheid (Germany) is 

planning a new joint project for autumn 2022 that will 

examine application possibilities of biopolymers. 

The topic of sustainability is the core issue of the current 

time, which the plastics industry in particular has to face. 

Every company is required to produce more sustainably and 

minimise its CO 2 

footprint. 

The material factor is the main aspect of component 

production, not only in terms of costs but also in terms 

of energy. Therefore, the increase in sustainability must 

necessarily lead to the material input. The establishment 

of a circular economy is an option, but not the solution for 

every company or product. 

The use of biobased and/or biodegradable polymers, possibly 

in combination with the circular economy, can be a solution. 

But which materials and manufacturers are there? What 

properties do these materials have and to what extent can 

they be modified and where are the limits? Which materials 

come into question at all? What are the recycling options? 

And one of the main questions in this context is: Are these 

materials really more sustainable? 

With the help of this project, the participants should 

be able to decide for themselves which materials can be 

used for their own products and whether they increase 

the sustainability of the product. Therefore, both basic and 

product-related questions concerning the applicability of 

biopolymers are to be answered. 

At the beginning of the project, definitions of terms and 

current market developments will be presented. An overview 

of the different types of biopolymers, their properties, raw 

material source, biobased content, or biodegradability as 

well as processing characteristics and a cost-technical 

consideration is needed to get a better basis for decisions. 

Furthermore, different biobased additives, wood and natural 

fibres, and the advantages and disadvantages of different 

disposal routes will be highlighted. 

In order to generate the greatest possible benefit for the 

project participants, five different kinds of biopolymers will 

be selected for a more in-depth examination and research. 

In this regard, the project wants to show which raw material 

manufacturers offer these materials and which portfolio of 

additivation possibilities they have. In addition, research will 

be carried out on the selected polymer sorts for information 

on the sustainability of the raw material sources, the CO 2 

equivalents and the possible end-of-life options. 

Most companies that are new to this group of materials 

will also have questions about how to communicate and 

promote a product made of bioplastics, as many have already 

heard more or less about problems in this field. With this 

in mind, various product examples are also searched for, 

on the basis of which a guideline for successful product 

promotion is drawn up. 

And last, but not least: Since every company has different 

requirements for the properties of its products and thus the 

materials used, a material research for potentially suitable 

biopolymers for one product of each project participant is 

carried out within the project. Through networking and the 

cross-sectoral consideration of requirements, new impulses 

for the use of biopolymers can be made possible. 

Although the project language will be German, it will also 

be possible for international participants to download the 

project results in English, if required. 

The short project duration of one year offers a quick 

introduction to the topic of biopolymers. 

The project participants do not have to invest any active 

work in the project themselves so that a low personnel and 

cost effort is generated for the development of a knowledge 

base. The results will be presented in 3 project meetings over 

the project duration. 

Costs for participation in the project lie at around 

EUR 6,500, the contact person of the Kunststoff-Institut 

Lüdenscheid is Julia Loth. AT 

https://kunststoff-institut-luedenscheid.de 

More information 

Contact Julia Loth 


Mechanical 

Recycling 

Extrusion 

Physical-Chemical 

Recycling 

available at www.renewable-carbon.eu/graphics 

Dissolution 

Physical 

Recycling 

Enzymolysis 

Biochemical 

Recycling 

Plastic Product 

End of Life 

Plastic Waste 

Collection 

Separation 

Different Waste 

Qualities 

Solvolysis 

Chemical 

Recycling 

Monomers 

Depolymerisation 

Thermochemical 

Recycling 

Pyrolysis 


Recycling 

Incineration 

CO2 Utilisation 

(CCU) 

Gasification 


Recycling 

CO2 

© -Institute.eu | 2022 

PVC 

EPDM 

PP 

PMMA 

PE 

Vinyl chloride 

Propylene 

Unsaturated polyester resins 

Methyl methacrylate 

PEF 

Polyurethanes 

MEG 

Building blocks 

Natural rubber 

Aniline Ethylene 

for UPR 

Cellulose-based 

2,5-FDCA 

polymers 

Building blocks 

for polyurethanes 

Levulinic 

acid 

Lignin-based polymers 

Naphtha 

Ethanol 

PET 

PFA 

5-HMF/5-CMF FDME 

Furfuryl alcohol 

Waste oils 

Casein polymers 

Furfural 

Natural rubber 

Saccharose 

PTF 

Starch-containing 

Hemicellulose 

Lignocellulose 

1,3 Propanediol 

polymer compounds 

Casein 

Fructose 

PTT 

Terephthalic 

Non-edible milk 

acid 

MPG NOPs 

Starch 

ECH 

Glycerol 

p-Xylene 

SBR 

Plant oils 

Fatty acids 

Castor oil 

11-AA 

Glucose Isobutanol 

THF 

Sebacic 

Lysine 

PBT 

acid 

1,4-Butanediol 

Succinic 

acid 

DDDA 

PBAT 

Caprolactame 

Adipic 

acid 

HMDA DN5 

Sorbitol 

3-HP 

Lactic 

acid 

Itaconic 

Acrylic 

PBS(x) 

acid 

acid 

Isosorbide 

PA 

Lactide 

Superabsorbent polymers 

Epoxy resins 

ABS 

PHA 

APC 

PLA 


O 

OH 

HO 

OH 

HO 

OH 

O 

OH 

HO 

OH 

O 

OH 

O 

OH 

© -Institute.eu | 2021 

All figures available at www.bio-based.eu/markets 

Adipic acid (AA) 

11-Aminoundecanoic acid (11-AA) 

1,4-Butanediol (1,4-BDO) 

Dodecanedioic acid (DDDA) 

Epichlorohydrin (ECH) 

Ethylene 

Furan derivatives 

D-lactic acid (D-LA) 

L-lactic acid (L-LA) 

Lactide 

Monoethylene glycol (MEG) 

Monopropylene glycol (MPG) 

Naphtha 

1,5-Pentametylenediamine (DN5) 

1,3-Propanediol (1,3-PDO) 

Sebacic acid 

Succinic acid (SA) 


fossil 


Refining 

Polymerisation 

Formulation 

Processing 

Use 

renewable 

Depolymerisation 

Solvolysis 

Thermal depolymerisation 

Enzymolysis 

Purification 

Dissolution 

Recycling 

Conversion 

Pyrolysis 

Gasification 

allocated 

Recovery 

Recovery 

Recovery 

conventional 



nova Market and Trend Reports 

on Renewable Carbon 

The Best Available on Bio- and CO2-based Polymers 

& Building Blocks and Chemical Recycling 

Category 

Mapping of advanced recycling 

technologies for plastics waste 

Providers, technologies, and partnerships 

Mimicking Nature – 

The PHA Industry Landscape 

Latest trends and 28 producer profiles 

Bio-based Naphtha 

and Mass Balance Approach 

Status & Outlook, Standards & 

Certification Schemes 

Diversity of 

Advanced Recycling 

Principle of Mass Balance Approach 

Feedstock 

Process 

Products 

Plastics 

Composites 

Plastics/ 

Syngas 

Polymers 

Monomers 

Monomers 

Naphtha 

Use of renewable feedstock 

in very first steps of 

chemical production 

(e.g. steam cracker) 

Utilisation of existing 

integrated production for 

all production steps 

Allocation of the 

renewable share to 

selected products 

Authors: Lars Krause, Michael Carus, Achim Raschka 

and Nico Plum (all nova-Institute) 

June 2022 

This and other reports on renewable carbon are available at 

www.renewable-carbon.eu/publications 

Author: Jan Ravenstijn 

March 2022 



Authors: Michael Carus, Doris de Guzman and Harald Käb 

March 2021 



Bio-based Building Blocks and 

Polymers – Global Capacities, 

Production and Trends 2020 – 2025 

Polymers 

Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) as Chemical 

Feedstock for Polymers 

Technologies, Polymers, Developers and Producers 

Chemical recycling – Status, Trends 

and Challenges 

Technologies, Sustainability, Policy and Key Players 

Building Blocks 

Plastic recycling and recovery routes 

Intermediates 

Feedstocks 

Primary recycling 

(mechanical) 

Virgin Feedstock 

Monomer 

Polymer 

Plastic 

Product 

Product (end-of-use) 

Landfill 

Renewable Feedstock 

Secondary recycling 

(mechanical) 

Tertiary recycling 

(chemical) 

Quaternary recycling 

(energy recovery) 

Secondary 

valuable 

materials 

CO 2 capture 

Energy 

Chemicals 

Fuels 

Others 

Authors: Pia Skoczinski, Michael Carus, Doris de Guzman, 

Harald Käb, Raj Chinthapalli, Jan Ravenstijn, Wolfgang Baltus 

and Achim Raschka 

January 2021 



Authors: Pauline Ruiz, Achim Raschka, Pia Skoczinski, 

Jan Ravenstijn and Michael Carus, nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

January 2021 



Author: Lars Krause, Florian Dietrich, Pia Skoczinski, 

Michael Carus, Pauline Ruiz, Lara Dammer, Achim Raschka, 

nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

November 2020 

This and other reports on the bio- and CO 2-based economy are 

available at www.renewable-carbon.eu/publications 

Genetic engineering 

Production of Cannabinoids via 

Extraction, Chemical Synthesis 

and Especially Biotechnology 

Current Technologies, Potential & Drawbacks and 

Future Development 

Plant extraction 

Plant extraction 

Cannabinoids 

Chemical synthesis 

Biotechnological production 

Production capacities (million tonnes) 

Commercialisation updates on 

bio-based building blocks 

Bio-based building blocks 

Evolution of worldwide production capacities from 2011 to 2024 

4 

3 

2 

1 

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2024 

Levulinic acid – A versatile platform 

chemical for a variety of market applications 

Global market dynamics, demand/supply, trends and 

market potential 

HO 

OH 

diphenolic acid 

H 2N 

O 

OH 

O 

O 

OH 

5-aminolevulinic acid 

O 

O 

levulinic acid 

O 

O 

ɣ-valerolactone 

OH 

HO 

O 

O 

succinic acid 

OH 

O 

O OH 

O O 

levulinate ketal 

O 

H 

N 

O 

5-methyl-2-pyrrolidone 

OR 

O 

levulinic ester 

Authors: Pia Skoczinski, Franjo Grotenhermen, Bernhard Beitzke, 

Michael Carus and Achim Raschka 

January 2021 



Author: 

Doris de Guzman, Tecnon OrbiChem, United Kingdom 

Updated Executive Summary and Market Review May 2020 – 

Originally published February 2020 

This and other reports on the bio- and CO 2-based economy are 

available at www.bio-based.eu/reports 

Authors: Achim Raschka, Pia Skoczinski, Raj Chinthapalli, 

Ángel Puente and Michael Carus, nova-Institut GmbH, Germany 

October 2019 

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

www.bio-based.eu/reports 

renewable-carbon.eu/publications 


49


Bioplastics IN SPACE 

Combining high strength with low weight, corrosionresistant, 

and shapable into almost any form, 

composite materials are a key ingredient of modern 

life: employed everywhere from aviation to civil engineering, 

sports equipment to dentistry – and also a vital element of 

space missions. But they have some less desirable aspects: 

made from petroleum products, they are non-renewable 

in nature and also non-recyclable. So the European Space 

Agency (ESA – Paris, France) is working with Côte D’Azur 

University (Nice, France) on a new breed of space-quality 

composites made from wholly sustainable sources. 

