Content Editorial
Content Editorial ...................................3 News ..................................5 - 10 Events ..............................11, 41, 49 Application News .......................35 - 37 Material News .............................23 Suppliers Guide ........................46 - 48 Event Calendar .............................49 Companies in this issue .....................50 04|2013 July/August Materials 22 New biobased EPDM grades 24 Bio-PA for handheld devices 25 Biobased acrylic acid 26 PLA without metallic catalysts From Science & Research 28 Bio-Composites Bottle Applications 30 Bioplastic bottles from plant starch 31 Coke‘s bio-PET is expanding 32 Bottles made from Bio-Polyethylene 34 New partner joins PEF bottle development Building / Construction 12 Biobased Plastics for Exterior Facades 16 Global Trends in Wood-Plastic Composites (WPC) 18 Biodegradable Green Foam: The Building Material of the Future 20 New ecological elegance: architectural panels of PLA Applications 38 The New Way to Drink Coffee 39 100% renewable bio-resins for canoes Basics/Opinion 42 Food or non-food — Which agricultural feedstocks are best for industrial uses? Imprint Publisher / Editorial Dr. Michael Thielen (MT) Samuel Brangenberg (SB) Contributing editor: Karen Laird (KL) Layout/Production Julia Hunold, Christos Stavrou Mark Speckenbach Head Office Polymedia Publisher GmbH Dammer Str. 112 41066 Mönchengladbach, Germany phone: +49 (0)2161 6884469 fax: +49 (0)2161 6884468 info@bioplasticsmagazine.com www.bioplasticsmagazine.com Media Adviser Elke Hoffmann, Caroline Motyka phone: +49(0)2161-6884467 fax: +49(0)2161 6884468 eh@bioplasticsmagazine.com Print Tölkes Druck + Medien GmbH 47807 Krefeld, Germany Total Print run:3,300 copies bioplastics magazine ISSN 1862-5258 bM is published 6 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (149 Euro for 6 issues). bioplastics MAGAZINE is printed on chlorine-free FSC certified paper. bioplastics MAGAZINE is read in 91 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. Envelopes A part of this print run is mailed to the readers in envelopes sponsored by BIOTEC GmbH & Co. KG Cover Coverphoto: Philipp Thielen Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/bioplasticsmag Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/bioplastics-MAGAZINE/103745406344904
News New ThyssenKrupp Uhde plant Europe’s first multi-purpose fermentation plant for the continuous production of bio-based chemicals was inaugurated in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt/Germany on July 10. Built at a cost of around 20 million euros, the facility will enable ThyssenKrupp Uhde to further expand its research and development activities in the area of biochemicals based on renewable raw materials. Among other things, these biochemicals are used as starting materials for biodegradable plastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS). Bioplastics are ideal for processing into packaging materials, films and textiles. It is expected that some 4.5 million tons of polyethylene (PET) a year will be replaced by bioplastics in the coming years, helping reduce environmental impact and conserve resources. ThyssenKrupp CEO Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger sees significant market potential: “Modern biotechnology is one of the key technologies of the 21 st century. Biotechnological processes, products and services play a role in almost all areas of our daily lives – for example in the development of new medicines, plant varieties, detergents and cosmetics. Industrial biotechnology is part of our growth strategy. ThyssenKrupp has extensive expertise in this area – from basic research to the operation of industrial-scale pilot plants.” An interdisciplinary team of engineers and scientists from ThyssenKrupp Uhde worked for five years to develop a licensable process for the production of lactic acid. The company’s technical center for research into biochemicals was relocated from Leipzig to Leuna in August 2012. The multi-purpose fermentation plant inaugurated in July will enable ThyssenKrupp Uhde to test its laboratory-developed fermentation and processing technologies on an industrial scale: More than 1,000 tonnes of biochemicals such as lactic acid and succinic acid can now be produced at this facility annually. MT www.thyssenkrupp-uhde.de Novamont launched 4 th generation of Mater-Bi Novamont (Novara, Italy) recently unveiled the first product made from 4 th generation Mater-Bi ® , their family of biodegradable and compostable bioplastics, which a press release describes to “go beyond the product itself and become an opportunity to develop circular bioeconomies. It also aims to stimulate reindustrialisation through the development of integrated Biorefineries”. The industrialisation of two new highly innovative technologies will make it possible to produce two monomers from renewable sources. The first, from the vegetable oil production chain, is obtained using a completely new technology which transforms oils into azelaic acid and other acids through a chemical process. The other, 1.4 BDO (Butanediol), comes from the fermatation of sugars using technology licensed from Genomatica for which Novamont, through its subsidiary MaterBiotech, is building the world’s first dedicated plant. The new generation of materials combines two already consolidated technologies of complexed starches and polyesters from oils and the new technologies and can be used for a wide range of applications, including flexible and rigid films, coatings, printing, extrusion and thermoforming. It contains an even higher proportion of renewable raw materials and an even lower level of greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil raw materials. Novamont presented the roadmap for future generations of Mater-Bi products at the European Bioplastics Conference 2009 in Berlin. It has pursued these objectives by creating a system of alliances, with investments of around €300 million, and it is developing two plants which will be the first of their kind anywhere in the world: • at Porto Torres, Italy, within the scope of Matrìca, the equal joint venture between Novamont and Eni Versalis, for the production of azelaic acid from vegetable oil in addition to a wide range of chemicals; • at Bottrighe, Italy, through its subsidiary MaterBiotech, for the production of 1.4 Butanediol “As well as confirming our leading position in low environmental impact technologies and products, (this) announcement marks an important milestone in our longterm strategy for developing the Novamont model of the integrated third-generation biorefinery, based on connected proprietary technologies applied to declining industrial sites. In Europe these sites can become catalysts for the regeneration of areas which are currently facing serious difficulties, as part of a regional development model with local roots and a global vision, encouraging entrepreneurship and teaching about the efficient use of resources through a genuine school on the ground. I am convinced that integrated Biorefineries that focus on a number of value added products represent a virtuous way of interpreting the concept of Bioeconomy and a real opportunity for our country and for Europe,” said Catia Bastioli, CEO of Novamont. MT www.novamont.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/13] Vol. 8 5
