Biodegradable plastic
Biodegradable plastic refers to a class of plastics that are degraded by the action of microorganisms such as bacteria, molds (fungi) and algae that exist in nature. The ideal biodegradable plastic is a kind of high-molecular material with excellent performance, which can be completely decomposed by environmental microorganisms after being discarded, and finally inorganicized to become a component of the carbon cycle in nature. "Paper" is a typical biodegradable material, while "synthetic plastic" is a typical polymer material. Therefore, biodegradable plastics are polymer materials that have the properties of both paper and synthetic plastics.
Chinese name Biodegradable plastic Foreign name Biodegradable plastics Classification Completely biological and destructive organisms Mainly include polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, etc. Main composition Natural polymer, aliphatic polyester, etc. Features Good degradability
table of Contents
1 Definition
2 Application
3 categories
4 Development History
5 Market Status
6 Related issues
7 Specific measures
definition
Biodegradable plastics can be divided into two types: fully biodegradable plastics and destructive biodegradable plastics. Destructive biodegradable plastics currently mainly include starch modified (or filled) polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, polyvinyl chloride PVC, polystyrene PS, etc.
Completely biodegradable plastics are mainly made from natural polymers (such as starch, cellulose, chitin) or agricultural and sideline products through microbial fermentation or synthesis of biodegradable polymers, such as thermoplastic starch plastics, aliphatic polyesters, polylactic acid , Starch / polyvinyl alcohol, etc. belong to this type of plastic.
Biodegradable plastics based on natural materials such as starch currently include the following products: polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), starch plastics, bioengineering plastics, bio-generic plastics (polyolefins and polyvinyl chloride) Ethylene) [1].
Starch-based fully biodegradable plastic
Starch-based fully biodegradable plastic
application
Biodegradable plastics are mainly used as food soft and hard packaging materials due to their good degradability, which is also their largest application area at this stage.
The main target markets for biodegradable plastics are plastic packaging films, agricultural films, disposable plastic bags and disposable plastic tableware. Compared with traditional plastic packaging materials, the cost of new degradation materials is slightly higher. However, with the increasing awareness of environmental protection, people are willing to use a slightly higher price of new degradation materials in order to protect the environment. The enhanced environmental awareness has brought great development opportunities to the biodegradable new materials industry. With the development of China's economy, the successful hosting of many large-scale events such as the Olympic Games and the World Expo, and the need for the protection of various world cultural heritage and national scenic spots, the environmental pollution caused by plastics has become increasingly important. Treat white pollution as one of the key tasks.
Developed countries and regions in Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries have successively formulated and introduced relevant regulations, restricting the use of non-degradable plastics through measures such as partial bans, restrictions, mandatory collection and collection of pollution taxes, and vigorously develop new biodegradable materials to protect the environment. 2. Protect the soil. Among them, France introduced a policy in 2005 that stipulates that all disposable plastic bags must be biodegradable after 2010.
At the same time, China has also issued a number of policies to encourage the application and promotion of biodegradable plastics. In 2004, the National People's Congress passed the Renewable Energy Law (Draft) and the Solid Waste Law (Revision) to encourage the use of renewable biomass energy and the promotion and application of degradable plastics. In 2005, the National Development and Reform Commission Document No. 40 explicitly encouraged The use and promotion of biodegradable plastics; In 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission launched a special fund project to promote the development of biomass biodegradable materials; the "Definition, Classification, Labeling and Degradation Performance Requirements of Degradable Plastics" implemented on January 1, 2007 was obtained The mutual recognition of countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan has facilitated the export of Chinese products.
classification
Classified from raw materials, there are at least the following types of biodegradable plastics:
Polycaprolactone (PCL)
This plastic has good biodegradability and has a melting point of 62 ° C. The microorganisms that break it down are widely distributed under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. As a biodegradable material, it can be mixed with starch and cellulose materials or polymerized with lactic acid.
Polybutylene succinate (PBS) and its copolymer
The technology of manufacturing various high molecular weight polyesters based on PBS (melting point of 114 ° C) has reached the level of industrial production. Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical and Showa Polymer Corporation have begun industrial production with a scale of about 1,000 tons.
The Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is also conducting research on the synthesis of polybutylene succinate copolyester. The Institute of Physics and Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has cooperated with Shandong Huiying Company to build a production line with an annual output of 25,000 tons of PBS and its polymers, and Guangdong Jinfa Company has built a production line with an annual output of 1,000 tons. Tsinghua University has established a production line with an annual output of 10,000 tons of PBS and its copolymers in Anqing Hexing Chemical Co., Ltd.
Polylactic acid (PLA)
Natureworks in the United States has done an active and effective job in improving the production process of polylactic acid. It has developed fermentation of glucose from corn to produce polylactic acid, with an annual production capacity of 14,000 tons. Japan's UNITIKA company has developed and produced many kinds of products, among which canvas, trays, tableware, etc. are widely used in the Aichi Expo in Japan.