Testing biobased expoxy 

“And when we say biomass we don’t mean growing new 

crops especially for this purpose, but rather reusing existing 

biobased material cheaply and efficiently – namely used 

vegetable oil, timber waste, and oceanic algae”. 

The idea came out of a discussion with Alice Mija of 

the Nice Institute of Chemistry (ICN) at Côte D’Azur 

University in France. 

“It’s a very ambitious and challenging project – to produce 

100 % biobased thermoset resins for space – which draws 

on a lot of different chemical, engineering, and industrial 

expertise”, she comments. 

Europe’s Vega launcher is largely made from composite materials 

As their name suggests, composites are made from two 

or more separate materials, combined together to obtain an 

optimal combination of physical characteristics. ‘Thermoset’ 

composites are among the most robust examples. They are 

made from resins which are blended with fibres or fillers 

for added strength – the same approach as adding steel 

piles to concrete to make reinforced concrete – which 

are then ‘cured’ through heating, pressure or chemical 

reactions to solidify them. 

Exploring alternatives 

“The problem with the 

classical thermoset resins 

we use to make spacequality 

composites is that 

they are petroleum-based, so 

by definition they come from 

a non-renewable resource”, 

explains ESA materials 

engineer Ugo Lafont. “So 

we had the idea of exploring 

alternatives – could we use 

biomass as a new source of 

molecules for these resins, 

harnessing the same kind 

of chemical processes? 

“Obviously the desire for greater sustainability by avoiding 

the use of petroleum products is one important driver of 

this work. In addition one of the key chemicals used for 

thermoset production, bisphenol-A, is in the process of being 

restricted by the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, 

Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals, REACH, 

because of its hormone-altering and mutagenic properties. 

It has already been banned for food packaging products, and 

further restrictions will come in future”. 

Composites development 


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for Plastics 

www.plasticker.com 

• International Trade 

in Raw Materials, Machinery & Products Free of Charge. 

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The cooperation takes the form of a part-sponsored PhD and 

now post-Doctorate research, supported through ESA’s Open 

Space Innovation Platform, sourcing promising new ideas for 

research from academia, industry and the general public. 

Extreme challenges of space 

Post-Doc researcher Roxana Dinu adds: “We’ve focused 

on space because if we can design materials to resist all 

the peculiar factors of the orbital environment – such as 

extremes of temperature and radiation as well as sustained 

hard vacuum encouraging unwanted ‘outgassing’ of fumes 

– then they should also be suitable for a very wide range of 

applications on Earth too, such as the aerospace, maritime 

and construction sectors”. 

So far numerous 100 % biobased monomers have been 

synthesized by Mija’s group at laboratory scale, then their 

formulations into usable resins were studied and optimized. 

The space-qualification tests are currently ongoing by 

using the project’s specialist facilities at ESA’s ESTEC 

technical Centre in the Netherlands (Noordwijk) as well as 

Ugo adds: “An important aspect of the project is that we want 

to adapt existing industrial processes for producing these 

new thermosets, we don’t want to have to reinvent the wheel”. 

The project is also looking into the idea of harnessing 

natural materials for the other composite ingredients, 

Carbon-fibre composite sample using bio-based epoxy 

ESTEC, ESA’s technical heart 

Thales Alenia Space in Cannes, a near neighbour of ICN – 

Côte D’Azur University. 

Scaling up – and going all natural 

The next step in this three-year project will be to 

manufacture the composites at larger, demonstrator scale, 

then talk to companies about industrial production. 

resulting in 100 % biobased composites. “Conventional 

carbon fibres are not recyclable, so we are looking into the 

use of natural alternatives, such as plant fibres such as flax 

or hemp, for certain uses”. 

The 3 Rs: reuse, recycle, repair 

The great drawback of today’s thermoset composites is 

that they cannot be melted, reformed or dissolved, so are 

not recyclable. Disposing of them can prove challenging, 

potentially involving grinding them down to powder – while 

from 2025 the disposal of composite wind turbine blades in 

European landfills will be banned. 

The project is looking into the potential of composites able 

to achieve the ‘3 Rs’ – reuse, recycle and repair. 

Mija says: “100 % biobased composites are not inherently 

recyclable either – it comes down to the chemical formulation 

used to make them, but we are actively exploring reuse 

possibilities. We have used a nontoxic and easy-to-prepare 

solution, to recover vegetable fibres and recycle the 100 % 

biobased resin, which was then used for the production of a 

second generation of composites. The industry is eager for 

recycling solutions, so the potential here is enormous”. AT 

https://www.esa.int/ 


39

Certification 

Sustainability certification 

Important part of the solution towards a circular economy and bioeconomy 

Even if currently only less than 1 % of the entire plastic 

produced annually are bioplastics[1], one of many 

necessary actions is to scale up the use of alternative 

feedstocks in the chemical industry, which has already 

started to develop in a good direction. Global production 

capacity of bioplastics will increase from 2.09 million tonnes 

in 2020 to approximately 7.59 million tonnes in 2026. Hence, 

the share of bioplastics in global plastic production will 

bypass the 2 % mark for the first time. Investment activities 

have shown that biobased feedstocks for plastic production 

are also an economically appealing opportunity: The amount 

of investment of USD 350 million globally in the last quarter 

of 2021, has been exceeded by USD 500 million in the first 

quarter of 2022 [2]. 

The interest in this topic has also been fuelled by the 

increasing concerns of consumers. The results of consumer 

studies are going in the same direction. One recent global 

study shows that 85 % of consumers have shifted toward 

being more sustainable during the past five years. On 

average, over a third are willing to pay more for sustainability, 

considering a 25 % premium to be acceptable [3]. 

Certification as a tool to back up credible claims 

along fully certified supply chains 

Third-party voluntary certification schemes can support 

companies to be compliant with current and upcoming legal 

requirements. The International Sustainability and Carbon 

Certification (ISCC) is an independent multi-stakeholder 

initiative that contributes to climate and environmental 

protection, defossilisation, and traceability along supply 

chains. Today ISCC counts around 7,000 certified entities 

that are active in different markets such as energy, food, 

feed, and industrial applications. The certification covers 

biogenic wastes and residues, recycled carbon-based 

materials, forestry and agricultural biomass, and nonbiological 

renewable materials. For a few years, chemical 

and packaging applications represent the fastest growing 

sector with annually doubling growth rates. 

At ISCC detailed traceability requirements ensure that 

sustainability data related to, e.g. deforestation, social 

aspects, and GHG emissions is forwarded along the entire 

supply chain up to the brand owner. Every element in the 

supply chain that forwards certified material needs to be 

covered by third-party certification. The standard allows 

for the three chain of custody options (CoC) mass balance, 

physical segregation, and controlled blending. Under mass 

balance certified and non-certified materials are mixed 

physically but kept separate on a bookkeeping basis on a 

site-specific level (Figure 2). In the annual audits, special 

importance is given to the determination of site-specific 

sustainable yields, conversion factors based on real 

operational data, and attribution to outgoing products. By 

applying this method, companies use existing resources and 

continuously scale up certified feedstocks by building up their 

supplier networks with the relevant feedstocks. 

Since the material is physically mixed, it is not possible 

to make a statement about the physical characteristics of 

the final product without revealing potentially proprietary 

information about the production process. The current 

ISCC logos include the type of raw material and CoC option 

used, showing customers the sustainability characteristics 

of the product they hold in their hands. In addition, it is of 

utmost importance to make clear which part of a product or 

packaging is certified. The goal is to increase the awareness 

and understanding of the mass balance approach which is 

already applied and accepted in other industries, for instance, 

the renewable energy sector. 

The future will bring many interesting and important 

developments from a regulatory perspective, e.g. the 

European Circular Economy Action Plan or global recycling 

packaging taxes and due diligence responsibilities. ISCC has 

Figure 1: ISCC mass balance approach 


also set up a Technical Committee with regular meetings and 

contributions from various stakeholders to discuss market 

developments and further develop clear claims as well as 

consumer education material. Here, ongoing discussions 

with regulators, academia, civil society, and the industry 

build the base for the needed multi-stakeholder collaborative 

action to identify all possible solutions on the sustainability 

journey. Only in that way the circular and bioeconomy can 

be accelerated to make a real impact as we need to move 

forward as quickly as possible with the many diverse 

By: 

Inna Knelsen, Jasmin Brinkmann 

Senior System Manager (both) 

ISCC System Germany 

solutions to reduce our dependency on fossil resources, allow 

for sustainable land use, protect biodiversity, and reduce 


www.iscc-system.org 

Sources 

(1) European Bioplastics, 2022: Bioplastics market data 

(2) CBS News, 2022: Companies invest billions in fully biodegradable 

bioplastics made from natural materials 

(3) Simon-Kucher & Partners, 2021: Global Sustainability Study: What Role 

do Consumers Play in a Sustainable Future? 

Certification 

Figure 2: Chain of Custody Options and example logos for 

mass-balanced products 

The only conference dealing exclusively with 

cellulose fibres – Solutions instead of pollution 

Cellulose fibres are bio-based and biodegradable, even in marine-environments, 

where their degrading does not cause any microplastic. 

300 participants and 30 exhibitors are expected in Cologne to discuss the following topics: 

 

CELLULOSE 

FIBRE 

INNOVATION 

OF THE YEAR 

2023 

I N N O V AT 

B Y N O V A - 

I N S T I T U T E 

I O N 

A W A R D 

• Strategies, Policy 

Framework of Textiles 

and Market Trends 

• New Opportunities 

for Cellulose Fibres in 

Replacing Plastics 

• Sustainability and 

Environmental Impacts 

• Circular Economy and 

Recyclability of Fibres 

• Alternative Feedstocks 

and Supply Chains 

• New Technologies for 

Pulps, Fibres and Yarns 

• New Technologies and 

Applications beyond 

Textiles 


Apply for the “Cellulose 

Fibre Innovation of the 

Year 2023” 

Organiser 

Contact 

Dr Asta Partanen 

Program 

asta.partanen@nova-institut.de 

Dominik Vogt 



cellulose-fibres.eu 


53

Automotive 

Category 

10 

Years ago 

Published in 


Basics 

Plastics made from CO 2 

Basics 

First plastics from CO 2 

coming onto the market - 

and they can be biodegradable 

Basics 

Photosynthesis Metabolism 

Carbohydrates 

Fig. 2: The carbon cycle as occurring in nature (left) and 

the envisioned carbon cycle for the ‘CO 2 Economy’ (right). 

CO 2 

CO 2 

Bayer Material Science exhibited polyurethane blocks at 

ACHEMA, which were made from CO 2 polyols. CO 2 replaces 

some of the mineral oils used. Industrial manufacturing of 

foams for mattresses and insulating materials for fridges 

and buildings is due to start in 2015. Noteworthy is the fact 

that the CO 2 used by Bayer Material Science is captured 

at a lignite-fired power plant, thus contributing to lower 


Implementing a CO 2 

economy 

These examples, combined with the strong research efforts 

of different corporations and national research programs, 

are disclosing a future where we will probably be able to 

implement a real ‘CO 2 Economy’; where CO 2 will be seen as 

a valuable raw material rather than a necessary evil of our 

fossil-fuel based modern life style. 

Steps toward the implementation of such a vision are 

already in place. The concept of Artificial Photosynthesis 

(APS) is a remarkable example (Fig. 2). 

