Biodegradable plastic
Biodegradable plastic refers to a type of plastic that is degraded by the action of microorganisms in nature, such as bacteria, mold (fungus) and algae. The ideal biodegradable plastic is a polymer material that has excellent performance, can be completely decomposed by environmental microorganisms after being discarded, and is 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 with the properties of both "paper" and "synthetic plastic".
The Chinese name of biodegradable plastic, the foreign name of Biodegradable plastic, is classified into complete organisms and destructive organisms, mainly including PBAT, PLA, etc., which are mainly composed of natural polymers, aliphatic polyesters and other characteristics. They have certain biodegradable properties under specific environmental conditions.
table of Contents
1 definition
2 categories
3 application
4 Development history
5 Market status
definition
Biodegradable plastics, also known as biodegradable plastics, refer to the action of microorganisms existing in nature under natural conditions such as soil and/or sand, and/or specific conditions such as composting conditions or anaerobic digestion conditions or in aqueous culture fluids. Cause degradation, and eventually completely degrade into carbon dioxide (CO₂) or/and methane (CH₄), water (H₂O) and mineralized inorganic salts of the elements contained therein, as well as new biomass plastics. [1]
classification
According to the source of raw materials, biodegradable plastics can be divided into bio-based biodegradable plastics and petrochemical-based biodegradable plastics.
Bio-based biodegradable plastics can be divided into four categories: the first category is the plastic directly processed from natural materials; the second category is the polymer obtained through the participation of microbial fermentation and chemical synthesis; the third category is the polymerization directly synthesized by microorganisms The fourth category is the biodegradable plastics obtained by blending these materials or these materials and other chemically synthesized biodegradable plastics.
Petrochemical-based biodegradable plastics refer to plastics obtained by polymerizing petrochemical monomers by chemical synthesis, such as PBAT, polybutylene succinate (PBS), carbon dioxide copolymer (PPC), etc. [2]
According to the classification of biodegradation process, biodegradable plastics can be divided into completely biodegradable plastics and destructive biodegradable plastics. Destructive biodegradation
Starch-based fully biodegradable plastic
Starch-based fully biodegradable plastic
Plastics currently mainly include starch modified (or filled) polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, polyvinyl chloride PVC, polystyrene PS and so on.
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, and polylactic acid , Starch/polyvinyl alcohol, etc. are all such plastics.
Biodegradable plastics based on natural substances such as starch currently mainly include the following products: polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), starch plastics, bioengineering plastics, and general bioplastics (polyolefin and polychloride) Ethylene) [3].
According to different raw materials, there are at least the following types of common biodegradable plastics:
Polycaprolactone (PCL)
This plastic has good biodegradability and its melting point is 62°C. The microorganisms that decompose it are widely distributed under optimistic 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 copolymers
The technology for manufacturing various high molecular weight polyesters based on PBS (melting point 114°C) has reached the level of industrial production. Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation 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 built 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 of the United States has done active and effective work in improving the production process of polylactic acid, and developed the fermentation of glucose in 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 at the Aichi Expo in Japan.
In China, Zhejiang Haisheng Biodegradable Plastics Co., Ltd. (with a production line of 5,000 thousand tons/year) is industrialized, and Shanghai Tongjieliang Biomaterials Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Jiuding Group, etc. are being piloted.
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)
The countries that realize industrialized production abroad are mainly the United States and Brazil. Domestic production units include Tianjin Guoyun Biomaterials Co., Ltd. (scale 10,000 tons/year) [4], Ningbo Tianan Biomaterials Co., Ltd. (scale 2,000 tons/year), and Jiangsu Nantian Group Co., Ltd. is being piloted Wait.
Using biodegradable plastics obtained from renewable resources, mixing aliphatic polyester and starch together, the technology to produce degradable plastics has also been successfully studied. In European and American countries, blends of starch and aliphatic polyester are widely used to produce garbage bags and other products. The largest and best-selling company in the world is the Italian company Novamont, whose product name is Mater-bi, and the company's products are widely used in Europe and the United States.
The aliphatic aromatic random copolyester (Ecoflex) manufactured by BASF in Germany has monomers: adipic acid, terephthalic acid, and 1,4-butanediol. The production capacity is 140,000 tons/year. At the same time, biodegradable plastic products based on polyester and starch have been developed.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) biodegradable plastic
For example, in the 1990s of the Italian NOVMANT's MaterBi product, PVA was mainly added to starch, which 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
Abroad, the earliest countries to study carbon dioxide copolymers were mainly Japan and the United States, but there has been no industrial production. Inner Mongolia Mengxi Group Corporation adopts 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 from the Guangzhou Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences has been put into production in Taixing, Jiangsu. And other packaging. Henan Tianguan Group adopts the technology of Professor Meng Yuezhong of Sun Yat-sen University and has built a pilot scale carbon dioxide copolymer production line.
Others such as chitin, polyamide, polyaspartic acid, polysaccharide, cellulose, etc. are under development.
Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)
From a global perspective, PHB and PHBV are recognized as one of the most promising biodegradable plastics and are also new products under development. The pilot production cost of the technical side is about RMB 40/kg. After the industrialization is put into production, the cost of the product will be further reduced, and the price advantage is obvious, especially the simple production process and simple equipment of the technical side are convenient for promotion and mass production.
