Industrial applications of bioplastics
Historically, the bioplastics developed from the 1990s were primarily known for being biodegradable. The issue of managing the end-of-life of plastic waste material was becoming increasingly important while the issue of exhaustion of fossil fuels was just taking form. The raw materials arriving on the market (primarily starch-based compounds and PLA) were then predominantly intended for disposable applications for which it made sense to use biodegradable and compostable polymers. It is for this reason that the markets of flexible packaging (films, bags, etc.) and rigid packaging (packaging tray, bottles, glasses, etc.) were initially integrated.
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The diversification of applications
The diversification of the applications of bioplastics started with the arrival of new material over the years, and gradually integrated all the plastics engineering markets, supported by advances in R&DÂ which enabled the improvement of the properties.
Today, the bioplastic market is dominated by rigid packaging and consumer goods, which primarily include biobased PET and PUR.
The different applications of bioplastics are segmented in a significant manner, biodegradable and compostable polymers are predominantly used in sectors where this property may be a technical advantage during their use or their end-of-life, like agriculture, horticulture, and flexible packaging (biodegradable bags). Contrarily, they are almost absent from transportation and building markets.
In the following tabs, you fill find a list of the important markets where bioplastics are used, be it in packaging, technical parts, etc.