This field of chemical production is aiming to use either CO 2 

recaptured from a fossil fuel combustion facility, or acquiring 

Artificial 

Photosynthesis 

By 

Fabrizio Sibilla 

Achim Raschka 

Michael Carus 

nova-Institute, Hürth, Germany 

Energy / Material 

Resources 

Industrial 

usage 

Thinking further ahead, in a future when propylene oxide 

will be produced from methanol reformed from CO 2 , PPC 

will be available derived 100% from recycled CO 2 , therefore 

making it very attractive for the final consumer. 

PPC is also a biodegradable polymer that shows good 

compostability properties. These properties, when combined 

with the 43% or 100% ‘Recycled CO 2 ’ can contribute to the 

development of a plastic industry that can aim at being 

sustainable in its three pillars (social, environmental, 

economy). 

Other big advantages of PPC are its thermoplastic 

behaviour similar to many existing plastics, its possibility 

to be combined with other polymers, and its use with 

fillers. Moreover, PPC does not require special tailor-made 

machines for its forming or extruding, hence this aspect 

contributes to make PPC a ‘ready to use’ alternative to many 

existing plastics. 

PPC is also a good softener for bioplastics: many biobased 

plastics, e.g. PLA and PHA, are originally too brittle 

and can therefore only be used in conjunction with additives 

in many applications. Now a new option is available which 

can cover an extended range of material characteristics 

through combinations of PPC with PLA or PHA. This keeps 

the material biodegradable and translucent, and it can be 

processed without any trouble using normal machinery. It 

must be pointed out that it is not easy to give an unambiguous 

classification to PPC, but it falls more into a grey area of 

definitions. As discussed above, it can be prepared either from 

CO 2 recovered from flue gases and conventional propylene 

oxide, and in this case although not definable as ‘bio-based’ 

CO 2 from the atmosphere together with water and sunlight to 

obtain what is often defined as ‘solar fuel’ - mainly methanol 

or methane. The word ‘fuel’ is used in a broad sense: it refers 

not only to fuel for transportation or electricity generation, but 

also to feedstocks for the chemicals and plastics industries. 

However research is also focused on other chemicals, such 

as, for example, the direct formation of formic acid. Efforts 

are in place to mimic the natural photosynthesis to such an 

extent that even glucose or other fermentable carbohydrates 

are foreseen as possible products. Keeping this in mind, 

a vision where carbohydrates, generated by APS, will be 

used in subsequent biotechnological fermentation to obtain 

almost any desired chemicals or bio-plastics (such as PLA, 

PHB and others) can become reality in a future that is nearer 

than expected. 

The Panasonic Corporation for example, released its 

first prototype of a working APS device (Fig. 3) that shows 

the same efficiency of photosynthetic plants and is able to 

produce formic acid from water, sunlight and CO 2 ; formic 

acid is a bulk chemical that is required in many industrial 

processes. 

H 3 

C 

O 

propylene oxide 

it may still be attractive for its 43% by wt. of recycled CO 2 

and its full biodegradability. It can in theory also be produced 

using CO 2 recovered from biomass combustion, thus being 

classified as 43% biomass-based (25% biobased according to 

the bio-based definition ASTM D6866). As already mentioned 

above, if propylene oxide could be produced from the 

oxidation of bio-based propylene, then it can be declared 57% 

biomass-based or 100% bio-based if CO 2 and propylene oxide 

are both bio-based. As more and more different plastics and 

chemicals in the future will be derived from recycled CO 2 they 

will need a new classification and definition such as ‘recycled 

CO 2 ’ in order not to bewilder the consumer. 

Polyethylene carbonate and polyols 

Polypropylene carbonate is not the only plastic that 

recently came onto the market. Other remarkable examples 

are the production of polyethylene carbonate (PEC) and 

polyurethanes from CO 2 . 

The company Novomer has a proprietary technology to 

obtain PEC from ethylene oxide and CO 2 , in a process similar 

to the production of PPC. PEC is 50% CO 2 by mass and can 

be used in a number of applications to replace and improve 

traditional petroleum based plastics currently on the market. 

PEC plastics exhibit excellent oxygen barrier properties 

that make it useful as a barrier layer for food packaging 

applications. PEC has a significantly improved environmental 

footprint compared to barrier resins ethylenevinyl alcohol 

(EVOH) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC) which are used as 

barrier layers. 

CH 3 

O 

CO 2 C 

catalyst 

C 

arbon dioxide is one of the most discussed molecules 

in the popular press, due to its role as greenhouse gas 

(GHG) and the increase in temperature on our planet, 

a phenomenon known as global warming. 

Carbon dioxide is generally regarded as an inert molecule, 

as it is the final product of any combustion process, either 

chemical or biological in cellular metabolism (an average 

human body emits daily about 0.9 kg of CO 2 ). The abundance 

of CO 2 prompted scientists to think of it as a useful raw 

material for the synthesis of chemicals and plastics rather 

than as a mere emission waste. 

Traditionally CO 2 has been used in numerous applications, 

such as in the preparation of carbonated soft drinks, as 

an acidity regulator in the food industry, in the industrial 

preparation of synthetic urea, in fire extinguishers and many 

others. 

Today, as CO 2 originating from energy production, transport 

and industrial production continues to accumulate in the 

atmosphere, scientists and technologists are looking more 

closely at different alternatives to reduce flue-gas emissions 

and are exploring the possibility of using CO 2 as a direct 

feedstock for chemicals production, and first successful 

examples have already been achieved. 

The carbon cycle on our planet is able to recycle the 

CO 2 from the atmosphere back in the biosphere and it has 

maintained an almost constant level of CO 2 concentration 

over the last hundred thousand years. The carbon cycle fixes 

approx. 200 gigatonnes of CO 2 yearly while the anthropogenic 

CO 2 accounts for about 7 gigatonnes per year (3-4% of the 

CO 2 fixed in the carbon cycle). Even if this quantity looks 

small, we must bear in mind that this excess of CO 2 has been 

accumulating year after year in the atmosphere, and in fact 

we know that CO 2 concentration rose to almost 400 ppm from 

280 ppm in the preindustrial era. 

In recent years different processes have been patented 

and are currently used to recover CO 2 from the flue-gases of 

coal, oil or natural gas, or from biomass power plants. The 

recovered CO 2 can be either stored in natural caves, used for 

44 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7 

O 

O 

polypropylene carbonate 

n 

Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR), or can be used as feedstock 

for the chemical industry. The availability of a high quantity of 

CO 2 triggered different research projects worldwide that are 

aimed at finding a high added value use for what otherwise 

is a pollutant. 

Plastics from CO 2 

When it comes to the question of CO 2 and plastics there 

are many different strategies aiming at either obtaining 

plastics from molecules derived directly from CO 2 or using 

CO 2 in combination with monomers that could either be 

traditional fossil-based or bio-based chemicals. Moreover, 

the final plastics can be biodegradable or not, depending 

to their structures. Noteworthy among already existing CO 2 

derived plastics are polypropylene carbonate, polyethylene 

carbonate, polyurethanes and many promising others that 

are still in the laboratories. 

dear 

readers 

Polypropylene carbonate 

Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) is the first remarkable 

example of a plastic that uses CO 2 in its preparation. PPC is 

obtained through alternated polymerization of CO 2 with PO 

(propylene oxide, C 3 H 6 O) (Fig. 1). 

The production of PPC worldwide is rising and this trend is 

not expected to change. 

Polypropylene carbonate (PPC) was first developed 40 

years ago by Inoue, but is only now coming into its own. 

PPC is 43% CO 2 by mass, is biodegradable, shows high 

temperature stability, high elasticity and transparency, and 

a memory effect. These characteristics open up a wide 

range of applications for PPC, including countless uses as 

packaging film and foams, dispersions and softeners for 

brittle plastics. The North American companies Novomer 

and Empower Materials, the Norwegian firm Norner and SK 

Innovation from South Korea are some of those working to 

develop and produce PPC. 

Today PPC is a high quality plastic able to combine several 

advantages at the same time. 

Are plastics made from CO 2 

to be considered as bioplastics? Not 

necessarily, I would say. If these plastics are in fact biodegradable 

they would fall under our definition of bioplastics (see our revised 

and extended ‘Glossary 3.0’ on page 50ff). And if such plastics are 

made from CO 2 

that comes, via combustion or other chemical processes, 

from fossil based raw materials, we should at least avoid 

calling call them biobased. Nevertheless, I believe that the use of 

such CO 2 

to make plastics (or other useful products) and so prevent, 

or at least delay, the CO 2 

from entering the atmosphere, is a good 

approach in the sense of our overall objectives. It will certainly require 

further evaluation and even standardisation until CO 2 

based 

plastics can/will be defined as a new (bio-) plastic class or category. 

Plastics produced from CO 2 

, definitely one of the major topics in 

this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE, is accompanied by further highlights. 

In several articles we report about biobased polyurethanes 

and elastomers and we present some articles about fibres and textile 

applications. 

In this issue we also present the five finalists for the 7 th Bioplastics 

Award. The number of entries was not as large as in previous 

years, however I doubt that the innovative power of this industry is 

Fig. 1: Route to PPC from CO 2 and propylene oxide 

CO 2 

reduction 

bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7 45 

Water oxidation by 

light energy 

water 

Carbon dioxide 

Oxygen 

Formic acid 

Metal catalyst 

Fig. 3: Panasonic scheme of its fully functioning artificial 

photosynthesis device 

(Courtesy of Panasonic Corporation). 

flagging. So we kindly ask all of you to keep your eyes open and report 

interesting innovations that have a significant market relevance 

whenever you see them. The 8 th Bioplastics Award is definitely coming. 

The 7 th ‘Bioplastics Oskar’ will be presented on November 6 th in 

Berlin at the European Bioplastics Conference. 

Until then, we hope you enjoy reading bioplastics MAGAZINE 

Sincerely yours 

Michael Thielen 

Follow us on twitter! 

www.twitter.com/bioplasticsmag 

Light 

source 

Nitride Semiconductor 

Be our friend on Facebook! 

www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine 

46 bioplastics MAGAZINE [05/12] Vol. 7 



Automotive 

In September 2022, Alex Thielen, 

Editor of bioplastics MAGAZINE says: 

Already 10 years ago the topic of CO 2 

-based plastics 

was featured in bioplastics MAGAZINE. And our very 

own Michael Thielen wrote in the editorial on page 3 

whether or not they should be considered bioplastics. 

Back then we already made a clear distinction 

between bioplastics and CO 2 

-based plastics, as 

they should only be considered bioplastics, if either 

the CO 2 

comes from a biobased source or if they 

are biodegradable themselves. Now, 10 years later 

it should be more than obvious that we still agree 

with Michael’s statement about the usefulness 

of CO 2 

-based plastics as we now have a separate 

segment that showcases topics related to CCU 

(Carbon capture and utilisation) or CO 2 

-based plastic. 

Editorial 

However, the distinction is clear, CO 2 

-based 

plastics tend to be a category of their own 

– some might also be bioplastics 

but many, or even most, are not. 

However, the waters around the 

definitions of (bio)plastics are 

already rather murky, or as Jan 

Ravenstijn said in What’s in a name, 

“ask ten people for the definition (of 

plastic) and you’ll get at least eight 

different answers” (see bM 03/22, 

p. 46). So instead of muddying these 

waters further it seems to make sense 

to sidestep the whole “what is and 

isn’t a plastic” discussion by looking at 

it from a different angle – where does 

the carbon come from? 

In any case, it is clear that the idea of CO 2 

- 

based plastics is not new as even in 2012 we 

had articles about CO 2 

-based polypropylene 

carbonate polyols, CO 2 

-based polyurethanes, 

and a basics article about plastics made 

from CO 2 

in general. The last one on this list 

was written by industry experts from the novainstitute 

that a couple of years ago founded the 

Renewable Carbon Initiative which focuses on the 

feedstock issue of the plastics crisis. The concept 

of renewable carbon creates a neat framework 

through which we can look at plastics, or plasticlike 

materials, through a new lens. 