China's industrialization includes Zhejiang Haisheng Biodegradable Plastics Co., Ltd. (scale 5000 kilotons / year production line), and pilot units are Shanghai Tongjieliang Biomaterials Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Jiuding Group.
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)
The industrialized production abroad is mainly the United States and Brazil. Domestic production units include Tianjin Guoyun Biomaterials Co., Ltd. (scale 10,000 tons / year) [2], Ningbo Tianan Biomaterials Co., Ltd. (scale 2,000 tons / year), and pilot units are Jiangsu Nantian Group Co., Ltd. Wait.
Biodegradable plastics obtained from renewable resources, aliphatic polyester and starch are mixed together, and the technology for producing degradable plastics has also been successfully researched. In Europe and the United States, blends of starch and aliphatic polyesters are widely used to produce products such as garbage bags. The world's largest and best-selling company is Italy's Novamont, whose trade name is Mater-bi. The company's products have a large number of applications in Europe and the United States.
There are many domestic research and production units, of which the industrialized units are Wuhan Huali Technology Co., Ltd. (scale 40,000 tons / year), Zhejiang Huafa State Technology Co., Ltd. (8,000 tons / year), Zhejiang Tianhe Ecological Technology Co., Ltd. ( 5,000 tons / year), Fujian Beststar Biomaterials Co., Ltd. (scale 2,000 tons / year), Zhaoqing Huafang Degradable Plastics Co., Ltd. (scale 5,000 tons / year), etc.
Aliphatic aromatic copolyester
The aliphatic aromatic random copolyester (Ecoflex) manufactured by the German BASF company, its monomers are: adipic acid, terephthalic acid, 1,4-butanediol. The production capacity is 140,000 tons / year. At the same time, biodegradable plastic products based on polyester and starch were developed.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biodegradable plastics
For example, MaterBi of Italy NOVMANT mainly added PVA to starch in the 1990s. It can blow film and process other products. Polyvinyl alcohol materials need to be modified to have good biodegradability. The Institute of Light Industry Plastics Processing and Application of Beijing Technology and Business University has achieved certain results in this regard.
Carbon dioxide copolymer
Overseas, the earliest countries to study carbon dioxide copolymers were mainly Japan and the United States, but there has been no industrial production. The domestic Inner Mongolia Mengxi Group Co., Ltd. has adopted the technology of Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry and has built a device with an annual output of 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide / epoxy compound copolymer resin. The products are mainly used in packaging and medical materials. The low molecular weight carbon dioxide copolymer technology developed by Dr. Chen Liban of the Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has begun production in Taixing, Jiangsu. The species is a low molecular weight carbon dioxide / epoxy compound copolymer, which is used as a raw material for polyurethane foam materials and is used in household appliances. And other packaging. Using the technology of Professor Meng Yuezhong of Sun Yat-sen University, Henan Tianguan Group has built a pilot scale carbon dioxide copolymer production line.
Others such as chitin, polyamide, polyaspartic acid, polysaccharides, and cellulose are under development.
Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)
From a worldwide perspective, PHB and PHBV are recognized as one of the most promising biodegradable plastics, and they are also new products being developed. The pilot production cost of the technical party is about RMB 40 / kg. After industrialization, the cost of the product will be further reduced, and the price advantage is obvious. Especially the technical party's simple production process and simple equipment are convenient for promotion and large-scale production.
3000 tons of fully biodegradable plastic
3000 tons of fully biodegradable plastic
Development history
According to the Japan Biodegradable Plastics Research Association, Japan's biodegradable plastics production in 2002 was about 10,000 tons, about 20,000 tons in 2003, about 40,000 tons in 2005, and it is expected to reach about 100,000 to 200,000 tons in 2010.
According to data from the European Bioplastics Association, figures from 2001 show that the consumption of biodegradable products in the EU is 25,000 to 30,000 tons, while the consumption of traditional polymers is as high as 35 million tons. The European Bioplastics Association predicts that the amount of traditional polymers will reach 55 million tons in 2010, while the amount of biodegradable plastics will reach 500,000 to 1 million tons. Biodegradable materials may eventually account for 10% of the market. In biodegradable materials, the proportion of raw materials using renewable resources will account for more than 90%.
According to statistics from the China Plastics Association's Degradable Plastics Professional Committee, the amount of biodegradable materials in China in 2003 was about 15,000 tons, of which about 1,000 tons were biodegradable polymers without starch. In 2005, there were about 30 companies engaged in biodegradable plastics, with a production capacity of 60,000 tons / year, actual production of about 30,000 tons, domestic market demand of about 50,000 tons, foreign imports of 10,000 tons, and exports of 20,000 tons. It is expected that the production capacity in 2010 will reach about 250,000 tons. For details, please refer to the "Foreseeing China's Biodegradable Plastics Industry In-depth Investigation and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report".
