Most plastics are currently made from petrochemicals, which reinforces the world’s dependence on crude oil. Despite growing awareness of plastics issues, global plastics production is growing, and IDTechEx’s recent Bioplastics 2020-2025 report predicts that plastics production will exceed 600 million tons by 2030.

Bioplastics are a family of polymers derived from biomass raw materials, they are a potential solution to the global plastic problem. There is a wide range of bioplastics available, from direct replacement of existing fossil-based plastics to new plastics produced using innovative methods such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) or microbial bioplastics.

About half of the bioplastics produced in the world from renewable sources are biodegradable. A search is underway to improve their mechanical properties and work to reduce production costs.

However, despite the environmental benefits, the bioplastics industry has not yet taken off, this sector is replete with bankruptcies. Bioplastics often cost significantly more than their petrochemical counterparts, for which consumers and enterprises are not willing to pay. The situation was exacerbated by a sharp drop in oil prices in 2014, which led to an increase in the gap between traditional plastics and bioplastics.

But the situation is starting to change. Recent technologies make bio-based polymers cheaper than ever, making it possible to produce them on a large scale. For example, California-based startup Newlight Technologies claims that its bioplastic AirCarbon brand, produced by ocean bacteria from gases from the dairy industry, is cheaper to produce than conventional plastics.

Source https://article.unipack.ru/