Bioplastics market expands despite recession
- Filed in:
- Resins,
- Bioplastics
According to an article from ICIS.com, the development and marketing of bioplastics are surging as bioplastics categories expand to meet a worldwide demand that is growing exponentially and will continue to see enormous growth in coming years.
According to Germany-based Helmut Kaiser Consultancy, the global bioplastics market is growing at 20% to 30% per year, and will jump from 400 million pounds in 2006, to 10 billion pounds by 2015. A 2007 report from U.S.-based BCC Research forecast the global bioplastics growth rate at 17% per year from 541 million pounds in 2007 to 1.2 billion pounds by 2012.
"Overall, we see the market growing by double-digit percentages, although there are significant differences for different product/market combinations," says Marcel Dartee, global biopolymers director for U.S. plastics compounder PolyOne. "Much of that growth today is linked to typical compostable and biodegradable biopolymers."
The segment currently accounts for less than 1% of PolyOne’s total sales, says Dartee, but the company expects to continue to increase its share with new products. "Biopolymers is one of our strategic growth platforms as it fits perfectly within our sustainability effort," he says. "We have and we will devote considerable resources in developing masterbatches for existing biopolymers like PLA, PHBV [poly-3-hydroxy butyrateco-valerate], and starch blends, as well as engineered thermoplastics and thermoplastic elastomers with high bio-derived content."
The full article, entitled “A Healthy Stretch,” covers a range of issues related to bioplastics, including the changing definition of the term “bioplastics,” recent supplier investments in the technology, and current commercial applications.
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Maybe the exponentional growth of bioplastics corresponds with the emergence of oxo-degradables where it can be programmed to control the recyclability and the shelf life of the polymer, which brings about a sustainable fossil fuel-based polymer.
On the other hand, biobased polymers may compete for suitable land for agriculture.
As stated in the first comment:
1. How many tons of grain have been removed from the world food market that were/should have been used to feed the world's poor?
2. How has the quality of the PET regrind supply been degraded with the introduction of Bio plastics into the mix? Bio plastics are compatible, but not 100% and will degrade the quality of the recycled regrind.
3. How much more material has to be used on a package/product to make sure it has proper shelf life as it bio degrades over time.
I am not ready to jump on the bio plastic band wagon just yet.
dear Water Boy/ Yahia,
Do you know that petroleum resources will be depleted in this century ?
Bio-based materials are there as the next wave of materials.
PLA will be done, in the near future from non-food based renewables (grass and other raw materials), and it will be cheaper than PET.
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Bioplastics are not petroleum derived, but bio-polyethylene is a major biopolymer.
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It is possible to have bio-PET, but it will be more expensive than PLA (this is due to the number of steps), so in the future PLA will be the material of choice for packaging that has traditionally used PET, and where PET does not have superior performance.
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