Some developed countries also use the idea of circular economy to use degradable disposable utensils, such as Sweden's trial production of potato and corn disposable snack boxes in the late 1980s, and South Korea has mandated the use of toothpick made of sticky rice. Wait. In Europe, a standard EN13432 for biodegradable compost plastics was developed, “Requirements for Testing and Final Evaluation of Packaging Materials Facilitated by Compost and Biodegradation for Recycling”, while other ordinances to promote the composting of organic waste are being actively formulated and prepared. The US Government has set up the President's Green Chemistry Challenge Award since 1996 to encourage the development of the biodegradable plastics industry. New York State banned the use of non-biodegradable vegetable bags in 1989, subsidized manufacturers of degradable plastics, and required citizens to separate renewable and non-renewable waste, otherwise fined $ 500.
Other countries have adopted similar measures: India has legislated against the use of plastic packaging in the dairy industry; South African law has completely banned the use of plastic packaging bags. With the development of national legislation, new biodegradable packaging materials are expected to become increasingly popular.
In China, with the deepening understanding of degradable plastics, we have fully realized the strategic role of this material and its industry on China's sustainable development. The widespread application of biodegradable plastics has been widely expected. The Chinese passed the Renewable Energy Law (Draft) and the Solid Waste Law (Revision) in 2004, encouraging the use of renewable biomass energy and the promotion and application of degradable plastics. In the National Development and Reform Commission's No. 40 document of 2005, the use and promotion of biodegradable plastics were also explicitly encouraged. In 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission launched a special fund project on promoting the development of biomass biodegradable materials.
Market Status Editor
By 2019, the market value of the biodegradable plastics industry will grow to an average annual growth rate of 13.01% to $ 3.477 billion. From 2014 to 2019, the European biodegradable plastic market is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 12%.
Biodegradable plastics have ushered in a period of rapid development. The previous concept of biodegradable plastics has been heated up, but the application has not been able to weigh up.
Biodegradable plastics are mainly used in packaging, fiber, agriculture, injection molding and other fields, among which the most widely used in the packaging industry, accounting for about 60% of the total market in 2013, and food packaging demand accounted for more than 70% of the biodegradable plastic packaging market ; Injection molding application market is the main driving force for the growth in demand for biodegradable plastics.
As of the end of 2013, Europe and the United States are the main markets for biodegradable plastics. According to statistics, in 2013, biodegradable plastics in the European and North American markets accounted for 54% and 28% of the world's total, respectively.
The European Parliament's Environment Committee has adopted a draft to reduce the use of disposable lightweight plastic bags. The draft recommends that the 28 member states of the EU follow a two-step approach to effectively reduce the use of plastic bags to achieve the goal of reducing the use of ultra-thin plastic bags by 80% in 2019 compared to 2010. This resolution is expected to greatly stimulate the market demand for biodegradable plastics, and is expected to create huge growth opportunities for related manufacturers in the next 5 years. [3]
related question
However, although there are many researches and reports on the degradation of plastics, many specific problems cannot be solved, the promotion is extremely difficult, and the outlook is not optimistic. The reasons are: one is that the degradable plastic bag has a low load-bearing capacity and cannot meet the requirements of customers to load more and be used repeatedly; the other is that the degradable plastic bag has a dull yellow color and low transparency, which gives people a feeling of lack of cleanliness and ugly , Do n’t worry about it; third, the price is on the high side, because the merchant is giving away for free, so the cost is difficult to accept. Another example is to solve the environmental pollution problem of EPS fast food lunch boxes. Try to replace it with a paper lunch box or a degradable plastic lunch box. However, due to the following reasons, it is extremely difficult to promote: first, the high strength, light weight, and good thermal insulation of EPS; second, the price of paper lunch boxes is 1.5 to 2.5 times that of EPS; third, even if degraded PP lunch boxes are used, their performance is not as good as On EPS. Chinese authorities require the use of plant fibers to make disposable tableware instead of EPS. However, due to the use of high-molecular-weight thermosols in the molding process of such plant fiber tableware, there are still problems in handling and control of pesticide content remaining in the plant fiber tableware.
Therefore, there is still a long way to go to develop and research degradable plastics. The development of the biodegradable plastic industry is facing five major problems. The first is that the technology is not mature enough, and the performance of degradable plastic products cannot fully meet various consumer needs. Although there are many types of biodegradable plastics on the market, the mechanical and processing properties of each material are only outstanding in one aspect, and there are still some shortcomings in the comprehensive performance. At present, domestic research on the processing of degradable plastic products is still weak. Most companies focus on material synthesis and ignore product processing and development. Some food and beverage appliances made of biodegradable plastics are resistant to heat, water and machinery In terms of strength, it is far from traditional plastic products.
The second issue is cost. The price of biodegradable plastic products is still difficult to compete with petroleum-based products, which requires continuous reduction of production costs and product prices through technological progress.
The third is the lack of strong policies
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