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GET THE APP NOW download free of charge* Via the new App you read bioplastics MAGAZINE sooner on your mobile device Not only on a tablet, but also on your smartphone you can easily read bioplastics MAGAZINE Be informed quicker: read bioplastics MAGAZINE a week before the print edition is mailed More features: find links to additional material like PDFs, videoclips, photos etc. Easy navigation: digital version, optimized for tablets and smartphones Includes a Twitter Feed about our daily online news * Contents may become restricted to subscribers or subject to additonal fees at a later stage. 30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/18] Vol. 13
Materials New biocomposite for thermally formable products VTT, Espoo, Finland, has developed a thermally formable, biodegradable material, which is 100 % biobased. Its suitability for applications such as furniture makes it an attractive alternative to wood and biocomposite materials available in the market, not only because of its biodegradability but also due to its formability and colouring properties. Biocomposites made from entirely biobased raw materials can be used to replace fossil raw material derived plastics, which have traditionally been used in industrial applications. Being thermoformable, the material is well suited for various manufacturing processes and products. “All the goals we set were achieved: the material is 100 % biobased, cellulose fibres account for a significant proportion, it looks good and it has excellent performance characteristics”, says Lisa Wikström, Research Team Leader from VTT. At the end of their life-cycle, products made from this material can either be re-used, composted, or burned to generate energy without any fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions making it kind of “renewable energy”. “New biobased, thermally formable materials and composites are a promising alternative for the plastic products market. However, a big breakthrough is yet to come. A major shift requires cooperation between material and process developers as well as designers,” Wikström concludes. The first model product is a designer chair manufactured as a joint effort between VTT, Plastec Finland and KO- HO Industrial design (Jurva, Finland). The chair, manufactured using traditional compounding and injection moulding technologies, is made from wood-based cellulose fibres, renewable and industrially compostable, thermoformable polylactide, and biobased additives. VTT developed the material in the ACEL research programme funded by Clic Innovations Ltd. (Helsinki, Finland) and the proof of concept stage was carried out with Plastec Finland an injection moulding company from Vimpeli. www.vtt.fi bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/18] Vol. 13 31
