Origin of bioplastic
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BIOMASSE
The different categories of BIOMASS
at the origin of biobased plastics
1st generation
(food)
Vegetable oils : soybean, palm, sunflower, colza, etc.
Starch : corn, wheat, potato, tapioca, etc.
Glucose : sugar cane, beetroot, etc.
2nd generation
(non-food)
Lignocellulosic biomass: wood, by-products or waste material from agriculture or wood (bagasse from sugarcane, straw, etc.)
Non-food vegetable oils : castor beans and wastes from other vegetable oils production
3rd generation
(non-food
soil-less farming)
Sugars or oils produced by micro-organisms : Micro-algae, bacteria, mushrooms, yeasts, etc.
Municipal waste material : organic waste, waste water, etc.
Today, the main resources are from cereal resources (cornstarch or hydrolysed wheat) or directly obtained from the sugar industry (sugarcane, beetroot, molasses). or from vegetal oil such as castor oil.
Environmental impact of the use of biomass for the production of biobased plastics:
Standards and certifications of biobased plastics
Today, there are two important standards that allow for measuring the content of renewable resources in a polymer:
ASTM D6866 / ISO 16620-2
EN 16785-1
This standard allows for determining the biobased content through a radiocarbon and elementary analysis. Here, it is possible to obtain a more detailed measurement since this standard also takes into account atoms of oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in addition to those of carbon.
On the basis of tests carried out according to the standards mentioned above, it is possible to obtain commercial labels allowing appropriate communication.