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Content Editorial 03 News 05 Application News 34 Event Calendar 45 Editorial Planner 2010 45 Glossary 46 Suppliers Guide 48 November/December 06|2009 Event Review 4th European Bioplastics Conference 10 New Record Conference on Technical Applications 10 Films | Flexibles | Bags Deep-Freeze Bio Packaging 12 A Holistic Approach 14 PLA Films are a Team Sport 17 PLA Film Applications 18 High-Performance and Biodegradable 19 Materials Oxobiodegradable Plastic 28 Applications Green Nordic Walking – with Biobased Polyamide 32 A Magic Powder in a PLA Powderette 33 Basics Evaluating Quantity, Quality and 38 Comparability of Biopolymer Materials Basics of Anaerobic Digestion 42 New Performance Profiles 20 for Food and Non-Food Bioplastic Films from the Netherlands 23 Consumer Electronics Biomassbased Bathroom Scale 24 Eco-Centric Mobile Phone 25 New ‘Eco.‘ Cordless Telephone 26 Vacuum Cleaner Housing 26 Impressum Publisher / Editorial Dr. Michael Thielen Samuel Brangenberg Layout/Production Mark Speckenbach Head Office Polymedia Publisher GmbH Dammer Str. 112 41066 Mönchengladbach, Germany phone: +49 (0)2161 664864 fax: +49 (0)2161 631045 info@bioplasticsmagazine.com www.bioplasticsmagazine.com Media Adviser Elke Hoffmann phone: +49(0)2351-67100-0 fax: +49(0)2351-67100-10 eh@bioplasticsmagazine.com Print Tölkes Druck + Medien GmbH 47807 Krefeld, Germany Total Print run: 3,500 copies bioplastics magazine ISSN 1862-5258 bioplastics magazine is published 6 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (149 Euro for 6 issues). bioplastics MAGAZINE is printed on chlorine-free FSC certified paper. bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 85 countries. Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. The fact that product names may not be identified in our editorial as trade marks is not an indication that such names are not registered trade marks. bioplastics MAGAZINE tries to use British spelling. However, in articles based on information from the USA, American spelling may also be used. Editorial contributions are always welcome. Please contact the editorial office via mt@bioplasticsmagazine.com. Envelope A large number of copies of this issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE is wrapped in a compostable film manufactured and sponsored by novamont (www.novamont.com) Coverphoto courtesy alesco bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/09] Vol. 4
100% Bio-Sourced Thermoplastic Elastomers News Capitalizing on its long-standing experience in castor oil chemistry, France based Arkema has now developed Pebax ® Rnew100, a range of thermoplastic elastomers produced entirely from renewable raw materials. By combining a bio-sourced polyol with castor oil chemistry, Arkema further extends its program to substitute fossil raw materials with raw materials of plant origin, in line with its sustainable development policy. Complementing the Pebax Rnew range which is based on 20 to 95% plant origin carbon, Pebax Rnew100, Arkema’s latest high performance thermoplastic elastomer range, is entirely derived from renewable resources. Thanks to a reduction in fossil energy requirements during their production and in overall equivalent CO 2 emissions, these products will find a natural place within the eco-design programs initiated by many manufacturers. As with the other Pebax grades, Pebax Rnew100 boasts outstanding mechanical properties, together with excellent resistance to thermal and ultra-violet ageing. Light weight and outstanding dynamic behavior, hence excellent resistance to both flexural and tensile stress, also set this product apart. Pebax Rnew100 therefore offers the best possible compromise between rigidity and mechanical strength at cold temperature. Pebax Rnew and Rnew100 have countless industrial applications involving the manufacture of high added value products. They fulfil stringent specification requirements in many sectors, including automotive, electronics and sports equipment. www.arkema.com Bio-Based Plastics: New Study Forecasts Enormous Potential New bio-based polymers have been available in the market for approximately one decade. Recently, standard polymers like polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC or PET, but also highperformance polymers like polyamide or polyester have been totally or partially substituted by their renewable raw materials equivalents. The starting raw materials are usually sugars or starches, partially also recycled materials from food or wood processing. In a jointly commissioned study, recently published by the associations European Bioplastics and the European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence EPNOE, Martin K. Patel, Li Shen and Juliane Haufe (Utrecht University) demonstrate that up to 90 % of the current global consumption of polymers can technically be converted from oil and gas to renewable raw materials. “Bio-based plastics will not substitute oilbased polymers in the near future for several reasons including low oil price, high production cost and restricted production capacity of biomass-based polymers that limit the technically possible growth of these plastics in the coming years“, explains Patrick Navard, Chairman of the Governing Board of EPNOE. Based on recent company announcements the production capacity of bio-based plastics is projected to increase from 360,000 tons in 2007 to about 2.3 million tons by 2013. This corresponds to an annual growth of 37 %. “We should keep a close eye on these figures“, says Hasso von Pogrell, Managing Director of European Bioplastics. “Important major projects were delayed in the years 2008 and 2009 due to the financial and economic crisis. Despite the still uncertain data, which of course has to be further consolidated, we deem such studies to be very essential. The role that lightweight conventional plastics played in the past, substituting durable materials like iron and steel in vast products, could soon be taken over by bio-based plastics. As the study shows, the potential is enormous“, adds von Pogrell. The study discusses for all major groups of bio-based plastics the production process, the material properties and the extent to which they could substitute petrochemical polymers from a technical point of view. Further aspects covered are the prices of these novel materials and their main producers. Three scenarios are distinguished to establish potential future growth trajectories, i.e. a baseline scenario, an optimistic and a conservative scenario. The results for these scenarios are also compared to the findings of a previous study made in 2005. The new study confirms that substantial technological progress has been made in bio-based plastics in the past five years. Innovations in material and product development, environmental benefits as well as the gradual depletion of crude oil increasingly call for polymers made from renewable raw materials. www.european-bioplastics.org www.epnoe.eu bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/09] Vol. 4 5