At the end of the 

day, the goal is to move 

away from fossil-based 

plastics, we want to 

defossilise the industry 

(as it is quite impossible 

to decarbonise). To be 

clear defossilisation 

in that sense does not 

mean to avoid “fossil 

carbon”, but to avoid 

making plastics from 

newly extracted fossil 

resources. Some processes that fall under renewable 

carbon like advanced recycling (or any recycling for 

that matter) or CCU may have fossil carbon in it, yet 

are useful (though as a side note, CO 2 

from direct 

air capture would technically count as bio due to its 

12 

C/ 14 C ratio). Again we can see how definitions of what 

might count as fossil can get in the way of solutions. 

And while some might not necessarily agree 

with the inclusion of CO 2 

-based plastics in this, by 

now almost iconic publication that used to focus 

exclusively on bioplastics (as the name might have 

given away), we think that it is more important to look 

at proper solutions for the vast amount of challenges 

we as an industry face. I would be more than happy if 

bioplastics, both biobased and biodegradable, could 

solve all these problems, but as history has shown 

change can be slow and cumbersome even if it is so 

urgently necessary. Therefore it is my opinion that we 

need to use all the available tools to challenge and 

change the status quo. That includes CCU and yes 

that also includes advanced recycling technologies. 

There will be dead ends and false prophets that will 

try to sell their greenwashing as proper solutions, 

but that doesn’t make CO 2 

-based and advanced 

recycling-based plastics the enemy – the enemy has 

always been misinformation and those that are keen 

to profit from false claims and straight out lies. 

Will this happen with CCU/CO 2 

-based plastics? 

Probably, yes. Did this happen and is still happening 

with bioplastics? Sadly, yes. But if we even want to 

have a shot at solving these humongous issues 

we need more diverse solutions that tackle the 

issues from different sides. Divided we will fall, 

together we might succeed. 

Categroy 

tinyurl.com/ccu2012 

3 


Basics 

Feedstocks for biobased plastics 

First, second, and third generation 

Biobased plastics can be made from a wide variety of 

feedstocks (Fig 1). Depending on whether the resources 

can also be used for food or feed, or waste streams are 

used, the feedstock can be distinguished in different ways. 

By Michael Thielen 

First Generation Feedstock 

Most biobased plastics are made of carbohydrate-rich 

plants, such as corn (maize), wheat, sugar cane, potatoes, 

sugar beet, rice, or vegetable oil, so-called food crops or 

first-generation feedstock. Bred by mankind over centuries 

for highest energy efficiency, currently, first-generation 

feedstock is the most efficient feedstock for the production 

of biobased plastics as it requires the least amount of land to 

grow and produce the highest yields. [1, 2]. 

The efficiency of the crop-bioplastic ratio can be 

determined as follows: the annual yield of carbohydrates 

per hectare and the agricultural area needed to produce one 

tonne of biobased plastics. Research and development as 

well as new production processes are constantly improving 

the efficiency of crops. 

First-generation feedstock is criticized once in a while for 

its potential competition with food and feed. These arguments 

say the use of these crops takes away food intended for 

human or animal nutrition. In many cases, however, this is 

more about large biofuel plantations leading to increasing 

food prices. This is known as the “food versus fuel” debate. 

Thus, this criticism has been directed at the biofuel sector 

rather than the biobased plastics sector. But there seems to 

be a presumed link between biofuels and biobased plastics, 

which is nor exactly justified, 

Second Generation Feedstock 

Not only, but mainly driven by this criticism, the so-called 

second generation feedstock refers to non-food crops 

(cellulosic feedstock) such as wood, short-rotation crops 

such as poplar, willow or miscanthus (elephant grass), switch 

grass or castor oil, to name just a few. 

Third Generation Feedstock 

Apart from some sources giving algae [3] – having a higher 

growth yield than 1 st and 2 nd generation feedstocks –their 

own category, or others calling CO 2 

or methane [4] the third 

generation feedstock, many experts agree that all kinds 

of organic waste streams, such as wheat straw, bagasse, 

corncobs, palm fruit bunches, or the like represent this 

third group. Another example is the starch gained from the 

process water of industrial potato processing (french fries 

etc.) which is used to produce biobased plastics [5]. Even 

municipal wastewater is so rich in carbohydrates from food 

residues that its use as a source for the production of PHA is 

subject of research [6]. 

In the end, the “food vs fuel” discussion continued for nonfood 

crops if grown on land destined for food production. The 

use of agricultural waste or residues would not constitute 

a direct conflict with food unless they are residues from 

the first-generation feedstock. Straw could potentially be 

considered animal feed and thus part of the food chain. 

It should, however, be noted, that different to biofuels, the 

total amount of agricultural land needed to produce biobased 

plastics in 2021 represented only 0.013 % of the total global 

agricultural area. And projected to 2026 it will be no more 

than 0.058 % (see Fig 2) [1]. So there is ground to argue that 

this criticism is made in bad faith. 

[1] European Bioplastics: Renewable Feedstock https://www.europeanbioplastics.org/bioplastics/Feedstock/ 

[2] bioplastics MAGAZINE, Glossary 4.5, Issue 01/2021 

[3] https://bioplasticsnews.com/2018/09/12/bioplastic-feedstock-1st-2ndand-3rd-generations/ 

[4] NatureWorks: methane as third generation feedstock; 

bioplastics MAGAZINE, Issue 02/2016 

[5] Co-products from potato processing, bioplastics MAGAZINE, 

Issue 03/2016 

[6] bioplastics MAGAZINE, Issues 04/2007, 06/2020 and many more 

Fig 1: Biobased plastics are made from a wide range of 

renewable Biobased feedstocks (Picture: European Bioplastics) [1] 

Fig 2: Land use estimation for bioplastics 2021 and 2026 

(Picture: European Bioplastics) [1] 


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Subject to changes 


57

Basics 

Glossary 5.0 last update issue 06/2021 

In bioplastics MAGAZINE the same expressions appear again 

and again that some of our readers might not be familiar 

with. The purpose of this glossary is to provide an overview 

of relevant terminology of the bioplastics industry, to avoid 

repeated explanations of terms such as 

PLA (polylactic acid) in various articles. 

Bioplastics (as defined by European Bioplastics 

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

of plastics: 

a. Plastics based on → renewable resources 

(the focus is the origin of the raw material 

used). These can be biodegradable or not. 

b. → Biodegradable and → compostable plastics 

according to EN13432 or similar standards (the 

focus is the compostability of the final product; 

biodegradable and compostable plastics can 

be based on renewable (biobased) and/or nonrenewable 

(fossil) resources). 

Bioplastics may be 

- based on renewable resources and biodegradable; 

- based on renewable resources but not be 

biodegradable; and 

- based on fossil resources and biodegradable. 

Advanced Recycling | Innovative recycling 

methods that go beyond the traditional mechanical 

recycling of grinding and compoundig 

plastic waste. Advanced recycling includes 

chemical recycling or enzyme mediated recycling 

Aerobic digestion | Aerobic means in the presence 

of oxygen. In →composting, which is an 

aerobic process, →microorganisms access the 

present oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere. 

They metabolize the organic material to 

energy, CO 2 

, water and cell biomass, whereby 

part of the energy of the organic material is released 

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

Anaerobic digestion | In anaerobic digestion, 

organic matter is degraded by a microbial 

population in the absence of oxygen 

and producing methane and carbon dioxide 

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

composted in a subsequent step without practically 

releasing any heat. The biogas can be 

treated in a Combined Heat and Power Plant 

(CHP), producing electricity and heat, or can be 

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

Amorphous | Non-crystalline, glassy with unordered 

lattice. 

Amylopectin | Polymeric branched starch molecule 

with very high molecular weight (biopolymer, 

monomer is →Glucose). [bM 05/09] 

Since this glossary will not be printed 

in each issue you can download a pdf version 

from our website (tinyurl.com/bpglossary). 

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

Amylose | Polymeric non-branched starch 

molecule with high molecular weight (biopolymer, 

monomer is →Glucose). [bM 05/09] 

Biobased | The term biobased describes the 

part of a material or product that is stemming 

from →biomass. When making a biobasedclaim, 

the unit (→biobased carbon content, 

→biobased mass content), a percentage and the 

measuring method should be clearly stated [1]. 

Biobased carbon | Carbon contained in or 

stemming from →biomass. A material or product 

made of fossil and →renewable resources 

contains fossil and →biobased carbon. 

The biobased carbon content is measured via 

the 14 C method (radiocarbon dating method) that 

adheres to the technical specifications as described 

in [1,4,5,6]. 

Biobased labels | The fact that (and to 

what percentage) a product or a material is 

→biobased can be indicated by respective labels. 

Ideally, meaningful labels should be based 

on harmonised standards and a corresponding 

certification process by independent third-party 

institutions. For the property biobased such 

labels are in place by certifiers →DIN CERTCO 

and →TÜV Austria who both base their certifications 

on the technical specification as described 

in [4,5]. A certification and the corresponding 

label depicting the biobased mass content was 

developed by the French Association Chimie du 

Végétal [ACDV]. 

Biobased mass content | describes the amount 

of biobased mass contained in a material or 

product. This method is complementary to the 

14 

C method, and furthermore, takes other chemical 

elements besides the biobased carbon into 

account, such as oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. 

A measuring method has been developed 

and tested by the Association Chimie du Végétal 

(ACDV) [1]. 

Biobased plastic | A plastic in which constitutional 

units are totally or partly from → 

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

should always be given to which extent 

the product/material is → biobased [1]. 

[bM 01/07, bM 03/10] 

Biodegradable Plastics | are plastics that are 

completely assimilated by the → microorganisms 

present a defined environment as food 

for their energy. The carbon of the plastic must 

completely be converted into CO 2 

during the microbial 

process. 

The process of biodegradation depends on the 

environmental conditions, which influence it 

(e.g. location, temperature, humidity) and on the 

material or application itself. Consequently, the 

process and its outcome can vary considerably. 

Biodegradability is linked to the structure of the 

polymer chain; it does not depend on the origin 

of the raw materials. 

There is currently no single, overarching standard 

to back up claims about biodegradability. 

One standard, for example, is ISO or in Europe: 

EN 14995 Plastics - Evaluation of compostability 

- Test scheme and specifications. 

[bM 02/06, bM 01/07] 

Biogas | → Anaerobic digestion 

Biomass | Material of biological origin excluding 

material embedded in geological formations 

and material transformed to fossilised 

material. This includes organic material, e.g. 

trees, crops, grasses, tree litter, algae and 

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

Biorefinery | The co-production of a spectrum 

of biobased products (food, feed, materials, 

chemicals including monomers or building 

blocks for bioplastics) and energy (fuels, power, 

heat) from biomass. [bM 02/13] 

Blend | Mixture of plastics, polymer alloy of at 

least two microscopically dispersed and molecularly 

distributed base polymers. 

Bisphenol-A (BPA) | Monomer used to produce 

different polymers. BPA is said to cause health 

problems, because it behaves like a hormone. 

Therefore, it is banned for use in children’s 

products in many countries. 

BPI | Biodegradable Products Institute, a notfor-profit 

association. Through their innovative 

compostable label program, BPI educates 

manufacturers, legislators and consumers 

about the importance of scientifically based 

standards for compostable materials which 

biodegrade in large composting facilities. 

