Content Films | Flexibles | Bags 10 New film bags for fresh food and electronics 11 Dutch Railways and Rwanda choose biodegradable packaging 12 Bioplastics help natural rubber 3D printing 16 What is 3D printing? 18 Biobased Fabrication Network – BioFabNet 19 New bioplastic for 3D printing 19 PLA compounds for 3D printing 20 New tailor-made PLA/PHA compounds for 3D printing 21 Cover-Story 22 PLA/PHA Blend for 3D-Printing 23 Rapid prototyping methods for bio-based plastics 24 Low cost extruder 26 New high performance PLA grades for 3D Printing 27 3D printed PLA egg 28 Different Bioplastics for 3D printing 30 3D printing of a real house 06|2014 November/December From Science & Research 32 Design challenges with biobased plastics Consumer Electronics 40 Biobased color toner 42 Durable plastic for mobile devices 43 Biobased high-performance polyamides for mobile healthcare electronic devices Politics 44 Bagislation in Europe – A (good?) case for biodegradables Basics 48 Next-generation sustainability requires higher product performance Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03 News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 05 - 07 Application News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 - 39 Suppliers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 - 52 Event Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Companies in this issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Imprint Publisher / Editorial Dr. Michael Thielen (MT) Samuel Brangenberg (SB) contributing editor: Karen Laird (KL) Layout/Production Ulrich Gewehr (Dr. Gupta Verlag) Mark Speckenbach (DWFB) 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 Caroline Motyka phone: +49(0)2161-6884467 fax: +49(0)2161 6884468 cm@bioplasticsmagazine.com Print Poligrāfijas grupa Mūkusala Ltd. 1004 Riga, Latvia Total print run: 4,000 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. FDM is a trademark of Stratasys Inc. 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 wrapped in envelopes sponsored by FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, Willich, Germany Cover Cover: Michael Thielen Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/bioplasticsmag Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bioplasticsmagazine
News Corbion Purac to build PLA production plant Corbion Purac, the Netherlands-based global market leader in lactic acid, lactic acid derivatives and lactides, has decided to act on what its CEO Tjerk de Ruijter recently described as an “attractive demand outlook for PLA, albeit at a lower growth pace than previously assumed”. With worldwide PLA capacity almost sold out and with the PLA market expected to grow to 600 kTpa by 2025, the market is seeking additional PLA suppliers – a role that Corbion Purac feels more than competent to fulfill. As De Ruijter pointed out: “Given our strong position in lactic acid, our unique high heat technology and the market need for a second PLA producer, we plan to forward integrate in the bioplastics value chain, from being a lactide provider to a PLA producer.” The company has announced plans to invest in a 75 kTpa PLA plant (estimated EUR 60 million capex) in Thailand, but “only if we can secure at least one-third of plant capacity in committed PLA volumes from customers”, according to De Ruijter. The announcement came at the company’s strategy update conference a few weeks ago, and underscored the revised strategic direction presented there: a focus on strengthening the core business in ingredients for food and biochemicals (Biobased Ingredients), while leveraging the technology to build new business platforms in the biotechnology arena (Biobased Innovations). Corbion is already active in this area, and: “In Biobased Innovations, we have a portfolio with large growth opportunities, which requires significant investments,” noted De Ruijter. Next to its PLA/lactide business, the company is a partner in a succinic acid joint venture with BASF, has developed gypsum-free fermentation technology, is exploring fermentations based on 2 nd generation biomass, and other longer-term development projects. In addition, the company will continue to explore strategic alliances, as a means to enhance the business opportunities while mitigating the associated risks. “We will debottleneck our existing lactic acid asset base, and therefore we do not foresee the need for a major new lactic acid plant in the near term,” said De Ruijter Corbion’s existing polymerization customers, many of whom have already successfully built up a strong local presence, good distribution channels and extensive market coverage, will continue to be supplied with lactides; new PLA polymerization customers are welcome. Lactide sales for the coatings and adhesives markets will also continue. KL Methane as feedstock for lactic acid The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Bioenergy Technologies Office has announced a grant of up to .5 million to Nature- Works, one of the world’s leading suppliers of bioplastics, in support of the company’s ongoing reseach collaboration with Calysta (Menlo Park, California, USA). The project is aimed at achieving the successful sequestering and, via a fermentation process, use of renewable biomethane, a potent greenhouse gas, as a feedstock for the NatureWorks’s Ingeo biopolymers and intermediates. The research and development collaboration with Calysta addresses NatureWorks’ strategic interests in feedstock diversification and a structurally simplified, lower cost Ingeo production platform and leverages Calysta’s Biological Gas-to-Chemicals platform for biological conversion of methane to high value chemicals. For Nature- Works, methane could be an additional feedstock several generations removed from the simple plant sugars used today in a lactic acid fermentation process at the Nature- Works Blair, Nebraska, Ingeo production facility. This June, a year after the joint development program was announced, Calysta demonstrated lab-scale production of lactic acid from methane, a major milestone in the project. Fundamental R&D should be completed in the next two to three years, enabling pilot production in three to five years. A greenhouse gas 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, methane is generated by the natural decomposition of plant materials and is a component of natural gas. Biomethane refers specifically to renewably sourced methane produced from such activities as waste-water treatment, decomposition within landfills, farm wastes, and anaerobic digestion. If successful, the technology could directly produce lactic acid from any of these methane sources. “If proven through this collaboration, methane to lactic acid conversion technology could be revolutionary, providing sustainable alternative feedstocks for Ingeo,” said NatureWorks Ken Williams, Program Leader for the Calysta-NatureWorks collaboration. “When coupled with NatureWorks’ proven commercial process for lactic acid to Ingeo, the methane to lactic acid process would transform a harmful greenhouse gas into useful and in-demand consumer and industrial products. This disruptive platform could support high-value chemicals and liquid fuels. Our team thanks the Bioenergy Technologies Office and is proud to have been recognized by the Department of Energy grant for this NatureWorks and Calysta research collaboration.” KL www.corbion.com www.natureworksllc.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [06/14] Vol. 9 5
