During its 11th annual conference, European Bioplastics, the European association for the promotion of bioplastics, took stock of the current and future growth of these biomaterials.
More and more consumers are seeking to limit greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil resources, by opting for more environmentally-friendly products, and thus favoring bioplastics.
The biopolymers market in 2016 is divided into 4 main sectors. The packaging sector is the leading outlet for biomaterial applications, accounting for 40% of the bioplastics market. This is followed by the consumer goods sector (22%), automotive and transport (14%) and construction (14%).
In five years, global production is set to rise from 4.2 million tonnes (in 2016) to 6.1 million tonnes (in 2021), multiplying production capacity by 1.5. This growth is accentuated by the strong development of non-biodegradable biobased polymers. Today, over 75% of biopolymers produced are derived from renewable resources and belong to this category. This sector is dominated by biobased polyurethanes (PUR) and polyethylene terephthalate, which account for 40% and 20% respectively of the world’s bioplastics production capacity. We should also mention biobased polyethylene, whose worldwide production capacity remains at a high level.
Buoyed by the appeal of starch-based starch-based blends, Polylactide (PLA) and Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), However, biobased and biodegradable polymers are still in the minority, with a market share of just 25%. Nevertheless, the latest estimates from the European Bioplastics has announced a fourfold increase in PHA production by 2021, which will account for 4% of biomaterials production compared with 1% in 2016. The opening of a production unit in Europe entirely dedicated to this polymer, as well as increased activity in Asia and the United States, should enable this increase. The breakdown of global bioplastics production is unlikely to change much over the next five years. The majority will be located in Asia (45%), Europe (25%) and North America (22%).
SOURCE: http://www.plastiques-caoutchoucs.com/Le-secteur-du-bioplastique-se.html