Bio-Polymers

Bio-Polymers

A plastic material produced from biomass sources. Plastics can be produced from starch and cellulose, but also polylactic acid and biomass-derived ethylene, can achieve improved performance and/or durability.
1. Starch
  1. Low cost
  2. Use surplus agricultural produce
  3. Compatible with thermal processing
  4. Limited strength (blended with non-bio polymer)
2. Cellulose
  1. Most abundant natural polymer
  2. Not water soluble
  3. Used in a wide range of applications: Paper, film, cellophane
Advantages
1. Biodegradable
2. Low environmental impact
3. Bio-compatable
4. Consumes less energy to produce
5. Renewable
6. Compatible with other ecosystems (ocean)
7. Less waste going to landfill
8. Use less C02 to extract
9. Feedstock- renewable
10. Energy recovery from ethanol used within production
Disadvantages
1. Biodegradable
2. Poor physical and technical problems
3. No recycling routes for bio-polymers
4. People are unsure of how to deal with the waste
5. Contaminating of plastic recycling systems
6. Rely on environmental factors
  1. Technology is needed to stabilize production - greenhouses for when there is a wet period (stabilize prices)
7. Ethical drawback (food-fuel)
8. 10x cost of conventional plastics
9. Greenhouse Gases other than CO2 released into the atmosphere during production and after use. Methane released in landfill
10. Difficult to separate from plastics waste
  1. Lack of industrial composting infrastructure
11. Degredation of biopolymers may be more of a problem than the polymers themselves
12. Makes materials physically and chemically smaller but not disappear
13. Speed of degredation is important: too fast and the polymer is useless, too slow and the waste remains for long periods

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	Created by Ellen Rita about 9 years ago