Carbon footprint | (CFPs resp. PCFs – Product 

Carbon Footprint): Sum of →greenhouse gas 

emissions and removals in a product system, 

expressed as CO 2 

equivalent, and based on a → 

Life Cycle Assessment. The CO 2 

equivalent of a 

specific amount of a greenhouse gas is calculated 

as the mass of a given greenhouse gas 

multiplied by its → global warming potential 

[1,2,15] 

Carbon neutral, CO 2 

neutral | describes a 

product or process that has a negligible impact 

on total atmospheric CO 2 

levels. For example, 

carbon neutrality means that any CO 2 

released 

when a plant decomposes or is burnt is offset 

by an equal amount of CO 2 

absorbed by the 

plant through photosynthesis when it is growing. 

Carbon neutrality can also be achieved by buying 

sufficient carbon credits to make up the difference. 

The latter option is not allowed when 

communicating → LCAs or carbon footprints 

regarding a material or product [1, 2]. 

Carbon-neutral claims are tricky as products 

will not in most cases reach carbon neutrality 

if their complete life cycle is taken into consideration 

(including the end-of-life). 


If an assessment of a material, however, is 

conducted (cradle-to-gate), carbon neutrality 

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

case, the unit assessed in the complete life cycle 

has to be clarified [1]. 

Cascade use | of →renewable resources means 

to first use the →biomass to produce biobased 

industrial products and afterwards – due to 

their favourable energy balance – use them 

for energy generation (e.g. from a biobased 

plastic product to → biogas production). The 

feedstock is used efficiently and value generation 

increases decisively. 

Catalyst | Substance that enables and accelerates 

a chemical reaction 

CCU, Carbon Capture & Utilisation | is a broad 

term that covers all established and innovative 

industrial processes that aim at capturing 

CO2 – either from industrial point sources or 

directly from the air – and at transforming it 

into a variety of value-added products, in our 

case plastics or plastic precursor chemicals. 

[bM 03/21, 05/21] 

CCS, Carbon Capture & Storage | is a technology 

similar to CCU used to stop large amounts of 

CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, 

by separating the carbon dioxide from emissions. 

The CO2 is then injecting it into geological 

formations where it is permanently stored. 

Cellophane | Clear film based on →cellulose. 

[bM 01/10, 06/21] 

Cellulose | Cellulose is the principal component 

of cell walls in all higher forms of plant 

life, at varying percentages. It is therefore the 

most common organic compound and also the 

most common polysaccharide (multi-sugar) 

[11]. Cellulose is a polymeric molecule with 

very high molecular weight (monomer is →Glucose), 

industrial production from wood or cotton, 

to manufacture paper, plastics and fibres. 

[bM 01/10, 06/21] 

Cellulose ester | Cellulose esters occur by 

the esterification of cellulose with organic acids. 

The most important cellulose esters from 

a technical point of view are cellulose acetate 

(CA with acetic acid), cellulose propionate (CP 

with propionic acid) and cellulose butyrate (CB 

with butanoic acid). Mixed polymerisates, such 

as cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) can also 

be formed. One of the most well-known applications 

of cellulose aceto butyrate (CAB) is the 

moulded handle on the Swiss army knife [11]. 

Cellulose acetate CA | → Cellulose ester 

CEN | Comité Européen de Normalisation (European 

organisation for standardization). 

Certification | is a process in which materials/ 

products undergo a string of (laboratory) tests 

in order to verify that they fulfil certain requirements. 

Sound certification systems should be 

based on (ideally harmonised) European standards 

or technical specifications (e.g., by →CEN, 

USDA, ASTM, etc.) and be performed by independent 

third-party laboratories. Successful 

certification guarantees a high product safety 

- also on this basis, interconnected labels can 

be awarded that help the consumer to make an 

informed decision. 

Circular economy | The circular economy is a 

model of production and consumption, which 

involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, 

refurbishing and recycling existing materials 

and products as long as possible. In this way, 

the life cycle of products is extended. In practice, 

it implies reducing waste to a minimum. 

Ideally erasing waste altogether, by reintroducing 

a product, or its material, at the end-of-life 

back in the production process – closing the 

loop. These can be productively used again and 

again, thereby creating further value. This is a 

departure from the traditional, linear economic 

model, which is based on a take-make-consume-throw 

away pattern. This model relies 

on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible 

materials, and green energy. 

Compost | A soil conditioning material of decomposing 

organic matter which provides nutrients 

and enhances soil structure. 

[bM 06/08, 02/09] 

Compostable Plastics | Plastics that are 

→ biodegradable under →composting conditions: 

specified humidity, temperature, 

→ microorganisms and timeframe. To make 

accurate and specific claims about compostability, 

the location (home, → industrial) 

and timeframe need to be specified [1]. 

Several national and international standards exist 

for clearer definitions, for example, EN 14995 

Plastics - Evaluation of compostability - Test 

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

Composting | is the controlled →aerobic, or oxygen-requiring, 

decomposition of organic materials 

by →microorganisms, under controlled 

conditions. It reduces the volume and mass 

of the raw materials while transforming them 

into CO 2 

, water and a valuable soil conditioner 

– compost. 

When talking about composting of bioplastics, 

foremost →industrial composting in a managed 

composting facility is meant (criteria defined in 

EN 13432). 

The main difference between industrial and 

home composting is, that in industrial composting 

facilities temperatures are much higher 

and kept stable, whereas in the composting 

pile temperatures are usually lower, and 

less constant as depending on factors such as 

weather conditions. Home composting is a way 

slower-paced process than industrial composting. 

Also, a comparatively smaller volume of 

waste is involved. [bM 03/07] 

Compound | Plastic mixture from different raw 

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

Copolymer | Plastic composed of different 

monomers. 

Cradle-to-Gate | Describes the system boundaries 

of an environmental →Life Cycle Assessment 

(LCA) which covers all activities from the 

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

activities and forestry) up to the factory 

gate. 

Cradle-to-Cradle | (sometimes abbreviated as 

C2C): Is an expression which communicates 

the concept of a closed-cycle economy, in which 

waste is used as raw material (‘waste equals 

food’). Cradle-to-Cradle is not a term that is 

typically used in →LCA studies. 

Cradle-to-Grave | Describes the system 

boundaries of a full →Life Cycle Assessment 

from manufacture (cradle) to use phase and 

disposal phase (grave). 

Crystalline | Plastic with regularly arranged 

molecules in a lattice structure. 

Density | Quotient from mass and volume of a 

material, also referred to as specific weight. 

DIN | Deutsches Institut für Normung (German 

organisation for standardization). 

DIN-CERTCO | Independant certifying organisation 

for the assessment on the conformity of 

bioplastics. 

Dispersing | Fine distribution of non-miscible 

liquids into a homogeneous, stable mixture. 

Drop-In bioplastics | are chemically indentical 

to conventional petroleum-based plastics, 

but made from renewable resources. Examples 

are bio-PE made from bio-ethanol (from 

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

monoethylene glycol made from bio-ethanol. 

Developments to make terephthalic acid from 

renewable resources are underway. Other examples 

are polyamides (partly biobased e.g. PA 

4.10 or PA 6.10 or fully biobased like PA 5.10 or 

PA10.10). 

EN 13432 | European standard for the assessment 

of the → compostability of plastic packaging 

products. 

Energy recovery | Recovery and exploitation of 

the energy potential in (plastic) waste for the 

production of electricity or heat in waste incineration 

plants (waste-to-energy). 

Environmental claim | A statement, symbol 

or graphic that indicates one or more environmental 

aspect(s) of a product, a component, 

packaging, or a service. [16]. 

Enzymes | are proteins that catalyze chemical 

reactions. 

Enzyme-mediated plastics | are not →bioplastics. 

Instead, a conventional non-biodegradable 

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

small amounts of an organic additive. Microorganisms 

are supposed to consume these 

additives and the degradation process should 

then expand to the non-biodegradable PE and 

thus make the material degrade. After some 

time the plastic is supposed to visually disappear 

and to be completely converted to carbon 

dioxide and water. This is a theoretical concept 

which has not been backed up by any verifiable 

proof so far. Producers promote enzymemediated 

plastics as a solution to littering. As 

no proof for the degradation process has been 

provided, environmental beneficial effects are 

highly questionable. 

Ethylene | Colour- and odourless gas, made 

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

from bio-ethanol by dehydration, the monomer 

of the polymer polyethylene (PE). 

European Bioplastics e.V. | The industry association 

representing the interests of Europe’s 

thriving bioplastics’ industry. Founded in Germany 

in 1993 as IBAW, European Bioplastics 

today represents the interests of about 50 

member companies throughout the European 

Union and worldwide. With members from the 

agricultural feedstock, chemical and plastics 

industries, as well as industrial users and recycling 

companies, European Bioplastics serves 

as both a contact platform and catalyst for 

advancing the aims of the growing bioplastics 

industry. 

Extrusion | Process used to create plastic 

profiles (or sheet) of a fixed cross-section consisting 

of mixing, melting, homogenising and 

shaping of the plastic. 

FDCA | 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, an intermediate 

chemical produced from 5-HMF. The 

dicarboxylic acid can be used to make → PEF = 

Glossary 


Basics 

polyethylene furanoate, a polyester that could 

be a 100% biobased alternative to PET. 

Fermentation | Biochemical reactions controlled 

by → microorganisms or → enyzmes (e.g. the 

transformation of sugar into lactic acid). 

FSC | The Forest Stewardship Council. FSC is 

an independent, non-governmental, not-forprofit 

organization established to promote the 

responsible and sustainable management of 

the world’s forests. 

Gelatine | Translucent brittle solid substance, 

colourless or slightly yellow, nearly tasteless 

and odourless, extracted from the collagen inside 

animals‘ connective tissue. 

Genetically modified organism (GMO) | Organisms, 

such as plants and animals, whose 

genetic material (DNA) has been altered are 

called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). 

Food and feed which contain or consist of such 

GMOs, or are produced from GMOs, are called 

genetically modified (GM) food or feed [1]. If GM 

crops are used in bioplastics production, the 

multiple-stage processing and the high heat 

used to create the polymer removes all traces 

of genetic material. This means that the final 

bioplastics product contains no genetic traces. 

The resulting bioplastics are therefore well 

suited to use in food packaging as it contains 

no genetically modified material and cannot interact 

with the contents. 

Global Warming | Global warming is the rise 

in the average temperature of Earth’s atmosphere 

and oceans since the late 19th century 

and its projected continuation [8]. Global warming 

is said to be accelerated by → greenhouse 

gases. 

Glucose | is a monosaccharide (or simple 

sugar). It is the most important carbohydrate 

(sugar) in biology. Glucose is formed by photosynthesis 

or hydrolyse of many carbohydrates 

e. g. starch. 

Greenhouse gas, GHG | Gaseous constituent 

of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, 

that absorbs and emits radiation at 

specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared 

radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, 

the atmosphere, and clouds [1, 9]. 

Greenwashing | The act of misleading consumers 

regarding the environmental practices of a 

company, or the environmental benefits of a 

product or service [1, 10]. 

Granulate, granules | Small plastic particles 

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

and fed into machines, easy to handle and dose. 

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

organic compound derived from sugar dehydration. 

It is a platform chemical, a building 

block for 20 performance polymers and over 

175 different chemical substances. The molecule 

consists of a furan ring which contains 

both aldehyde and alcohol functional groups. 

