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DEVELOPMENT OF ECO-FRIENDLY BIOPLASTICS

Bioplastics can be defined as plastics made of biomass such as corn and sugarcane. These
substances have been increasingly highlighted as means for saving fossil fuels, reducing CO2
emission and plastic wastes. Biodegradability of bioplastics has been widely publicized in
society and the demand for packaging is rapidly increasing among retailers and the food industry
at large scale.

WHY PRODUCE ECO FRIENDLY BIOPLASTICS?

Population growth has led to the accumulation of massive volume of non-degradable waste
materials across our planet. The accumulation of plastic waste has become a major concern in
terms of the environment. Conventional plastics not only take many decades during
decomposition, but also produce toxins while degradation. Hence, there is need to produce
plastics from materials that can be readily eliminated from our biosphere in an “eco-
friendly” fashion. Bioplastics are natural biopolymers synthesized and catabolized by various
organisms .These get accumulated as storage materials in microbial cells under stress conditions
.However, the high production cost and the availability of low-cost petrochemical-derived
plastics led to bioplastics being ignored for a long time.

Objectives

 To explore possibility to produce a plastic which is biodegradable

 To reduce the production cost of Bioplastic
 To find out cheap substrate for the production of Bioplastic
 To test different kinds of bioplastics which are available in nature
 To understand about various types of Microorganisms which produce bioplastics
 To have the idea about the fermentation and process development for bioplastics production
 To make genetically engineered Microorganisms for the production of bioplastics
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TYPES:

Starch based Bio-plastics:

Starch is used as a starting material for a wide range of green materials. 75% of all organic material on earth is
present in the form of polysaccharides. An im-portant polysaccharide is starch. Plants synthesize and store
starch in their structure as an energy reserve. Starch is found in seeds and in tubers or roots of the plants. Most
of the starch produced worldwide is derived from corn . Starch is generally extracted from plant resource by
wet milling processes. Starch consists of two types of anhydroglucose polymers amylose and amylope
c-tin. Amylose is essentially a linear polymer in which anhydroglucose units are predominantly connected
through α-D-(l, 4) glucosidic bonds. Amylopectin is a branched polymer, containing periodic branches linked
with the backbones through α-D-(l, 6) glucosidic bonds. The content of amylose and amylopectine
in starch varies and largely depends on the starch source . Starch is found abundantly in corn, wheat, rice,
potato, tapioca, pea, and many other botanical resources .
Starch based plastics are complex blends of starch with compostable plastics such as PLA, PBAT, PBS,
PCL and PHAs. Blending of starch with plastics improves water resistance, processing properties and
mechanical properties. Starch based trays are not transparent.Other packaging products Starch based materials
are frequently used in loose fill foams for transport packaging.

EG: Production steps for PLA Bioplastics products:

1. The corn starch is fermented into lactic acid by the aid of lactobacilli. This lactic acid is
then transformed into long-chain carbon polymers (polylactic acid) by polymerization.
2. The polylactic acid (PLA) is molded into small plastic pellets which are then used to
produce many different objects. In our case, the plastic pellets are used to produce
bioplastic foil. Subsequently, this foil is used to produce PLA cups and bowls. It runs
through different machines and is shaped into objects by the aid of forms, die cutters, and
impact of heat.
3. Ready to go! The greenbox PLA cups and bowls are ready for transport and shipping and
cannot wait for their application in your company.
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Cellulose based bioplastics

By calculation, potential cellulose from EFB is 11.50 million tons. Cellulose could be
utilized as source for bioplastic production. This research aims to develop bioplastic
production based on cellulose from EFB and to increase added value of EFB. Cellulose fiber
has no plastic properties. Molecular modification of cellulose, composite with plasticizer and
compatibilizer is a key success for utilization of cellulose for bioplastic. Main steps of
bioplastic production from EFB are: 1) isolation and purification of cellulose, 2) cellulose
modification and 3) synthesis of bioplastic. Cellulose was isolated by sodium hydroxide
methods and bleached using sodium hypochlorite. Purity of obtained cellulose was 97%.
Cellulose yield could reach 30% depend on cellulose content of EFB. Cellulose side chain
was oxidized to reduce hydroxyl group and increase the carboxyl group. Bioplastic synthesis
used glycerol as plasticizer and cassava starch as matrix. This research was successfully
producing bioplastic sheet by casting method. In future prospects, bioplastic from EFB
cellulose can be developed as plastic bag and food packaging.
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Some aliphatic polyesters

The aliphatic biopolyesters are mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) like the poly-3-
hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH).

Polylactic acid (PLA)

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a transparent plastic produced from corn or dextrose. Superficially, it is
similar to conventional petrochemical-based mass plastics like PS. It has the distinct advantage
of degrading to nontoxic products. Unfortunately it exhibits inferior impact strength, thermal
robustness, and barrier properties (blocking air transport across the membrane). PLA and PLA
blends generally come in the form of granulates with various properties, and are used in the
plastic processing industry for the production of films, fibers, plastic containers, cups and bottles.
PLA is also the most common type of plastic filament used for home fused deposition modeling.

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate

The biopolymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a polyester produced by certain bacteria

processing glucose, corn starch or wastewater. Its characteristics are similar to those of the
petroplastic polypropylene. PHB production is increasing. The South American sugar industry,
for example, has decided to expand PHB production to an industrial scale. PHB is distinguished
primarily by its physical characteristics. It can be processed into a transparent film with a melting
point higher than 130 degrees Celsius, and is biodegradable without residue.
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Poly hydroxyalkanoates

Polyhydroxyalkanoates are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of

sugar or lipids. They are produced by the bacteria to store carbon and energy. In industrial
production, the polyester is extracted and purified from the bacteria by optimizing the conditions
for the fermentation of sugar. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this
family to give materials with extremely different properties. PHA is more ductile and less elastic
than other plastics, and it is also biodegradable. These plastics are being widely used in the
medical industry.

