Bioplastics and plastics recycling
We cannot imagine our daily life without plastics. Generally, the day starts and ends with a toothbrush, typically completely made of plastics. Plastics take over varying tasks, like packaging for the protection of food or medicine ensuring the products’ hygiene and durability. As plastics barely conduct heat, houses are isolated with corresponding insulating materials to avoid heat loss. Polymer components almost do not corrode, are light-weighted but durable and thus are resistant to many outside influences over a long period. Apparel made of synthetic fiber textiles or of synthetic fiber components can provide comfortable wearability properties as well as functionalities such as water repellency and/or breathability.
However, we should not oversee the disadvantages of polymers and their occurring hazards. Immediate advantageous properties, like outstanding durability, could be a tremendous disadvantage if it is disposed in nature. Then, polymers are only degraded extremely slowly in nature and will remain as waste for centuries to come. In addition, we can nowadays find nano plastic particles everywhere: added in toothpaste or detergents, to improve its cleaning impact, or in cosmetics to boost the covering power.

Biopolymers make the difference
Next to these environmental and health hazards, there remain other non-solved functionality deficiencies related to petro-chemical plastics. For instance, compound systems from different plastics are required to achieve varied barrier effects in packaging to protect food. These systems lead to a limited recyclability and lastly to a “downcycling”, as these materials, produced at great effort, cannot be separated at their end of life.
Therefore, it is important to substitute petro-chemical plastic products with environmentally friendly alternatives at large scale as soon as possible. These alternatives must ensure the positive application properties of plastic materials in daily use and must not lead to the mentioned, negative environmental impacts and health hazards. “Bioplastics” lend themselves as these alternatives due to their nearly similar characteristics, related material properties and manufacturing processes. On top of that, we can expect properties (e.g., barrier effects) of certain biopolymers that cannot be met by petro-chemical plastics. The most well-known, technically usable, bio-based polymers comprise polylactide (PLA), polybutyl-succinate (PBS), an polysaccharides like starch and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA).
Networks
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BioPlastik
In the “BioPlastik” cooperation network, partners from industry and academia work together under the management of IBB Netzwerk GmbH. The…
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Plastics Recycling
With the newly established “Plastics Recycling” network, we would like to represent the entire value chain. Thus, among others, suppliers…
News
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With the aim of taking the worldwide first lignin-based bioaerogels developed by aerogel-it to the next level, aerogel-it and Fibenol have collaborated to use the Fibenol biomaterial LIGNOVA as a…
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Swiss Start-Up “Mirai Foods” produces first cultivated tender steak
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UPM Biochemicals und HAERTOL Chemie GmbH geben strategische Partnerschaft zur Entwicklung neuer nachhaltiger Kühlmittel bekannt
10.02.2023NewsUPM Biochemicals und die HAERTOL Chemie GmbH gaben eine Entwicklungspartnerschaft bekannt, die die Einführung erneuerbarer, nachhaltiger Materialien aus der Forstwirtschaft auf dem Automobilmarkt…
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BRAIN Biotech and AMSilk cooperate to develop high-performance bio-based protein fibers
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Cleantech Group recognizes 100 exceptional innovators for a Net Zero world from 15,735 submissions
Events
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29. ‐ 30. Mar 2023
Sustainable Feedstocks for the Future of Chemicals & Plastics
29.11.2022EventsMarch 29 — 30th 2023 | Rotterdam
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April, 19th- 20th 2023 | Cologne (hybrid)
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May, 7th — 10th 2023 | Copenhagen