Most bioplastics today are derived from biomass, and are therefore called biobased (according to EN 16575: 2004). Some biodegradable polymers are still obtained from fossil resources, but their number is very limited (mainly PBAT and PCL).
The biomass used to manufacture biobased polymers is renewable and comes from a variety of sources, including agriculture and the food industry. Bacterial fermentation of sugars and the use of vegetable oils are key stages in the various biomass processing steps required to produce biobased polymers. These are the main processes used to obtain green chemistry platform molecules, which can be used as monomers in the production of biobased polymers.
1st generation (food)
2nd generation (non-food)
3rd generation (no arable land required)
Environmental impact of using biomass to produce biobased plastics
Today, most biobased polymers are manufactured from renewable resources, which can compete with other applications, such as food and feed. However, the share of land used to manufacture biobased plastics remains very marginal (around 0.02% of the global agricultural area).
ASTM D6866 / ISO 16620-2
Radiocarbon dating makes it possible to determine the proportion of carbons from renewable resources in a material, compared with carbons from fossil resources. Indeed, the carbon-14 content of a biomass-derived element is very characteristic compared to a petroleum-based compound, which will contain very little. Measuring the proportion of biobased carbon is therefore easy.
EN 16785-1
This standard enables biobased content to be determined by radiocarbon and elemental analysis. This makes it possible to obtain a more refined measurement, since the standard also considers oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in addition to carbon atoms.
On the basis of tests carried out in accordance with the above-mentioned standards, it is possible to obtain commercial labels enabling appropriate communication.