NPE
NPE 2018 The Plastics Show, May 7-11, Orlando, Florida, USA, was again the largest plastics show in North America that attracted plastics producers converters, scientists and otherwise involved visitors from around the world. This show was the largest in history, with more than 2,180 exhibiting companies showcasing innovations in plastics in more than 111,000 m² of exhibit space on the tradeshow floor. PLASTICS, the US Plastics Industry Association estimated a total of about 65,000 attendees. And bioplastics were again well represented. Of course, a handful of the good 50 exhibitors that we announced in the last issue didn’t have anything about bioplastics in their portfolio, although listed in the official catalogue… . But those that did show bioplastics related products and services were well known protagonists as well as newcomers in this industry. In the following paragraphs we will introduce just a few highlights. 2018 NPE Review Danimer Scientific Danimer Scientific, Bainbridge, Georgia, USA, is a pioneer in creating more sustainable, more natural ways to make plastic products. For more than a decade, their renewable and sustainable biopolymers have helped create plastic products that are biodegradable and compostable. One product Danimer presented at NPE that, among many others, caught the attention of bioplastics MAGAZINE, was a flexible snack packaging for PepsiCo. It is the 2nd generation made of a proprietary formulation from Danimer which contains PLA and other biopolymers and it is industrially compostable. Brad Rodgers, Global R&D Director – Food Packaging Discovery of PepsiCo however mentioned that it’s working with Danimer Scientific to create a biobased film from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) – the 3 rd generation – so to say. Brad stated that PepsiCo has been researching and developing biobased flexible packaging for more than 10 years. And the results of their research made them believe that PHA will have some significant performance and environmental advantages once it’s at scale. “We are pleased and honored that PepsiCo has chosen to work with Danimer Scientific for their packaging applications,” said Scott Tuten, Chief Marketing Officer at Danimer Scientific, “the future for biopolymers continues to grow tremendously with forward thinking companies like PepsiCo leading the way. Save the date c2renew c2renew Corporation (Colfax, North Dakota, USA) develops proprietary biocomposite formulations that satisfy demanding engineering specifications. With their technology customers can take advantage of lower-cost, renewable resources while meeting, maintaining, and even improving upon the mechanical properties required. With biocomposite materials made of recycled plastics and locally sourced agricultural byproducts, c2renew materials support both the environment and the community. On top of designing the material, the company also provides a range of engineering services. Their team of experienced engineers will guide businesses through every step of the design, manufacturing, and testing process, ensuring the plastic or composites components are developed effectively and to the customer’s specifications. At NPE c3renew showed, among others, a few unique formulations demonstrated with equally unique samples. c2PLA – Coffee is a PLA compound with coffee residuals (coffee chaff, the dried skin of coffee beans, the husk, which comes off during the roasting process). The compound is up to 40 % filled and provides an aromatic hint of coffee that emanates from the compound. The coffee mug on the picture is made of this material. The beer stein is made of a similar compound filled with residues from the beer brewing process. Dried Destillers Grains? “Something similar,” as CEO Corey Kratcha told bioplastics MAGAZINE at their booth. Other compounds include c2PLA-Blue (PLA/flax shive, coloured) and c2PLA-Natural (PLA/flax shive), and c2HIPS (HIPS / heat stabilized biomass), that can be used up to the degradation temperature of HIPS (high impact polystyrene) without any off-degassing. www.c2renew.com www.danimerscientific.com see page 10-11 for details 42 bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/18] Vol. 13
NPE Review NatureWorks From coffee capsules to food serviceware, home appliances, and innovative 3D printing solutions, NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minneapolis, USA) has been leading application innovations from biomaterials since 1989. The products NatureWorks displayed at NPE demonstrated how Ingeo PLA can be tailored to enhance performance attributes critical to performance. These attributes include barrier properties, heat and impact resistance, and thermoformability, all while embracing the concepts of a low-carbon circular economy. Recently, NatureWorks reached the milestone of 900,000 tonnes (2 bn pounds) of Ingeo biopolymer sold globally via its comprehensive portfolio of 33 grades. These grades are converted into thousands of consumer and industrial products across dozens of industries. A project, that NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minneapolis, USA) have worked on for a couple of years was presented at NPE: Thermoformed refrigerator liners made of from Ingeo PLA. While keeping the insulation polyurethane foam the same, Oak Ridge National Laboratories found that by replacing the HIPS-liner with a new Ingeo PLA liner, the energy consumption is reduced by 7 to 13%. Over the lifetime of a refrigerator this will save a significant amount of energy. “If all refrigerators sold in the USA in 2018 used INGEO liners, the lifetime energy savings are equal to running an average power plant for 3.2 years”, says Frank Diodato of NatureWorks. Fostag, Viappiani Viappiani Printing presented an innovative application for the production of IML labeled compostable coffee capsules. The exhibit was run on a Netstal injection machine with a mould from Fostag, a robot from Beck Automation and IML labels from Viappiani Printing. The coffee capsule is injection moulded with PLA. To close the green circle of sustainability, the capsule is decorated with an in-mould label which is printed by Viappiani on a special PLA film. This way a mono component PLA capsule is obtained, which is fully conform to the EN 13432 norm regarding industrial composting. The exhibit combines the need for a green alternative for capsules, with an improved packaging performance compared to commonly used plastic materials in terms of both mechanical and barrier properties. The combination with high-end decoration given by the IML technology fully integrates the PLA label into the frame of compostability needs, and provides 360 degree labelling with highest offset quality. Viappiani Printing is specialized in the production of IML labels which are successfully sold all over the world since more than 35 years. www.fostag.com | www.biomebioplastics.com | www.viappiani.it 780 [kWh/yr] Total Energy Use 740 700 660 620 0 3 6 9 12 15 Energy consumption was modeled under two assumptions: Unchanged (UC):The Ingeo liner unless punctured will retain a flat, low level of conductivity through the life of the refrigerator. Exponential (Exp): The Ingeo liner will eventually reach the higher level of conductivity performance associated with HIPS. In addition, there is no sacrificing of the inner capacity of the refrigerators. The PLA liner is ten times glossier than the HIPS version and it offers improved resistance to food oils and fats. The inherent stiffness of PLA provides additional structural integrity to the liners. Ingeo PLA systems do not contain styrene or any chemicals of concern. www.natureworksllc.com Years HIPS Ingeo EXP. Ingeo UC Croda Croda Polymer Additives, headquartered in Snaith, UK, presented additives for biopolymers. Depending on the polymer type and grade, biopolymers can exhibit a number of problems including high friction (adhesion), limited impact properties and heat resistance, and they can require enhancements in melt strength and other properties. Croda offer a range of additives that are suitable for use in biobased polymers that can help overcome most of these issues, including slip and anti-block, mould release, torque release, anti-static, anti-fog and UV-absorption. Croda’s slip additives for polyester based biopolymers for example can improve overall processability in PLA film and sheet manufacturing and during injection moulding by decreasing friction up to 50%, improving mould release and packaging density of moulded parts. The scratch and scuff resistance can be improved as well as the surface quality. And final also the pigment dispersion and melt flow during processing can be improved. All these additives have minimal impact on colour, clarity and physical properties of the biopolymers. www.crodapolymeradditives.com bioplastics MAGAZINE [03/18] Vol. 13 43
