JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008 - 39

Biopolymers European Commission’s Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), the technical substitution potential of biopolymers is estimated at 33% of total polymer production (about 15 million MT in the EU). According to the European Bioplastics Association, the current technical substitution potential could be as high as 5-10% of plastic consumption, and much more in the long run. The report also provides a detailed analysis of how the biopolymer market could develop in Europe, with three different scenarios: one with supporting policies and measures (P&M), one without P&M, and one with high economic growth. European Bioplastics’ future market potential perspective is in line with the above evaluation (Figure 2). 38%. Many countries have set biofuel consumption targets. The EU plans to replace 5.75% of fossil fuels with biofuels by 2010. According to a study published by the European Community, the EU has changed its policy of economic support for agriculture, and soon 25% of Europe’s agricultural land will be taken out of food production. Biopolymer development could constitute a significant source of revenue for the agricultural sector. It is estimated that about 20 million hectares are currently available in Europe for non-food production. Based on a an average yield of about 2-2.5 tons of biopolymers/hectare, that available land could be enough to produce 40-50 million tons of biopolymers a year (i.e. 17-20% of total annual plastic production worldwide). Using biomass as a renewable raw material source could solve the problem for both biofuels and biopolymers, as biomass is available in very large quantities (Figure 3). Unfortunately, technologies that make full use of these materials have not yet been fully developed. Fig. 2: Possible development of the biopolymer market in Europe The huge gap between technical substitution potential and market research results raises the question of whether or not biopolymers will move from niche to mass market. To answer this, a number of critical points need to be taken into account, including cost, raw material availability (agricultural land and biomass), potential industrial and structural application development (short, medium, long term), the ageing and durability of thick-walled moulded parts, and end-of-life issues, i.e. the biodegradability and/or compostability of thick-walled moulded parts. Fig. 3: Biomass availability Application development A major research effort is required to develop formulations that will allow tailoring biopolymers for specific applications. Customized compound development has been the main strong point for plastics expansion. One specific line of development concerns natural-fibrereinforced biocomposites, for which bioadditives and biofillers also need to be developed. Some compounders have recently put specific master batches for PLA on the market. Developing biocomposites would be essential, because bioplastics alone are mediocre structural materials. As with petropolymers, adding fibre reinforcement improves structural and thermal properties (Table 1). One wellknown example of an injection-moulded part is the cellphone case recently developed by Nokia and Unitika. Before natural fibres can be used extensively in moulded parts, however, a lot more research is needed to improve wettability and adhesion through suitable surface changes, and to overcome problems such as high batch-to-batch Tab.1: Properties of Kenaf reinforced PLA Cost Cost is a significant issue for biopolymer development. According to the European Bioplastics Association, biopolymer prices are 80% lower than they were ten years ago, but they are still high at an estimated 1.3-4 euros/kg. In attempts to over come the cost problems, chemical companies (DuPont, Novamont, Metabolix, Rohm and Haas, to take some recent examples) are making agreements or joint ventures with agricultural companies to produce biomonomers or biopolymers (biorefinery) and conducting research in attempts to improve production processes and overcome the cost problem. Raw material availability It is well known that only a small percentage of crude oil is used for plastic production. However, the availability of raw materials for biopolymers is closely linked to biofuel production. For example, to replace a mere 10% of the fossil fuels used for transportation, the USA would need to use 43% of its total agricultural land and the EU, Kenaf % Deflection temp underload °C 0 62 4000 5 65 4500 10 70 5500 15 110 6500 20 120 8000 ABS 95 2700 Modulus of elasticity, MPa No39 March - April 2008 / JEC Composites Magazine

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #39 - March/April 2008