Building & Construction
Building & Construction PLA based edgebanding The patented, ecofriendly and green alternative to PVC/ABS/PP edgebanding BioEdge ® is the trade name for the biopolymer edgebanding product made with BioBest ® , a proprietary PLA (Polylactic Acid) based bioplastic material sourced from sugar cane, which has been grown supporting the principles of sustainable agriculture. It is currently the only biobased and biodegrabale edgeband option available today. BioEdge is manufactured in the United States and has been produced by Bio-Plastic Solutions, LLC of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota since 2012. The material make-up is patented by BioPlastic Solutions for use in the building and trade industry. BioEdge edgebanding is a biobased an biodegradable alternative and replacement for PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride), ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene styrene), and PP (Polypropylene) edgebanding to give any building project a green story. This edgebanding is price competitive with and performs as well as PVC, ABS, or PP, plastics without containing the hazardous chemicals of some of these petroleum-based materials. Increasingly over the last few years, governments, organizations, and businesses have publicly committed to reducing the use of environmentally sensitive products and processes. Paired with a multitude of available green building certifications (LEED, WELL, BREEAM etc.), the demand for eco-friendly building materials has never been greater. BioEdge edgebanding is made from sustainably produced PLA from annually renewable crops and is the clear choice for environmentally-conscious architects, builders millwork/casework producers and furniture manufacturers. BioEdge contains as much as 90 % of non-hazardous PLA. The remaining components are free from volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and any items on known red and black lists of hazardous materials for building interiors. PVC plastic contains vinyl chloride and other toxic and carcinogenic plasticizers and additives. According to the US Green Building Council (USGBC), ABS utilizes several hazardous chemicals in its production. Standard plastic hazard classifications show ABS is only slightly less hazardous than PVC. PLA on the other hand does not include any of these same hazardous materials. BioEdge edgebanding does not emit toxic volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), has a low smoke index, and is mechanically and thermally stable. It is the sensible and environmental replacement for PVC, ABS or PP edgebanding and is an ideal fit for standard or green projects in health sensitive facilities such as schools, hospitals, universities, hotels, apartments/dorms, senior centers, and restaurants. It is already in use in many of these facilities across the United States and Canada. BioPlastic Solutions has completed durability testing for this product through a third party. The standard BioEdge recipe was compared in abrasion testing with PVC edgebanding. While both BioEdge and the basic PVC edgebanding tested within one point of each other in average shore D hardness, the PVC edgebanding degraded at over four times the rate of BioEdge patented edgebanding on average. This testing proves out yet another advantage of BioEdge to PVC edgebanding. On top of the environmental advantages of BioEdge over traditional petroleum-based edgebanding on the market today, BioEdge can be produced in small batches with a minimum order of one spool (as little as ~75 m or 250 feet). Most large producers require minimum orders of at least 1,500 m (5,000 ft) of edgebanding for large scale building and renovation projects, providing another advantage with purchasing BioEdge through BioPlastic Solutions. The company currently offers its standard range of solid colors along with industry standards they have previously matched for other projects. Lead time for production can be as low as two weeks for small batch orders (under 1,500 m) of standard colors and colors previously matched to other 24 bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14
Last minue News Kick-off Global PHA Organization: GO!PHA industry standards. For custom color matches, lead time grows to three and a half to four weeks due to timing of matching the color through one of BioPlastic Solutions’ colorant providers. Large scale orders (1,500 m and above) will also fit into the three and a half to four-week timeframe for production, often beating industry competition as well. BioEdge is produced in all industry standard widths up to 15 cm (six inches) and in thicknesses of 0.5mm, 1mm, 2mm and 3mm. For special projects in which a non-standard size is needed, tooling can be created with a lead time of three weeks to be ready for production. In early 2019, BioPlastic Solutions moved into a new production facility three times the size of the previous facility. The company is looking at adding new equipment to its production line, including offering printing of woodgrains and patterns by mid-2019. BioEdge is also looking to complete Greenguard certification through the Greenguard Environmental Institute for indoor air quality in mid-2019. BioEdge has many clear advantages over standard, petroleum-based edgebanding options on the market today and is the only biobased option available. MT www.bioplasticsolutions.com In line with increasing awareness and urgency to work towards a circular economy, companies are continuously looking for suitable alternatives to conventional plastic solutions. In the course of the last 40 years, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) have increasingly gotten attention as a materialplatform that has a big role to play. PHAs are renewable and biodegradable polymers that can add value in numerous applications and end-markets. Following the 1 st PHA Platform World Congress in September 2018, organized by bioplastics MAGAZINE, Jan Ravenstijn, Rick Passenier, Anindya Mukherjee, Michael Carus, and Deebie Symmes have worked together with a leading group of PHA producers and users to create the Global Organization for PHA; GO!PHA; a non-profit organization with the purpose to accelerate the adoption of PHAs across industries and product segments globally. During the kick-off meeting on 21 st March 2019, GO!PHA and its first 18 members, consisting of PHA manufacturers, compounders, research institutes and brand owners, aligned on the concrete contribution areas and its first action agenda. GO!PHA will provide a platform for sharing experiences, knowledge and developments, and will lead initiatives for PHA industry development focusing on: • Communication, policy and legislation • Technical & scientific knowledge advancement • Market perception & proliferation As part of an action-oriented approach, GO!PHA will also engage in common interest research activities that contribute to understanding the potential of PHA as polymer, as ingredient and for specific applications. GO!PHA welcomes all parties that have an interest in PHA and is looking forward to collaborate with other organizations that have similar objectives and are engaged in similar activities. MT Become a member at: www.gopha.org For inquiries and collaborations: info@gopha.org www.gopha.org bioplastics MAGAZINE [02/19] Vol. 14 25
