Cossma 7-8/2013

lulose (wood), or plant oils (ricinus or soya). In addition there are materials of animal origin such as chitin or chitosan, and proteins such as silk or cobweb silk Biopolymers can also be produced with the help of micro-organisms, such as polyhydroxyalkanoate, polyhydroxy- butyrate or polylactic acid. Replacing petrochemical raw materials There are so-called “drop-in solu- tions” where petrochemical raw mate- rials are replaced by biogenic raw ma- terials, but where, to the extent that this is possible, the same established method of synthesis is used. In this way conventional polyolefins, (e.g. polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP)) can be produced based on renew- able resources. The advantages of such drop-in so- lutions lie in the well-known recycling route, such as with partially biobased PET, and their approval for food use which in general is also a requirement for cosmetics. A current example of the use of bioPET is the Coca-Cola PlantBottle. It presently contains 14 percent of sub- stances based on Brazilian sugar cane5 . Mixing various raw material types Blends and copolymers (hybrid ma- terials) are mixtures of different raw materials or (bio)polymer groups. Un- fortunately at the moment there is still no minimum content requirement for biobased components in blends, which means that one can talk about bioplastics (e.g. PP/starch blends) even though the plastic is not biodegradable and the biobased con- tent at times is well below the petro- chemical content4 . These mixtures of biobased and petrochemical plastics are however difficult to recycle5 . Blends are often used to achieve desirable ma- terial properties. Bioplastics are in most cases blends, as they are com- pounded and include additions of various fillers etc., that make the poly- mer workable. Biodegradable polymers and plastics Biodegradable polymers and plas- tics can be biodegraded in composting plants. They are produced from renew- Ī able or fossil raw materials such as pe- troleum, or are blends, i.e. mixtures. A biopolymer or a bioplastic can, de- pending on its chemical structure, be biodegradable. Biopolymers – advantages, requirements + possibilities The advantages of biopolymers in- clude the facts that renewable re- sources rather than fossil resources are used in their production, the CO2 foot- print of the materials in some cases is reduced and possibly new material properties are created which may lead to new applications and/or products or product innovation. Overall the con- sumer sees biopolymers as environ- mentally friendly. As far as availability and costs are concerned biopolymers compete with existing materials. In ad- dition their material properties have to be to a certain extent optimised and their application in mixtures with oth- er (bio)polymers or additives is still a challenge6 . New materials also raise new ques- tions concerning food regulations (foodstuffs packaging), recycling and various other aspects. New types of biopolymers can often not be processed or printed on under stan- dard conditions and so processes and equipment must at times be specially adapted. It is important that materials and processing conditions be established in a way analogous to petrochemical polymers7 . Optimisation is still necessary con- cerning the supply chain of raw materi- als, the logistics of intermediate and finished products, recycling require- ments and waste reduction. Further- more it would be desirable to have some format of certification or other proof of sustainability. In addition, the use of such materials that are obtained from non-food sources, economic effi- ciency and some objective information for the consumer are important. The potential of biopolymers lies in the anticipated significant growth of global production capacity. PACKAGING FOCUS: NATURAL COSMETICS Simple is beautiful. Now, technology is too. High Efficiency Airless Dispenser www.lablabo.com Additional information at www.cossma.com/download or you can just scan the QR code! Your access codes for August: User name: cossma8 Password: nature DownloadsDownloads COS1307-8_22_Wala_GB_COS1105_10_Anti_Aging_GB 29.07.13 07:18 Seite 23

Cossma 7-8/2013

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