5-HMF has applications in many different industries 

such as bioplastics, packaging, pharmaceuticals, 

adhesives and chemicals. One of 

the most promising routes is 2,5 furandicarboxylic 

acid (FDCA), produced as an intermediate 

when 5-HMF is oxidised. FDCA is used to 

produce PEF, which can substitute terephthalic 

acid in polyester, especially polyethylene terephthalate 

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

Home composting | →composting [bM 06/08] 

Humus | In agriculture, humus is often used 

simply to mean mature →compost, or natural 

compost extracted from a forest or other spontaneous 

source for use to amend soil. 

Hydrophilic | Property: water-friendly, soluble 

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

conjunction with a plastic which is not waterresistant 

and weatherproof, or that absorbs 

water such as polyamide. (PA). 

Hydrophobic | Property: water-resistant, not 

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

resistant and weatherproof, or that does not 

absorb any water such as polyethylene (PE) or 

polypropylene (PP). 

Industrial composting | is an established process 

with commonly agreed-upon requirements 

(e.g. temperature, timeframe) for transforming 

biodegradable waste into stable, sanitised products 

to be used in agriculture. The criteria for industrial 

compostability of packaging have been 

defined in the EN 13432. Materials and products 

complying with this standard can be certified 

and subsequently labelled accordingly [1,7]. [bM 

06/08, 02/09] 

ISO | International Organization for Standardization 

JBPA | Japan Bioplastics Association 

Land use | The surface required to grow sufficient 

feedstock (land use) for today’s bioplastic 

production is less than 0.02 % of the global 

agricultural area of 4.7 billion hectares. It is not 

yet foreseeable to what extent an increased use 

of food residues, non-food crops or cellulosic 

biomass in bioplastics production might lead to 

an even further reduced land use in the future. 

[bM 04/09, 01/14] 

LCA, Life Cycle Assessment | is the compilation 

and evaluation of the input, output and the 

potential environmental impact of a product 

system throughout its life cycle [17]. It is sometimes 

also referred to as life cycle analysis, 

eco-balance or cradle-to-grave analysis. [bM 

01/09] 

Littering | is the (illegal) act of leaving waste 

such as cigarette butts, paper, tins, bottles, 

cups, plates, cutlery, or bags lying in an open 

or public place. 

Marine litter | Following the European Commission’s 

definition, “marine litter consists of 

items that have been deliberately discarded, 

unintentionally lost, or transported by winds 

and rivers, into the sea and on beaches. It 

mainly consists of plastics, wood, metals, 

glass, rubber, clothing and paper”. Marine debris 

originates from a variety of sources. Shipping 

and fishing activities are the predominant 

sea-based, ineffectively managed landfills as 

well as public littering the mainland-based 

sources. Marine litter can pose a threat to living 

organisms, especially due to ingestion or 

entanglement. 

Currently, there is no international standard 

available, which appropriately describes the 

biodegradation of plastics in the marine environment. 

However, several standardisation 

projects are in progress at the ISO and ASTM 

(ASTM D6691) level. Furthermore, the European 

project OPEN BIO addresses the marine 

biodegradation of biobased products. [bM 02/16] 

Mass balance | describes the relationship between 

input and output of a specific substance 

within a system in which the output from the system 

cannot exceed the input into the system. 

First attempts were made by plastic raw material 

producers to claim their products renewable 

(plastics) based on a certain input of biomass 

in a huge and complex chemical plant, 

then mathematically allocating this biomass 

input to the produced plastic. 

These approaches are at least controversially 

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

Microorganism | Living organisms of microscopic 

sizes, such as bacteria, fungi or yeast. 

Molecule | A group of at least two atoms held 

together by covalent chemical bonds. 

Monomer | Molecules that are linked by polymerization 

to form chains of molecules and then 

plastics. 

Mulch film | Foil to cover the bottom of farmland. 

Organic recycling | means the treatment of 

separately collected organic waste by anaerobic 

digestion and/or composting. 

Oxo-degradable / Oxo-fragmentable | materials 

and products that do not biodegrade! The 

underlying technology of oxo-degradability or 

oxo-fragmentation is based on special additives, 

which, if incorporated into standard resins, are 

purported to accelerate the fragmentation of 

products made thereof. Oxo-degradable or oxofragmentable 

materials do not meet accepted 

industry standards on compostability such as 

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

PBAT | Polybutylene adipate terephthalate, is 

an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester that has the 

properties of conventional polyethylene but is 

fully biodegradable under industrial composting. 

PBAT is made from fossil petroleum with 

first attempts being made to produce it partly 

from renewable resources. [bM 06/09] 

PBS | Polybutylene succinate, a 100% biodegradable 

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

and succinic acid, which can also be produced 

biobased. [bM 03/12] 

PC | Polycarbonate, thermoplastic polyester, 

petroleum-based and not degradable, used for 

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

BPA (→ Bisphenol-A) content. 

PCL | Polycaprolactone, a synthetic (fossilbased), 

biodegradable bioplastic, e.g. used as 

a blend component. 

PE | Polyethylene, thermoplastic polymerised 

from ethylene. Can be made from renewable 

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

PEF | Polyethylene furanoate, a polyester made 

from monoethylene glycol (MEG) and →FDCA 

(2,5-furandicarboxylic acid , an intermediate 

chemical produced from 5-HMF). It can be a 

100% biobased alternative for PET. PEF also 

has improved product characteristics, such as 

better structural strength and improved barrier 

behaviour, which will allow for the use of PEF 

bottles in additional applications. [bM 03/11, 04/12] 

PET | Polyethylenterephthalate, transparent 

polyester used for bottles and film. The polyester 

is made from monoethylene glycol (MEG), 

that can be renewably sourced from bio-ethanol 

(sugar cane) and, since recently, from plantbased 

paraxylene (bPX) which has been converted 

to plant-based terephthalic acid (bPTA). 

[bM 04/14. bM 06/2021] 

PGA | Polyglycolic acid or polyglycolide is a 

biodegradable, thermoplastic polymer and the 

simplest linear, aliphatic polyester. Besides its 


use in the biomedical field, PGA has been introduced 

as a barrier resin. [bM 03/09] 

PHA | Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) or the polyhydroxy 

fatty acids, are a family of biodegradable 

polyesters. As in many mammals, including 

humans, that hold energy reserves in the form 

of body fat some bacteria that hold intracellular 

reserves in form of of polyhydroxyalkanoates. 

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. By farming this type of 

bacteria, and feeding them on sugar or starch 

(mostly from maize), or at times on plant oils or 

other nutrients rich in carbonates, it is possible 

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

most common types of PHA are PHB (Polyhydroxybutyrate, 

PHBV and PHBH. Depending on 

the bacteria and their food, PHAs with different 

mechanical properties, from rubbery soft 

trough stiff and hard as ABS, can be produced. 

Some PHAs are even biodegradable in soil or in 

a marine environment. 

PLA | Polylactide or polylactic acid (PLA), a 

biodegradable, thermoplastic, linear aliphatic 

polyester based on lactic acid, a natural acid, 

is mainly produced by fermentation of sugar or 

starch with the help of micro-organisms. Lactic 

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

D(-)lactic acid and as dextrorotary L(+) 

lactic acid. 

Modified PLA types can be produced by the use 

of the right additives or by certain combinations 

of L- and D- lactides (stereocomplexing), which 

then have the required rigidity for use at higher 

temperatures [13]. [bM 01/09, 01/12] 

Plastics | Materials with large molecular chains 

of natural or fossil raw materials, produced by 

chemical or biochemical reactions. 

PPC | Polypropylene carbonate, a bioplastic 

made by copolymerizing CO 2 

with propylene oxide 

(PO). [bM 04/12] 

PTT | Polytrimethylterephthalate (PTT), partially 

biobased polyester, is produced similarly to 

PET, using terephthalic acid or dimethyl terephthalate 

and a diol. In this case it is a biobased 

1,3 propanediol, also known as bio-PDO. [bM 

01/13] 

Renewable Carbon | entails all carbon sources 

that avoid or substitute the use of any additional 

fossil carbon from the geosphere. It can come 

from the biosphere, atmosphere, or technosphere, 

applications are, e.g., bioplastics, CO2- 

based plastics, and recycled plastics respectively. 

Renewable carbon circulates between 

biosphere, atmosphere, or technosphere, creating 

a carbon circular economy. [bM 03/21] 

Renewable resources | Agricultural raw materials, 

which are not used as food or feed, but as 

raw material for industrial products or to generate 

energy. The use of renewable resources 

by industry saves fossil resources and reduces 

the amount of → greenhouse gas emissions. 

Biobased plastics are predominantly made of 

annual crops such as corn, cereals, and sugar 

beets or perennial cultures such as cassava 

and sugar cane. 

Resource efficiency | Use of limited natural 

resources in a sustainable way while minimising 

impacts on the environment. A resourceefficient 

economy creates more output or value 

with lesser input. 

Seedling logo | The compostability label or 

logo Seedling is connected to the standard 

EN 13432/EN 14995 and a certification process 

managed by the independent institutions 

→DIN CERTCO and → TÜV Austria. Bioplastics 

products carrying the Seedling fulfil the criteria 

laid down in the EN 13432 regarding industrial 

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

Saccharins or carbohydrates | Saccharins or 

carbohydrates are named for the sugar-family. 

Saccharins are monomer or polymer sugar 

units. For example, there are known mono-, 

di- and polysaccharose. → glucose is a monosaccarin. 

They are important for the diet and 

produced biology in plants. 

Semi-finished products | Plastic in form of 

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

into finished products 

Sorbitol | Sugar alcohol, obtained by reduction 

of glucose changing the aldehyde group to an 

additional hydroxyl group. It is used as a plasticiser 

for bioplastics based on starch. 

Starch | Natural polymer (carbohydrate) consisting 

of → amylose and → amylopectin, gained 

from maize, potatoes, wheat, tapioca etc. When 

glucose is connected to polymer chains in a 

definite way the result (product) is called starch. 

Each molecule is based on 300 -12000-glucose 

units. Depending on the connection, there are 

two types known → amylose and → amylopectin. 

[bM 05/09] 

Starch derivatives | Starch derivatives are 

based on the chemical structure of → starch. 

The chemical structure can be changed by 

introducing new functional groups without 

changing the → starch polymer. The product 

has different chemical qualities. Mostly the hydrophilic 

character is not the same. 

Starch-ester | One characteristic of every 

starch-chain is a free hydroxyl group. When 

every hydroxyl group is connected with an 

acid one product is starch-ester with different 

chemical properties. 

Starch propionate and starch butyrate | Starch 

propionate and starch butyrate can be synthesised 

by treating the → starch with propane 

or butanoic acid. The product structure is still 

based on → starch. Every based → glucose 

fragment is connected with a propionate or butyrate 

ester group. The product is more hydrophobic 

than → starch. 

Sustainability | An attempt to provide the best 

outcomes for the human and natural environments 

both now and into the indefinite future. 

One famous definition of sustainability is the 

one created by the Brundtland Commission, led 

by the former Norwegian Prime Minister G. H. 

Brundtland. It defined sustainable development 

as development that ‘meets the needs of the 

present without compromising the ability of future 

generations to meet their own needs.’ Sustainability 

relates to the continuity of economic, 

social, institutional and environmental aspects 

of human society, as well as the nonhuman environment. 

