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News daily upated news at www.bioplasticsmagazine.com Partially biobased PP compound for injection molding applications FKuR Kunststoff GmbH (Willich, Germany and Lexington, Texas, USA) is now offering a PP compound partly made from renewable resources which maintains the typical characteristic and performance of PP. The grade offered under the brand name Terralene ® PP 2509 is ideally suitable for injection molding. Terralene compounds are customized blends based on Braskem’s bio-polyethylene I´m Green. The flowability of the new material with an MFR of 42 – 47 [g/10 min], measured at 230 °C (Vicat A), is excellent for a bioplastic. With this material, it’s possible to produce complex parts with long flow paths. “For us, it was important to develop a material which can be easily processed by injection molding, presenting PP characteristics but containing an appealing share of renewable resources“, says Carmen Michels, Managing Director at FKuR and responsible for technology and development. The biobased carbon content of this grade is about 35 % and can be easily quantified by means of a 14 C measuring method (according to ASTM D 6866). This enables a transparent communication of the renewable resource content to the end consumer. With Terralene PP 2509 manufacturers and brand owners are in the position to produce their PP products in a partially biobased version and occupy an important market niche. MT www.fkur.com OLIMAX container in biobased PP for the collection of used cooking oil. Made by Mattiussi Ecologia, Italy European Bioplastics welcomes the European Parliament‘s call for a paradigm shift towards a resource-efficient circular economy European Bioplastics (EUBP) welcomes the European Parliament’s (EP) adoption of the own-initiative report of Finnish MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen on ‘resource efficiency: moving towards a circular economy’. “The European Union needs to use natural resources more efficiently, and the European Parliament’s vote is a strong call for the European Commission to propose the necessary legislation by 2015,” says François de Bie, Chairman of the Board of European Bioplastics. In its report, the EP demands binding waste-reduction and recycling targets and a mandatory separate collection and recycling of biowaste by 2020. Furthermore, the report calls to limit incineration to non-recyclable and non-biodegradable waste, to gradually ban landfilling, and to apply resource-use indicators in support of a 30 % improvement of resource efficiency by 2030. The Commission is also asked to review the current eco-design legislation and other relevant product policy legislation by the end of 2016 with regards to broadening its scope by covering all product groups and establishing minimum recycled material content in new products. While calling for the implementation of an ambitious recycling target of 80 % of all packaging waste by 2030, the MEPs invite the Commission to assess the feasibility of gradually replacing food packaging with biobased and biodegradable, compostable materials in accordance with European standards. Additionally, the Parliament demands to apply the cascading principle for the use of resources, notably biomass. According to the report, these measures could boost the EU’s gross domestic product by nearly one percent and create two million new jobs by 2030. “High-skilled jobs in bioplastic manufacturing, converting, and along the entire bioplastic value chain can be an important part of this growth,” says François de Bie. www.european-bioplastics.org. 6 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/15] Vol. 10
News European Bioplastics elected new Board The industry association European Bioplastics (EUBP) announced that a new Board had been elected by the General Assembly of EUBP members end of June to serve a two-year term. François de Bie (Corbion) has been re-elected for a second term as Chairman of the Board. Mariagiovanna Vetere (NatureWorks) and Stefano Facco (Novamont) have been designated as Vice Chairpersons. Starting off his second term as Chairman of European Bioplastics, François de Bie says: “This is an important time for our industry as we leverage the potentials of bioplastics for the bioeconomy in Europe. Bioplastics can be a major driver to increase resource efficiency and efficient waste management in the envisioned circular economy. Over the past years, European Bioplastics has affirmed its role as an important and trusted player in the advancement of the bioplastics industry across Europe. I am honoured to assume this position and look forward to working closely with the entire board as well as our management team in continuing to push for a politically and economically favourable landscape in Europe for the bioplastics industry to strive in.” Peter Brunk (BIOTEC) is another returning member of the Board. He will serve as treasurer. Michael von Ketteler (BASF), Henri Colens (Braskem), and Christophe Rupp-Dahlem (Roquette) were elected new members of the Board. “On behalf of the entire Board and EUBP team I would like to express a special thanks to Johnny Pallot (Roquette), who will retire later this year, for his contributions to our association as Member of the Board over the past two years and his considerable efforts in advancing standardisation for our industry”, says de Bie. (from left to right): Christophe Rupp-Dahlem (Roquette), François de Bie (Corbion), Henri Colens (Braskem), Mariagiovanna Vetere (NatureWorks), Stefano Facco (Novamont), Peter Brunk (Biotec), and Michael von Ketteler (BASF). © European Bioplastics EUBP represents the interests of the European bioplastics industry. With a current growth rate of around 20 % per year, bioplastics are an innovative sector that can drive economic development and employment across Europe. Most importantly, bioplastics help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can be a major driver in a resource efficient circular economy. www.european-bioplastics.org Liquid Light to further advance its CO 2 -to-MEG Technology Liquid Light (Monmouth Junction, New Jersey) announced it has signed a technology development agreement with The Coca-Cola Company. The objective of the agreement is to accelerate the development of Liquid Light’s technology which can make mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). Liquid Light’s approach enables more efficient use of plant material to make MEG. For example, a bio-ethanol production facility could make bio-MEG from the CO 2 byproduct that results from converting plant material into ethanol. According to Liquid Light with less than US$ 80 per tonne of CO 2 and 1.58 tonnes of CO 2 needed for the production of 1 tonne of MEG, CO 2 is the lowest cost feedstock for MEG. Thus the technology has the potential to reduce both the environmental footprint and the cost of producing MEG. MEG is one of the components used to make renewably sourced PET, e. g. for Coca-Cola‘s PlantBottle. Additional details of the agreement were not being disclosed at this time. MT www.llchemical.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/15] Vol. 10 7
