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Biobased plastics

What are biobased plastics?

Plastics are one of the most common products in our daily life. They are found in applications as diverse as packaging material, in building and construction, in the electrical industry, automotives, furniture, household goods, clothing and agriculture. Plastics have been traditionally produced using chemical processes and fossil-derived oil as a raw material. However increasing volatility in the cost of oil, coupled with widespread awareness of the adverse environmental impacts of traditional plastics has provided a significant impetus to find alternatives to these materials.

Biobased plastics are plastics which are fully or partially made from renewable resources, often with the help of biotechnology, and encompass a range of different materials with different functionalities. Biobased plastics can be produced either in the plants themselves (for example starch, cellulose), or through the polymerisation of plant-based sugars and oils (for example polylactic acid, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate).

Some plastics are fully biobased and may be biodegradable, such as starch and polyhydroxyalkanoates; some may be partially biobased and biodegradable such as polylactic acid and cellulose, whereas others may be partially biobased and non-biodegradable such as bio–polyethylene tetraphlate, bio-polypropylene and bio-polyethylene. Thus, whether a biobased plastic degrades or not is not a function of its biobased content, but a result of its unique physical properties.

It is estimated that between 85% of the plastics on the market today could be substituted by biobased plastics. Many biobased plastics could be processed using the same technologies as for fossil based plastics with some modifications to the processing parameters.

In 2011, 3.5 million tons of biobased polymers were produced worldwide, compared to 235 million tons of traditional, fossil based plastics. Biobased plastics have seen exponential growth rates in the past few years and projections for future growth are very positive, with some estimates suggesting that production may reach 12 million tons by 2020.

To date, the predominant market for biobased plastics has been in for biodegradable applications, however, it is expected that non-biodegradable plastics or ‘drop-ins’ (such as polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene and polyethylene) will become the predominant market for biobased plastics in the near future.

What are the advantages of biobased plastics?

Biobased plastics contain renewable carbon. That is to say that the carbon contained within them has recently been taken from the atmosphere. So when this carbon is returned to the atmosphere at the end of the life of the bioplastics, it does not add to the amount of carbon within the atmosphere.

Some types of biobased plastics can be degraded through composting. This is a particular benefit for applications such as disposal cutlery and flexible food packaging where the plastics can be disposed of alongside food wastes. Biodegradable agricultural plastic mulches may also be simply ploughed into the field when needed, saving the need for collection and storage of plastics.

Other types of bioplastics, known as ‘drop-in’ bioplastics such as biobased polyethylene terephthalate are chemically identical to fossil based plastics and can be recycled in the same way as their conventional counterparts. At the end of their life, when recycling is no longer an option, these materials can be combusted to produce renewable energy and/or be used to make biofuels.

Biobased plastics can reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions compared to fossil based plastics. For example, some types of polylactic acid made from maize starch use up to 50% less oil, and releases 60% fewer Greenhouse Gases (GHG’s) to the atmosphere than traditional oil based plastics for the same applications.

In the future, industry expects that less energy will be needed and GHG emissions will fall as the production and end of life processes are optimised and new feedstock and more sustainable energy sources become available.

What is the role of biotechnology?

Biotechnology is driving the production of new biobased plastics, both for the production of the biomass feedstock and for the conversion of plant materials to plastics.

Biotechnology can develop better crops for plastics production either through improving crop genomes to enhance desirable characteristics such as a high cellulose content, or through the genetic modification of crops to produce biobased plastics (such as polyhydroxyalkanoates) in the plant themselves.

Currently, most biobased plastics are derived from food-based sugars such as those derived from sugar cane or cereal crops. The use of non-food based biomass would be beneficial in overcoming any fears surrounding the use of food for industrial materials. Novel enzymes and microorganisms, developed through industrial biotechnology, can play a crucial role not only in maximising the efficiency of biomass breakdown and sugar release, but also the conversion of these sugars and carbon to biobased plastics. This, in turn, will make these plastics even more ecofriendly.

Finally, industrial biotechnology is a critical facilitating technology for the development of biobased plastics with novel functionalities, tailored to specific applications.

More information on

European Bioplastics
Bioplastic on Biobasics
Bioplastic on Wikipedia
Biopolymer on Wikipedia