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News daily upated news at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com DIN CERTCO first certification body to include newest French compostability standard DIN CERTCO is once again leading the way with NF T 51-800 - certification of home compostable products. ‘We open the door for your market acceptance in France’. For the past several years, DIN CERTCO has engaged in the conformity assessment of plastic products made of compostable materials suitable for home composting. These products may then be granted DIN- Geprüft [DIN-tested] home compostable accreditation and licensed to bear the DIN-Geprüft conformity mark. In June 2015, DIN CERTCO became the first certification organization in the world to extend the range of biobased certification standards to include the International Standard series ISO 16620, which was released in April 2015: Now, the organization has done it again: in addition to the well-known Australian Standard AS 5810, it recently became the first certification body in the world to add the new French standard NF T 51-800 to its certification scheme. DIN CERTCO has now extended the range of home compostable standards with the French Standard NF T 51-800 released in November 2015: the NF T 51-800:2015-11: Plastics – Specifications for plastics suitable for home composting. According to this standard, materials, intermediates and end-consumer products can now be certified. In France, even single-use carrier bags with wall thicknesses of less than 50 µm are required to comply with this standard from July 1 st 2016. All certification schemes and other relevant documents can be found at the website. KL www.dincertco.de Silk coating keeps fruit fresh without refrigeration Half of the world’s fruit and vegetable crops are lost during the food supply chain, due mostly to premature deterioration of these perishable foods, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Tufts University (USA) biomedical engineers have demonstrated that fruits can stay fresh for more than a week without refrigeration if they are coated in an odorless, biocompatible silk solution so thin as to be virtually invisible. The approach is a promising alternative for preservation of delicate foods using a naturally derived material and a water-based manufacturing process. (The work is reported in the May 6 issue of Scientific Reports.) Silk’s unique crystalline structure makes it one of nature’s toughest materials. Fibroin, an insoluble protein found in silk, has a remarkable ability to stabilize and protect other materials while being fully biocompatible and biodegradable. For the study, researchers dipped freshly picked strawberries in a solution of 1 % silk fibroin protein; the coating process was repeated up to four times. The silk fibroin-coated fruits were then treated for varying amounts of time with water vapor under vacuum (water annealed) to create varying percentages of crystalline beta-sheets in the coating. The longer the exposure, the higher the percentage of beta-sheets and the more robust the fibroin coating. The coating was 27 to 35 µm thick. The strawberries were then stored at room temperature. Uncoated berries were compared over time with berries dipped in varying numbers of coats of silk that had been annealed for different periods of time. At seven days, the berries coated with the higher beta-sheet silk were still juicy and firm while the uncoated berries were dehydrated and discolored. Tests showed that the silk coating prolonged the freshness of the fruits by slowing fruit respiration, extending fruit firmness and preventing decay. Similar experiments were performed on bananas, which, unlike strawberries, are able to ripen after they are harvested. The silk coating decreased the bananas’ ripening rate compared with uncoated controls and added firmness to the fruit by preventing softening of the peel. The thin, odorless silk coating did not affect fruit texture. Taste was not studied. “Various therapeutic agents could be easily added to the water-based silk solution used for the coatings, so we could potentially both preserve and add therapeutic function to consumable goods without the need for complex chemistries,” said the study’s first author, Benedetto Marelli, Ph.D. (MIT). KL/MT source: http://bit.ly/1symr2h 6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/16] Vol. 11
Market study on Bio-based Building Blocks and Polymers in the World Capacities, Production and Applications: Status Quo and Trends towards 2020 NEW: Buy the most comprehensive trend reports on bio-based polymers – and if you are not satisfied, give it back! Bio-based polymers: Worldwide production capacity will triple from 5.7 million tonnes in 2014 to nearly 17 million tonnes in 2020. The data show a 10% growth rate from 2012 to 2013 and even 11% from 2013 to 2014. However, growth rate is expected to decrease in 2015. Consequence of the low oil price? million t/a Bio-based polymers: Evolution of worldwide production capacities from 2011 to 2020 20 actual data forecast The new third edition of the well-known 500 page-market study and trend reports on “Bio-based Building Blocks and Polymers in the World – Capacities, Production and Applications: Status Quo and Trends Towards 2020” is available by now. It includes consistent data from the year 2012 to the latest data of 2014 and the recently published data from European Bioplastics, the association representing the interests of Europe’s bioplastics industry. Bio-based drop-in PET and the new polymer PHA show the fastest rates of market growth. Europe looses considerable shares in total production to Asia. The bio-based polymer turnover was about € 11 billion worldwide in 2014 compared to € 10 billion in 2013. http://bio-based.eu/markets © 15 10 5 2011 -Institut.eu | 2015 2% of total polymer capacity, €11 billion turnover 2012 Epoxies PE 2013 PUR PBS 2014 CA PBAT 2015 PET PA 2016 PTT PHA 2017 PEF 2018 Starch Blends EPDM PLA 2019 2020 Full study available at www.bio-based.eu/markets The nova-Institute carried out this study in collaboration with renowned international experts from the field of bio-based building blocks and polymers. The study investigates every kind of bio-based polymer and, for the second time, several major building blocks produced around the world. What makes this report unique? ■ The 500 page-market study contains over 200 tables and figures, 96 company profiles and 11 exclusive trend reports written by international experts. ■ These market data on bio-based building blocks and polymers are the main source of the European Bioplastics market data. ■ In addition to market data, the report offers a complete and in-depth overview of the biobased economy, from policy to standards & norms, from brand strategies to environmental assessment and many more. ■ A comprehensive short version (24 pages) is available for free at http://bio-based.eu/markets To whom is the report addressed? ■ The whole polymer value chain: agro-industry, feedstock suppliers, chemical industry (petro-based and bio-based), global consumer industries and brands owners ■ Investors ■ Associations and decision makers Content of the full report This 500 page-report presents the findings of nova-Institute’s market study, which is made up of three parts: “market data”, “trend reports” and “company profiles” and contains over 200 tables and figures. The “market data” section presents market data about total production capacities and the main application fields for selected bio-based polymers worldwide (status quo in 2011, 2013 and 2014, trends and investments towards 2020). This part not only covers bio-based polymers, but also investigates the current biobased building block platforms. The “trend reports” section contains a total of eleven independent articles by leading experts Order the full report The full report can be ordered for 3,000 € plus VAT and the short version of the report can be downloaded for free at: www.bio-based.eu/markets NEW: Buy the trends reports separately! Contact Dipl.-Ing. Florence Aeschelmann +49 (0) 22 33 / 48 14-48 florence.aeschelmann@nova-institut.de in the field of bio-based polymers. These trend reports cover in detail every important trend in the worldwide bio-based building block and polymer market. The final “company profiles” section includes 96 company profiles with specific data including locations, bio-based building blocks and polymers, feedstocks and production capacities (actual data for 2011, 2013 and 2014 and forecasts for 2020). The profiles also encompass basic information on the companies (joint ventures, partnerships, technology and bio-based products). A company index by biobased building blocks and polymers, with list of acronyms, follows.
