Bioplastic
Plastic pollution has been one of top most prioritized problem in today’s planet earth. In 2020, it is most commonly used petroleum derivative in the world. Because of it’s non-biodegradability it can take more than 1000 years to decompose. Plastics are inexpensive and durable, and as a result levels of plastic production by humans are high. Because of this vast usage of plastic we can not alter the usage of plastic rather we can alter the plastics. As an alternative, the use of bioplastics is being promoted, consisting in obtaining natural polymers from agricultural, cellulose or potato and corn starch waste. Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc.
Bioplastics are being called the green plastics as these are being produced form renewable sources such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starches etc. Starch-based plastics, Cellulose-based plastics, Protein-based plastics are some common types of bioplastics. Bioplastics are used for disposable items, such as packaging, crockery, cutlery, pots, bowls, and straws. Few commercial applications exist for bioplastics. These are 100% degradable, equally resistant and versatile, already used in agriculture, textile industry, medicine and, over all, in the container and packaging market.
Bioplastics are a diverse family of materials with differing properties. There are three main groups:
- Biobased or partially biobased non-biodegradable plastics such as biobased PE, PP, or PET (so-called drop-ins) and biobased technical performance polymers such as PTT or TPC-ET.
- Plastics that are both biobased and biodegradable, such as PLA and PHA or PBS.
- Plastics that are based on fossil resources and are biodegradable, such as PBAT.
It is expanding its use in various sectors: medical (prostheses, sutures …) in food (catering products, disposable containers …), toys, and even in the world of fashion (Versace has a clothing line Ingeo, made from corn) and, of course, biodegradable bags.
Advantage of Bioplastics:
- They reduce carbon footprint.
- Their production reduces non-biodegradable waste that contaminates the environment.
- They providing energy savings in production.
- They do not involve the consumption of non-renewable raw materials.
- They do not change the flavor or scent of the food contained.
- They do not contain additives that are harmful to health, such as phthalates or bisphenol A.