3000 tons of fully biodegradable plastic
3000 tons of fully biodegradable plastic
application
Because of its good degradability, biodegradable plastics are mainly used as food soft and hard packaging materials, which is also its biggest application field 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 degradable materials is slightly higher. However, with the increasing awareness of environmental protection, people are willing to use new degradable materials with a higher price to protect the environment. The increased awareness of environmental protection has brought huge development opportunities to the biodegradable new material industry. With the development of China’s economy, the successful hosting of the Olympics, the World Expo and other large-scale events that shocked the world, the need for the protection of various world cultural heritage and national scenic spots, the environmental pollution caused by plastics has become more and more important, and governments at all levels have List the treatment of white pollution as one of the key tasks.
Developed countries and regions such as Europe, the United States, and Japan have successively formulated and promulgated relevant laws and regulations to restrict the use of non-degradable plastics through measures such as partial prohibition, restriction, mandatory collection, and collection of pollution taxes, and vigorously develop new biodegradable materials to protect the environment , Protect the soil, among which France introduced a policy in 2005 that all disposable plastic bags that can be carried must be biodegradable after 2010.
At the same time, China has successively introduced 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 "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 clearly encouraged The use and promotion of biodegradable plastics; In 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission launched a special fund project for the promotion of the development of biomass biodegradable materials; the "Define, Classification, Labeling and Degradability Requirements for Degradable Plastics" implemented on January 1, 2007 were obtained The mutual recognition of Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries has facilitated the export of Chinese enterprises.
development path
According to the data of the Japan Biodegradable Plastics Research Association, the production of biodegradable plastics in Japan in 2002 was about 10,000 tons, in 2003 it was about 20,000 tons, in 2005 it was about 40,000 tons, and it is expected to reach about 100,000 to 200,000 tons in 2010.
According to data from the European Bioplastics Association, figures in 2001 showed that the consumption of biodegradable products in the EU was 25,000 to 30,000 tons, while the consumption of traditional polymers was as high as 35 million tons. The European Bioplastics Association predicts that the consumption of traditional polymers will reach 55 million tons in 2010, while the consumption of biodegradable plastics will reach 500,000 to 1 million tons by then. Biodegradable materials may eventually occupy 10% of the market. In biodegradable materials, the proportion of raw materials using renewable resources will account for more than 90%.
According to the statistics of the Professional Committee of Degradable Plastics of the China Plastics Association, the consumption of biodegradable materials in China in 2003 was about 15,000 tons, of which about 1,000 tons of biodegradable polymers without added starch. In 2005, there were about 30 companies engaged in biodegradable plastics, with a production capacity of 60,000 tons per year. The actual production was about 30,000 tons. The domestic market demand was about 50,000 tons, foreign imports were 10,000 tons, and exports were 20,000 tons. It is estimated that the production capacity will reach about 250,000 tons in 2010. For details, please refer to the "Foresight China's Biodegradable Plastics Industry In-depth Investigation and Investment Strategic Planning Analysis Report".
Some developed countries are also guided by the idea of circular economy and use biodegradable disposable utensils. For example, Sweden tried to produce disposable fast food boxes made of potatoes and corn in the late 1980s, and South Korea compulsory laws to use toothpicks made of glutinous rice. Wait. Europe has formulated the standard EN13432 for biodegradable composting plastics "Requirements for testing and final evaluation of packaging materials that are conducive to composting and biodegradation for recycling", and other decree on the promotion of organic waste composting treatment is actively being formulated and prepared. The US government has set up the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award since 1996 to encourage the development of the biodegradable plastic industry. New York State banned the use of non-biodegradable vegetable bags in 1989, provided subsidies to manufacturers that produce degradable plastics, and required citizens to separate renewable and non-renewable waste, otherwise they would be fined $500.
Some other countries have also adopted similar measures: India has legislated to ban the use of plastic packaging in the dairy industry; South African laws have completely banned the use of plastic packaging bags. With the development of legislation in various countries, new biodegradable packaging materials are expected to become increasingly popular.
In China, with the deepening of understanding of degradable plastics, the strategic role of this material and its industry on China's sustainable development has been fully realized. The popular application of biodegradable plastics has been expected. The Chinese People's Republic of China passed the "Renewable Energy Law (Draft)" and "Solid Waste Law (Revised)" in 2004 to encourage 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 in 2005, it is also clear to encourage 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.
market situation
By 2019, the market value of the biodegradable plastics industry will grow to US$3.477 billion with an average annual growth rate of 13.01%. The European biodegradable plastics market is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 12% from 2014 to 2019.
Biodegradable plastics usher in a period of rapid development. Although the concept of biodegradable plastics has been hyped up, the application has not been able to increase the volume.
Biodegradable plastics are mainly used in packaging, fiber, agriculture, injection molding and other fields. Among them, it is the most widely used in the packaging industry. In 2013, it accounted for about 60% of the total market. The demand for food packaging accounted for more than 70% of the biodegradable plastic packaging market. ; The injection molding application market is the main driving force for the growth of 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 the European and North American markets accounted for 54% and 28% of the global biodegradable plastics respectively.
The Environmental Committee of the European Parliament has passed a draft on reducing the use of disposable lightweight plastic bags. The draft proposes that the 28 EU member states should follow a two-step approach to effectively reduce the use of plastic bags, so as 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 five years. [5]
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