Report Spanish project
Report Spanish project will develop customized materials New customized compostable materials for the manufacture of tableware, packages and single-use bags In recent years, the legislation regulating waste management has focused on reducing the environmental impact of packaging and its waste with specific provisions that foster the use of compostable bags, such as the French directive that, since the beginning of 2020, will ban the use of disposable tableware if not a minimum amount of 50 % of the material used for its man- ufacture is derived from renewable sources and the materials are not compostable in home composting. In Spain, a Royal Decree project will force to spread the concept of biodegradable to compostable. In this legislative context and a lack of a sufficiently w i d e range of materials covering the needs required by the (Generic picture) market and being an adequate alternative to conventional plastic materials, the Spanish project BIO+ will develop customized materials responding to these needs. The project Bio+ companies manufacturing singleuse products, led by the bag manufacturer PICDA and coordinated by AIMPLAS (both from Valencia, Spain) collaborate with other centres and universities. The main objective of the project is to develop customized compostable materials for mass-market single-use products complying with the current legislation and with the same functional requirements as products made from traditional plastic materials and at competitive cost. For that purpose, tasks are being carried out to realize the biodegradation of different products with view to their end of life. Thus, for single-use packages and disposable tableware, which are normally contaminated with food scraps, a compostability in ‘home compost’ conditions is to be achieved. For single-use bags that wrongly managed may end in the environment, rivers and subsequently the oceans, a biodegradability in marine environment is to be sought. The consortium of the project is led by PICDA specialized in extrusion of plastic bags of different formats, and Granzplast (Corbera, Valencia, Spain), engaged in the manufacture of customized plastic compounds for injection and extrusion technologies. In order to tackle the developments in disposable household items developed, the companies Nupik (Polinyà, Barcelona, Spain), leader in the manufacture of disposable household items and Perez Cerdá Plastics (Castalla, Alicante, Spain), specialized in tasks of plastics injection applied their knowledges in singleuse injected household items (cutlery and cups). The consortium is completed with companies addressing the developments in single-use packaging, such as Indesla (Biar, Alacant, Spain), manufacturer of packages for the fruit and vegetable and food sectors and Thermolympic (Utebo, Zaragoza, Spain), a company dedicated to the injection of thermoplastics that, in this project, will tackle the development of packages for catering. Moreover, the consortium has the support of three technology centres such as Aimplas, AITIIP and CETIM and the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), which will provide scientific and technical support to the companies taking part in R&D tasks. The project BIO+ has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness through the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) through the call aimed at funding the strategic programme for national business research consortia (CIEN 2017 programme) and with grant number SOL-00103164. MT www.aimplas.net 36 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/18] Vol. 13
Materials Sun protection cosmetics made with PHB bioplastic Save the date see page 10-11 for details Bio-on (Bologna, Italy), recently presented a brand-new line of cosmetic ingredients for sun protection made from its 100% natural and biodegradable PHB bioplastic. The new products are part of the minerv bio cosmetics family of bioplastic micro powders presented in spring 2017 and designed for cosmetics that respect the environment and human health. This latest innovation is a series of high-performing SPF (Sun Protection Factor) Boosters designed to improve sun protection products. Increased awareness of the harm caused by exposure to sunlight is accelerating the number of products with UV filters released on the market. Their purpose is to screen against UV radiation: UV-B rays, the most common cause of sun erythema and sunburn, and UV-A rays, which are responsible for more serious long-term effects: blood vessel damage, photoaging, photocarcinogenesis. What people ignore is that, unfortunately, organic UV filters can be phototoxic and photounstable. The main goal of the scientific community is to find a way to limit their concentration in cosmetics formulas without compromising performance. This is where the new SPF Booster line developed for the minerv bio cosmetics brand comes in. These ingredients (micro powders made from biodegradable PHB microscopic spheres or capsules) are designed to significantly reduce the percentage of UV filters used in the sun protection product and boost waterresistance. The minerv bio cosmetics portfolio, which already includes texturizing powders for skin care and make-up, mattifiers, scrubs, and micro capsules for the controlled release of active substances, ideal for anti-ageing treatments, is now extended to include: • minervPHB Riviera an SPF Booster suitable for all solar formulations • minervPHB Riviera Plus an innovative SPF Booster, enriched with antioxidants, ideal for total care products (skin care, make-up, hair care). “Riviera represents another building block in our green cosmetics revolution,” says Marco Astorri, Bio-on Chairman and CEO, “to make the personal care market truly sustainable and fully respect the ocean and the land. By continuing to find new solutions for the cosmetics sector, our company is setting a new standard thanks to our PHBs bioplastic.” “The Riviera line is a success story from our Powder Boutique,” explains Paolo Saettone, Managing Director of the Bio-on CNS Business Unit, “a site dedicated to advanced research, where our scientists play with our versatile biopolymer like tailors play with fabrics, seeking out the perfect morphology and technology to maximise performance. This fine work has created the Riviera micro particles, which are the perfect scattering centre element for UV rays.” All the PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates) developed by Bio-on are made from renewable plant sources with no competition with food supply chains. They can replace a number of conventional polymers currently made with petrochemical processes using hydrocarbons; they guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties as conventional plastics with the advantage of being completely eco-sustainable and 100% naturally biodegradable. Starting in summer 2018, all minerv bio cosmetics products will be made by Bio-on Plants, Bio-on’s first industrial plant dedicated to the production of cosmetic ingredients. Located in Castel San Pietro Terme (Bologna), it will produce 1000 tons/year of PHB micro powders over an area of 3,000 m2 with an overall investment of 20 million Euro. MT www.minerv-biocosmetics.com | www.bio-on.it bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/18] Vol. 13 37