This means that sustainable development 

involves the simultaneous pursuit of economic 

prosperity, environmental protection, and 

social equity. In other words, businesses have to 

expand their responsibility to include these environmental 

and social dimensions. It also implies 

a commitment to continuous improvement 

that should result in a further reduction of the 

environmental footprint of today’s products, processes 

and raw materials used. Impacts such as 

the deforestation of protected habitats or social 

and environmental damage arising from poor 

agricultural practices must be avoided. Corresponding 

certification schemes, such as ISCC 

PLUS, WLC or Bonsucro, are an appropriate tool 

to ensure the sustainable sourcing of biomass 

for all applications around the globe. 

Thermoplastics | Plastics which soften or melt 

when heated and solidify when cooled (solid at 

room temperature). 

Thermoplastic Starch | (TPS) → starch that was 

modified (cooked, complexed) to make it a plastic 

resin 

Thermoset | Plastics (resins) which do not soften 

or melt when heated. Examples are epoxy 

resins or unsaturated polyester resins. 

TÜV Austria Belgium | Independant certifying 

organisation for the assessment on the conformity 

of bioplastics (formerly Vinçotte) 

WPC | Wood Plastic Composite. Composite 

materials made of wood fibre/flour and plastics 

(mostly polypropylene). 

Yard Waste | Grass clippings, leaves, trimmings, 

garden residue. 

References: 

[1] Environmental Communication Guide, European 

Bioplastics, Berlin, Germany, 2012 

[2] ISO 14067. Carbon footprint of products - 

Requirements and guidelines for quantification 

and communication 

[3] CEN TR 15932, Plastics - Recommendation 

for terminology and characterisation of biopolymers 

and bioplastics, 2010 

[4] CEN/TS 16137, Plastics - Determination of 

bio-based carbon content, 2011 

[5] ASTM D6866, Standard Test Methods for 

Determining the Biobased Content of Solid, 

Liquid, and Gaseous Samples Using Radiocarbon 

Analysis 

[6] SPI: Understanding Biobased Carbon Content, 

2012 

[7] EN 13432, Requirements for packaging recoverable 

through composting and biodegradation. 

Test scheme and evaluation criteria 

for the final acceptance of packaging, 

2000 

[8] Wikipedia 

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

Specification with guidance..., 2006 

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

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

Markets, Polymedia Publisher, 2012 

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

FNR, 2005 

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

PLA using poly(D-lactide), 

bioplastics MAGAZINE, Vol. 3, Issue 02/2008 

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

MAGAZINE, Vol 4., Issue 06/2009 

[15] ISO 14067 onb Corbon Footprint of Products 

[16] ISO 14021 on Self-declared Environmental 

claims 

[17] ISO 14044 on Life Cycle Assessment 

Glossary 


Suppliers Guide 

39 mm 

Simply contact: 

Tel.: +49 2161 6884467 

suppguide@bioplasticsmagazine.com 

Stay permanently listed in the 

Suppliers Guide with your company 

logo and contact information. 

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

can be listed among top suppliers in the 

field of bioplastics. 

For Example: 

Polymedia Publisher GmbH 

Dammer Str. 112 

41066 Mönchengladbach 

Germany 

Tel. +49 2161 664864 

Fax +49 2161 631045 

info@bioplasticsmagazine.com 


Sample Charge: 

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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 cancelled 

three months before expiry. 

1. Raw materials 

AGRANA Starch 

Bioplastics 

Conrathstraße 7 

A-3950 Gmuend, Austria 

bioplastics.starch@agrana.com 

www.agrana.com 

Arkema 

Advanced Bio-Circular polymers 

Rilsan ® PA11 & Pebax ® Rnew ® TPE 

WW HQ: Colombes, FRANCE 

bio-circular.com 

hpp.arkema.com 

BASF SE 

Ludwigshafen, Germany 

Tel: +49 621 60-99951 

martin.bussmann@basf.com 

www.ecovio.com 

Gianeco S.r.l. 

Via Magenta 57 10128 Torino - Italy 

Tel.+390119370420 

info@gianeco.com 

www.gianeco.com 

Tel: +86 351-8689356 

Fax: +86 351-8689718 

www.jinhuizhaolong.com 

ecoworldsales@jinhuigroup.com 

Bioplastics — PLA, PBAT 

www.lgchem.com 

youtu.be/p8CIXaOuv1A 

bioplastics@lgchem.com 

Mixcycling Srl 

Via dell‘Innovazione, 2 

36042 Breganze (VI), Italy 

Phone: +39 04451911890 

info@mixcycling.it 

www.mixcycling.it 

PTT MCC Biochem Co., Ltd. 

info@pttmcc.com / www.pttmcc.com 

Tel: +66(0) 2 140-3563 

MCPP Germany GmbH 

+49 (0) 211 520 54 662 

Julian.Schmeling@mcpp-europe.com 

MCPP France SAS 

+33 (0)2 51 65 71 43 

fabien.resweber@mcpp-europe.com 

Xiamen Changsu Industrial Co., Ltd 

Tel +86-592-6899303 

Mobile:+ 86 185 5920 1506 

Email: andy@chang-su.com.cn 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe 

Polyester Co., Ltd. 

No. 316, South Beijing Rd. Changji, 

Xinjiang, 831100, P.R.China 

Tel.: +86 994 22 90 90 9 

Mob: +86 187 99 283 100 

chenjianhui@lanshantunhe.com 

www.lanshantunhe.com 

PBAT & PBS resin supplier 

Zhejiang Huafon Environmental 

Protection Material Co.,Ltd. 

No.1688 Kaifaqu Road,Ruian 

Economic Development 

Zone,Zhejiang,China. 

Tel: +86 577 6689 0105 

Mobile: +86 139 5881 3517 

ding.yeguan@huafeng.com 

www.huafeng.com 

Professional manufacturer for 

PBAT /CO 2 

-based biodegradable materials 

1.1 Biobased monomers 

1.2 Compounds 

Biofibre GmbH 

Member of Steinl Group 

Sonnenring 35 

D-84032 Altdorf 

Fon: +49 (0)871 308-0 

Fax: +49 (0)871 308-183 

info@biofibre.de 

www.biofibre.de 

Earth Renewable Technologies BR 

Estr. Velha do Barigui 10511, Brazil 

slink@earthrenewable.com 

www.earthrenewable.com 

eli 

bio 

Elixance 

Tel +33 (0) 2 23 10 16 17 

Tel PA du +33 Gohélis, (0)2 56250 23 Elven, 10 16 France 17 - elixb 

elixbio@elixbio.com/www.elixbio.com 

www.elixance.com - www.elixb 

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 

P O L i M E R 

GEMA POLIMER A.S. 

Ege Serbest Bolgesi, Koru Sk., 

No.12, Gaziemir, Izmir 35410, 

Turkey 

+90 (232) 251 5041 

info@gemapolimer.com 

http://www.gemabio.com 

Global Biopolymers Co., Ltd. 

Bioplastics compounds 

(PLA+starch, PLA+rubber) 

194 Lardproa80 yak 14 

Wangthonglang, Bangkok 

Thailand 10310 

info@globalbiopolymers.com 

www.globalbiopolymers.com 

Tel +66 81 9150446 

www.facebook.com 

www.issuu.com 

www.twitter.com 

www.youtube.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 

BIO-FED 

Member of the Feddersen Group 

BioCampus Cologne 

Nattermannallee 1 

50829 Cologne, Germany 

Tel.: +49 221 88 88 94-00 

info@bio-fed.com 

www.bio-fed.com 

GRAFE-Group 

Waldecker Straße 21, 

99444 Blankenhain, Germany 

Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 


Green Dot Bioplastics Inc. 

527 Commercial St Suite 310 

Emporia, KS 66801 

Tel.: +1 620-273-8919 

info@greendotbioplastics.com 

www.greendotbioplastics.com 

a brand of 

Helian Polymers BV 

Bremweg 7 

5951 DK Belfeld 

The Netherlands 

Tel. +31 77 398 09 09 

sales@helianpolymers.com 

https://pharadox.com 

Kingfa Sci. & Tech. Co., Ltd. 

No.33 Kefeng Rd, Sc. City, Guangzhou 

Hi-Tech Ind. Development Zone, 

Guangdong, P.R. China. 510663 

Tel: +86 (0)20 6622 1696 

info@ecopond.com.cn 

www.kingfa.com 

Plásticos Compuestos S.A. 

C/ Basters 15 

08184 Palau Solità i Plegamans 

Barcelona, Spain 

Tel. +34 93 863 96 70 

info@kompuestos.com 


Natureplast – Biopolynov 

11 rue François Arago 

14123 IFS 

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

www.natureplast.eu 

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 


TECNARO GmbH 

Bustadt 40 

D-74360 Ilsfeld. Germany 

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

www.tecnaro.de 

Trinseo 

1000 Chesterbrook Blvd. Suite 300 

Berwyn, PA 19312 

+1 855 8746736 

www.trinseo.com 

1.3 PLA 

ECO-GEHR PLA-HI® 

- Sheets 2 /3 /4 mm – 1 x 2 m - 

GEHR GmbH 

Mannheim / Germany 

Tel: +49-621-8789-127 

laudenklos@gehr.de 

www.gehr.de 

TotalEnergies Corbion bv 

Stadhuisplein 70 

4203 NS Gorinchem 


Tel.: +31 183 695 695 

www.totalenergies-corbion.com 

PLA@totalenergies-corbion.com 

Zhejiang Hisun Biomaterials Co.,Ltd. 

No.97 Waisha Rd, Jiaojiang District, 

Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, China 

Tel: +86-576-88827723 

pla@hisunpharm.com 

www.hisunplas.com 

1.4 Starch-based bioplastics 

BIOTEC 

Biologische Naturverpackungen 

Werner-Heisenberg-Strasse 32 

46446 Emmerich/Germany 

Tel.: +49 (0) 2822 – 92510 

info@biotec.de 

www.biotec.de 

Plásticos Compuestos S.A. 

C/ Basters 15 

08184 Palau Solità i Plegamans 

Barcelona, Spain 

Tel. +34 93 863 96 70 

info@kompuestos.com 


Sunar NP Biopolymers 

Turhan Cemat Beriker Bulvarı 

Yolgecen Mah. No: 565 01355 

Seyhan /Adana,TÜRKIYE 

info@sunarnp.com 

burc.oker@sunarnp.com.tr 

www. sunarnp.com 

Tel: +90 (322) 441 01 65 

UNITED BIOPOLYMERS S.A. 

Parque Industrial e Empresarial 

da Figueira da Foz 

Praça das Oliveiras, Lote 126 

3090-451 Figueira da Foz – Portugal 

Phone: +351 233 403 420 

info@unitedbiopolymers.com 

www.unitedbiopolymers.com 

1.5 PHA 

CJ Biomaterials 

www.cjbio.net 

hugo.vuurens@cj.net 

Kaneka Belgium N.V. 

Nijverheidsstraat 16 

2260 Westerlo-Oevel, Belgium 

Tel: +32 (0)14 25 78 36 

Fax: +32 (0)14 25 78 81 

info.biopolymer@kaneka.be 

TianAn Biopolymer 

No. 68 Dagang 6th Rd, 

Beilun, Ningbo, China, 315800 

Tel. +86-57 48 68 62 50 2 

Fax +86-57 48 68 77 98 0 

enquiry@tianan-enmat.com 

www.tianan-enmat.com 

1.6 Masterbatches 

Albrecht Dinkelaker 

Polymer- and Product Development 

Talstrasse 83 

60437 Frankfurt am Main, Germany 

Tel.:+49 (0)69 76 89 39 10 

info@polyfea2.de 

www.caprowax-p.eu 

GRAFE-Group 



Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 

www.granula.eu 

Treffert GmbH & Co. KG 

In der Weide 17 

55411 Bingen am Rhein; Germany 

+49 6721 403 0 

www.treffert.eu 

Treffert S.A.S. 

