Bioplastics to double from 2010 to 2015

Global production is expected to pass 1 million tonnes in 2011, according to industry association European Bioplastics, up from 700,000 in 2010 to reach 1.7 million in 2015, based on current trends. Biodegradable biobased plastics initially dominated production and will continue to grow strongly, however biobased commodity plastics (which are not classed as biodegradable) are expected to overtake biodegradable plastics by 2015. They claim the expansion of bioplastics into an increasing range of applications will fuel this growth. While Europe is the largest market for bioplastics and the biggest R&D player, most production (and growth) is taking place in Asia and South America; the organization encourages European governments to support local bioplastic production.

Zeachem partner with Procter and Gamble to develop drop-in biobased chemical platform

ZeaChem Inc. announced a joint development agreement with Procter & Gamble to maximize the sustainability of P&G’s products and packaging. ZeaChem specialize in biomass-to-chemical refineries, using renewable feedstocks such as poplar and biobased fermentation technologies, which they claim produces high yields and low carbon emissions. The agreement centers on ZeaChem’s C2 platform which produces “drop in” biobased chemicals such as acetic acid, ethyl acetate and ethylene glycol which are used in a number of P&G products. Together ZeaChem and P&G will develop and scale-up the platform, so that P&G will have a reliable supply of renewable materials for their own manufacturing processes.

Bioplastics are in first place for the London Olympics

Organizers have decided that compostable materials, such as starch and cellulose derived bioplastics will be widespread in food packaging at the 2012 London Olympics. It is estimated that 3,300 tonnes of tood packaging waste will be created during the Olympics; John Williams, Head of Materials and Energy at the NNFCC (National Non-Food Crops Centre) claims that this gives “a unique opportunity to showcase the benefits of using compostable packaging, particularly for food, and recovering its stored energy at end-of-life using anaerobic digestion.” The NNFCC has been working closely with organizers to minimize the amount of waste that goes to landfill after the Games; setting a target for at least 70% of waste to be recycled. “Using renewable materials at the Olympics is a great way to demonstrate to the public how seriously the packaging industry is taking sustainability,” says Andy Sweetman, Chairman of the European Bioplastics Association.

Agrivida’s GM crops with built in cellulases might make ethanol cheaper

Agrivida has created genetic technology, dubbed GreenGenes, which causes a crop to begin producing a cocktail of cellulose-degrading enzymes. These enzymes will be activated after the crop is harvested to increase the yield of ethanol from this biomass when it is fermented; the sugar content can increase 50% in some crop species using GreenGenes. Crops engineered this way would make cellulosic ethanol production cheaper as the enzymes are produced by the crops themselves, improving yield with minimal changes to existing processing technology.  

Enerkem secures $59 million in financing

Enerkem Inc has secured financing from an intriguing mix of investors such as Valero Energy Corp, Waste Management, Rho Ventures, Braemar Energy Ventures and Cycle Capital to a total of $59 million.  Vincent Chornet, CEO of Enerkem, stated that “With Valero joining Waste Management as a strategic investor, Enerkem becomes one of the very few renewable products companies that is aligned with industry leaders from both upstream and downstream parts of the business”. This waste-to biofuel/chemicals company plans to use the money to invest in 10 ethanol plants throughout the Midwest and future projects.

A*Star’s enzyme tech can convert unrefined vegetable oils to Biodiesel

After degrading fats into fatty acids, they can be reacted with methanol to produce Biodiesel. If enzymes are used for this reaction, they are usually destroyed by methanol but A*star’s Chemical and Engineering Sciences Department found a way to keep the enzyme separate from the methanol during the reaction. This means that using their method, enzymes can be used to speed up the reaction and increase the yield. The main benefit of this technique, however, is that it will work on vegetable oils that have not been purified and refined; allowing the production process to be simplified and made cheaper to run. Researchers at A*Star are continuing to develop this technology for industrial production.  

Braskem green plastic qualifies for the Ok Biobased seal

The OK Biobased seal is a symbol from Vinçotte, designed to identify products which meet their criteria for being renewably sourced, and is one of the most widely recognized certifications for Biobased products. Braskem’s high and low density green polyethylene (produced from bioethanol), meets these criteria and received the highest quality rating Vinçotte offers. It is fully recyclable, renewable and captures 2.5 tons of CO2 per ton of plastic produced.