Polyamide 11

PA 11 is a biopolymer derived from natural oil. It is also known under the tradename Rilsan B,
commercialized by Arkema. PA 11 belongs to the technical polymers family and is not
biodegradable. Its properties are similar to those of PA 12, although emissions of greenhouse
gases and consumption of nonrenewable resources are reduced during its production. Its thermal
resistance is also superior to that of PA 12. It is used in high-performance applications like
automotive fuel lines, pneumatic airbrake tubing, electrical cable antitermite sheathing, flexible
oil and gas pipes, control fluid umbilicals, sports shoes, electronic device components, and
catheters.

A similar plastic is Polyamide 410 (PA 410), derived 70% from castor oil, under the trade name
EcoPaXX , commercialized by DSM. PA 410 is a high-performance polyamide that combines
the benefits of a high melting point (approx. 250 °C), low moisture absorption and excellent
resistance to various chemical substances.
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Bio-derived polyethylene

The basic building block (monomer) of polyethylene is ethylene. Ethylene is chemically similar
to, and can be derived from ethanol, which can be produced by fermentation of agricultural
feedstocks such as sugar cane or corn. Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically
identical to traditional polyethylene – it does not biodegrade but can be recycled. The Brazilian
chemicals group Braskem claims that using its method of producing polyethylene from sugar
cane ethanol captures (removes from the environment) 2.15 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of Green
Polyethylene produced.

Genetically modified bioplastics

Genetic modification (GM) is also a challenge for the bioplastics industry. None of the currently
available bioplastics – which can be considered first generation products – require the use of GM
crops, although GM corn is the standard feedstock.
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Looking further ahead, some of the second generation bioplastics manufacturing technologies
under development employ the "plant factory" model, using genetically modified crops or
genetically modified bacteria to optimise efficiency.

Polyhydroxyurethanes

Recently, there have been a large emphasis on producing biobased and isocyanate-free
polyurethanes. One such example utilizes a spontaneous reaction between polyamines and cyclic
carbonates to produce polyhydroxurethanes. Unlike traditional cross-linked polyurethanes, cross-
linked polyhydroxyurethanes have been shown to be capable of recycling and reprocessing
through dynamic transcarbamoylation reactions.
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Lipid derived polymers

A number bioplastic classes have been synthesized from plant and animal derived fats and oils.
Polyurethanes, polyesters, epoxy resins and a number of other types of polymers have been
developed with comparable properties to crude oil based materials. The recent development of
olefin metathesis has opened a wide variety of feedstocks to economical conversion into
biomonomers and polymers. With the growing production of traditional vegetable oils as well as
low cost microalgae derived oils, there is huge potential for growth in this area.

Are bioplastics good or bad?

Anything that helps humankind solve the plastics problem has to be a good thing, right?
Unfortunately, environmental issues are never quite so simple. Actions that seem to help the
planet in obvious ways sometimes have major drawbacks and can do damage in other ways. It's
important to see things in the round to understand whether "environmentally friendly" things are
really doing more harm than good.

Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics have long been controversial. Manufacturers like to
portray them as a magic-bullet solution to the problem of plastics that won't go away.
Bioplastics, for example, are touted as saving 30–80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions
you'd get from normal plastics and they can give food longer shelf-life in stores. But here are
some of the drawbacks:

 When some biodegradable plastics decompose in landfills, they produce methane gas.
This is a very powerful greenhouse gas that adds to the problem of global warming.
 Biodegradable plastics and bioplastics don't always readily decompose. Some need
exposure to UV (ultraviolet) light or relatively high temperatures and, in some conditions,
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can still take many years to break down. Even then, they may leave behind micro-
fragments or toxic residues.
 Bioplastics are made from plants such as corn and maize, so land that could be used to
grow food for the world is being used to "grow plastic" instead. By 2014, almost a
quarter of US grain production was expected to have been turned over to biofuels and
bioplastics production; taking more agricultural land out of production could cause a
significant rise in food prices that would hit poorest people hardest.
 Growing crops to make bioplastics comes with the usual environmental impacts of
intensive agriculture, including greenhouse emissions from the petroleum needed to fuel
farm machinery, and water pollution caused by runoff from land where fertilizers are
used in industrial quantities. In some cases, these indirect impacts from "growing"
bioplastics are greater than if we simply made plastics from petroleum in the first place.
 Some bioplastics, such as PLA, are made from genetically modified corn. Some
environmentalists consider GM (genetically modified) crops to be inherently harmful to
the environment, though others disagree.
 Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics cannot be easily recycled. To most people, PLA
looks very similar to PET (polyethylene terephthalate) but, if the two are mixed up in a
recycling bin, the whole collection becomes impossible to recycle. There are fears that
increasing use of PLA may undermine existing efforts to recycle plastics.
 Many people think terms like "bioplastic," "biodegradable," and "compostable" mean
exactly the same thing. But there's a huge difference between a "biodegradable" plastic
(one that might take decades or centuries to break down) and a truly "compostable"
material (something that turns almost entirely into benign waste after a matter of months
in a composter), while "bioplastic," as we've already seen, can also mean different things.
Confusing jargon hampers public understanding, which makes it harder for consumers to
grasp the issues and make positive choices when they shop.

References:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioplastic
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878535215001100
 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/65/1/012011/meta
 http://file.scirp.org/pdf/OJPChem_2018052915415893.pdf
 https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-6596/710/1/012012/pdf
 https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/poly-3-hydroxybutyrate
 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/bm020099x
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235652278_Bioplastics-
For_Sustainable_Development_A_Review
 https://www.nec.com/en/global/innovators/iji/01.html