Rue de la Jontière 

57255 Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, 

France 

+33 3 87 31 84 84 

www.treffert.fr 

2. Additives/Secondary raw materials 

GRAFE-Group 



Tel. +49 36459 45 0 

www.grafe.com 

3. Semi-finished products 

3.1 Sheets 

Customised Sheet Xtrusion 

James Wattstraat 5 

7442 DC Nijverdal 


+31 (548) 626 111 

info@csx-nijverdal.nl 

www.csx-nijverdal.nl 

4. Bioplastics products 

Bio4Pack GmbH 

Marie-Curie-Straße 5 

48529 Nordhorn, Germany 

Tel. +49 (0)5921 818 37 00 

info@bio4pack.com 

www.bio4pack.com 




Plant-based and Compostable PLA Cups and Lids 

Great River Plastic Manufacturer 

Company Limited 

Tel.: +852 95880794 

sam@shprema.com 

https://eco-greatriver.com/ 

6.1 Machinery & moulds 

Buss AG 

Hohenrainstrasse 10 

4133 Pratteln / Switzerland 

Tel.: +41 61 825 66 00 

info@busscorp.com 

www.busscorp.com 

6.2 Degradability Analyzer 

nova-Institut GmbH 

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

contact@nova-institut.de 

www.biobased.eu 

Bioplastics Consulting 

Tel. +49 2161 664864 

info@polymediaconsult.com 

10. Institutions 

Institut für Kunststofftechnik 

Universität Stuttgart 

Böblinger Straße 70 

70199 Stuttgart 

Tel +49 711/685-62831 

silvia.kliem@ikt.uni-stuttgart.de 

www.ikt.uni-stuttgart.de 

Minima Technology Co., Ltd. 

Esmy Huang, Vice president 

Yunlin, Taiwan(R.O.C) 

Mobile: (886) 0-982 829988 

Email: esmy@minima-tech.com 

Website: www.minima.com 

w OEM/ODM (B2B) 

w Direct Supply Branding (B2C) 

w Total Solution/Turnkey Project 

MODA: Biodegradability Analyzer 

SAIDA FDS INC. 

143-10 Isshiki, Yaizu, 

Shizuoka, Japan 

Tel:+81-54-624-6155 

Fax: +81-54-623-8623 

info_fds@saidagroup.jp 

www.saidagroup.jp/fds_en/ 

7. Plant engineering 

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 

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 

10.3 Other institutions 

Naturabiomat 

AT: office@naturabiomat.at 

DE: office@naturabiomat.de 

NO: post@naturabiomat.no 

FI: info@naturabiomat.fi 

www.naturabiomat.com 

Natur-Tec ® - Northern Technologies 

4201 Woodland Road 

Circle Pines, MN 55014 USA 

Tel. +1 763.404.8700 

Fax +1 763.225.6645 

info@naturtec.com 

www.naturtec.com 

NOVAMONT S.p.A. 

Via Fauser , 8 

28100 Novara - ITALIA 

Fax +39.0321.699.601 

Tel. +39.0321.699.611 

www.novamont.com6. Equipment 

EREMA Engineering Recycling 

Maschinen und Anlagen GmbH 

Unterfeldstrasse 3 

4052 Ansfelden, AUSTRIA 

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

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

erema@erema.at 

www.erema.at 

9. Services 

Osterfelder Str. 3 

46047 Oberhausen 

Tel.: +49 (0)208 8598 1227 

thomas.wodke@umsicht.fhg.de 

www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de 

Innovation Consulting Harald Kaeb 

narocon 

Dr. Harald Kaeb 

Tel.: +49 30-28096930 

kaeb@narocon.de 

www.narocon.de 

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 

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/ 

Green Serendipity 

Caroli Buitenhuis 

IJburglaan 836 

1087 EM Amsterdam 


Tel.: +31 6-24216733 

www.greenseredipity.nl 

GO!PHA 

Rick Passenier 

Oudebrugsteeg 9 

1012JN Amsterdam 


info@gopha.org 

www.gopha.org 

Our new 

frame 

colours 

Bioplastics related topics, i.e. 

all topics around biobased 

and biodegradable plastics, 

come in the familiar 

green frame. 

All topics related to 

Advanced Recycling, such 

as chemical recycling 

or enzymatic degradation 

of mixed waste into building 

blocks for new plastics have 

this turquoise coloured 

frame. 

When it comes to plastics 

made of any kind of carbon 

source associated with 

Carbon Capture & Utilisation 

we use this frame colour. 

The familiar blue 

frame stands for rather 

administrative sections, 

such as the table of 

contents or the “Dear 

readers” on page 3. 

If a topic belongs to more 

than one group, we use 

crosshatched frames. 

Ochre/green stands for 

Carbon Capture & 

Bioplastics, e. g. PHA made 

from methane. 

Articles covering Recycling 

and Bioplastics ... 

Recycling & Carbon Capture 

We’re sure, you got it! 


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14 th BioPlastics Market 

09.11. - 10.11.2022, Bangkok, Thailand 

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The Greener Manufacturing wwwwShow 

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14.11. - 15.11.2022, Cologne, Germany (hybrid) 

https://advanced-recycling.eu/ 

17 th European Bioplastics Conference 

06.12. - 07.12.2022, Berlin, Germany 

www.european-bioplastics.org/events/eubp-conference/ 

Events 

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ISSN 1862-5258 Sep/Oct 05 / 2022 

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08.02. - 09.02.2023, London, UK 

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World Biopolymers and Bioplastics Innovation Forum 

01.03. - 02.03.2023, Berlin, Germany 

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Cellulose Fibres Conference 2023 (CFC) 

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Companies and people in this issue 

Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert Company Editorial Advert 

Accor 5 

Helian Polymers 63 Treffert 63 

ADM 6 

Ineos 6 

Trinseo 63 

Aectual 24 

Inst. Appl. Biotechnology (RWTH) 12 

TÜV Austria 33 

AF Color 33 

Inst. Biotechnology (RWTH) 12 

UBQ 31 

Agrana 62 Inst. F. Bioplastics & Biocomposites 64 UC Berkeley 46 

AIMPLAS 38 

Inst. für Textiltechnik (RWTH) 12 

United Biopolymers 32 63 

Akro-Plastic 33 

Institut f. Kunststofftechnik, Stuttgart 64 Univ. Queensland 7 

Alba 36 

Interseroh 36 

Univ. Stuttgart (IKT) 64 

Aliaxis Group 28 

ISCC Plus 6,14,17,26,33,52 

Vinventions 32 

Angel Yeast 5 

ITENE 42 

Vynova 28 

Anhui Jumei 14 

JinHui ZhaoLong High Technology 62 Will & Co 45 

Arkema 62 Kaneka 63 Woodly 16 

Australian Packaging 7 

Kimberly Clark 7 

Xiamen Changsu Industries 62 

BASF 62 Kingfa 63 Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Polyester 62 

Bayern Innovativ 39 Kompuestos 36 63 Zeijiang Hisun Biomaterials 63 

Bio4Pac 63 Kunststoffinstitut Lüdenscheidt 48 

Zeijiang Huafon 62 

Biobased Creations 20 

Kuraray 32 

TÜV Austria 29,35 

Bio-Fed 33 

Lanxess 32,39 

Unilever 47 

Bio-Fed Branch of Akro-Plastic 62 Leistritz 32 

United Biopolymers 55 

Biofibre 62 LG Chem 6 

Univ. Amsterdam 49 

Biotec 39 

Lifocolor 36 

Univ. Stuttgart (IKT) 56 

Biotec 63,67 Luelå Univ. 24 

Vallé Plastic Films 31 

Borealis 15 34 LyondellBasell 27 

W. Müller 23 

BPI 64 MAM 15 

Wingram Industrial 29 

Brandforsk 

McDonalds 31 

Xiamen Changsu Industries 54 

Buss 11,64 Mercedes Benz 31 

Xinjiang Blue Ridge Tunhe Polyester 54 

Cabamix 33 

Michigan State University 64 Zaraplast 41,47 

CAPROWAX P 63 Microtec 33 62 Zeijiang Hisun Biomaterials 55 

Cellicon 5 

Minderoo 7 

Zeijiang Huafon 54 

Centexbel 10 

Minima Technology 64 

Checkerspot 44 

Mixcycling 62 

Chimei 40 

narocon InnovationConsulting 64 

CJ Biomaterials 5 63 Naturabiomat 64 Adams, Gordon 6 

CJ Cheil Jedang 5 

Natureplast-Biopolynov 37 63 André, Christopher 28 

Coolrec 14 

NaturTec 64 

Brinkmann, Jasmin 53 

Covestro 6,17,26,34 

Neste 15 34 Collazos, Claudia Patrizia 42 

Customized Sheet Extrusion 63 Nicoll 28 

Das, Oisik 24 

DIC 45 

nova-Institute 55 16,25,27,49,53,64 DeMan, Lucas 20 

DPS 45 

Novamont 40 64,68 Demedi, Brecht 11 

Dr. Gupta Verlag 15 Nurel 63 Dinu, Roxana 51 

DSM 6,38 

Olaymobil 14 

Discroll, Belinda 7 

DuPont 23 Palsgaard 37 

Fabre, Benoît 28 

DUS Architecture 24 

Pastas Doria 42 

Gallur, Myriam 42 

Dutch Design Foundation 20 

Pepsico 31 

Ganz, Daniel 30 

Earth Renewable Technologies 62 PhaBuilder 5 

Govil, Sucheta 6,27 

Eco-Mobiliers 36 

Plantic 7 

Kaminen, Laakko 16 

Elixance 62 plasticker 51 Klarenbeek, Erik 20 

Erema 64 Polykum 40 

Knelsen, Inna 53 

ESA European Space Agency 50 

polymediaconsult 64 Koch, Daniel 17 

European Bioplastics 31,64 PTT/MCC 62 Kwon, Jungpo 46 

Evonik 33 

Rabobank 20 

Leboucq, Pascal 20 

Exipnos 40 

Renewi 14 

Loth, Julia 48 

FKuR 41 2,62 R-kioski 16 

McCaffrey, Nick 7 

Fraunhofer IMWS 40 

RSB 6 

Miller, Rudy 28 

Fraunhofer UMSICHT 64 Sabic 28 

Nagl, Daniel 32 

Freitag 36 

Saida 64 Pratt, Steven 7 

Gehr 63 Sirmax 33 

Probst, Falko 17 

Gema Polimers 62 SOL Kohlensäure 17 

Rand, Charles, J. 44 

Gianeco 31 62 Sukano 30 34,63 Scholin, Ann-Charlotte 16 

Global Biopolymers 62 Sulzer 5 

Shanmugam, Vigneshawaran 25 

GO!PHA 64 Sunar 63 Theisejans, René 17 

Grafe 62,63 Technip Energies 6 

Uyttendaele, Willem 11 

Granula 63 TECNARO 63 Vanneste, Myriam 11 

Great River Plastic Manuf. 64 Tianan Biologic’s 63 Wang, Lily 6 

Green Dot Bioplastics 62 Toray 7 

Xu, Ting 46 

Green Serendipity 64 TotalEnergies Corbion 38 63 Yu, Fu 29 

GreenWise Lactic 6 

traceless 31 

Zimmermann, Patrick 41 


ycle. 

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A BETTER LIFE 

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