Bioplastics: Facts, Realities and Challenges Chems Research Forum 2012, Michigan State University

Sustainable Biobased Materials

BioPlastics: Facts, Realities and Challenges ChEMS Research Forum 2012, Michigan State University

www.natur‐tec.com Agenda

• Introduction • Bioplastics – Biobased Plastics – Biodegradable Plastics • Standards and Different Technologies • Natur‐Tec® Products and Applications • Current Projects with MSU

Northern Technologies International Corp. • Environmentally Beneficial Materials Science • Headquartered in Circle Pines, MN USA • Global distribution through 29 Joint‐Ventures • Global R&D & Manufacturing Facilities • NASDAQ Ticker: NTIC

Global leader in industrial packaging solutions

Proprietary biobased and biodegradable polymers

Biodegradable and biobased polymer resin alternatives to conventional plastics for industrial and consumer applications

Proprietary Technology Natur‐Tec® Manufacturing Process • Selection of biopolymer matrix • Proprietary knowhow on compounding, blending and dispersion •Patented custom formulations Competitive Advantages • Ease of processing ‐ end products manufactured with conventional equipment • Competitive performance to traditional plastics • Portfolio of resin compounds tailored to a wide variety of end‐use applications

“Bio‐Based” Feedstock

Must Be Certifiable as Bio‐Based As per ASTM D6866 Bio‐Plastics

“Biodegradable” End of Life

Must Be Defined and Certified Compostable As per ASTM D6400, EN13432

Environmental

‐Lower Carbon Footprint ‐Better “End of Life” Options

Goal ‐1: LOWER environmental footprint for plastics Goal ‐ 2: Reduce GHG Emissions

Strategic Economic

‐Reduce dependence on ‐Taxation: Carbon or Waste foreign oil ‐Feedstock: Oil vs. Plants

Goal ‐ 1: Utilize SUSTAINABLE Goal ‐ 1: Create viable product feedstock vs. non‐sustainable offerings feedstock (oil) Goal ‐ 2: Cost imbalance between compost and landfill

ASTM D6866 – Determines the amount (%) of new carbon (biomass carbon) compared to old carbon (fossil carbon) – Based on total carbon content of the material and not total mass of the material – Contemporary biomass has 100% radiocarbon and is absent (0%) in fossil fuels. ASTM D6866 uses this difference to determine the amount of biomass carbon vs. fossil carbon.

Carbon Dioxide

(CO2)

Biomass (Humus)

Water Fragmentation Biodegradation (H2O)

Fragmentation – first step in the biodegradation process, in which organic matter is broken down into microscopic fragments.

Biodegradability – complete microbial assimilation of the fragmented product as a food source by the microorganisms in the disposal environment.

Compostability – complete microbial assimilation within 180 days in an industrial compost environment.

ASTM D6400 Specifies Three Criteria 1. Mineralization – Conversion to carbon dioxide, water & biomass via microbial assimilation – Time: 180 days or less, the same rate as natural materials ‐ leaves, paper, grass, food scraps 2. Disintegration – Less than 10% of test material remains on 2mm sieve 3. Safety – No impacts on plant growth, using OECD Guide 208 – Regulated (heavy) metals less than 50% of EPA prescribed threshold

ISO 17088

ASTM D6400 (USA) EN13432 (Europe)

GreenPLA (Japan)

Starch Additive

Plastic (PE) Resin

“Oxo” Degradable Bags

Heavy Metal Additive

Photo: Nuria Vario

• Plastic pieces can attract and hold hydrophobic elements like PCB and DDT up to one million times background levels. As a result, floating plastic is like a poison pill • Plastic residues function as a transport medium for toxic chemicals in the marine environment. • PCBs, DDE, and nonylphenols (NP) were detected in high concentrations in degraded polypropylene (PP) resin pellets collected from four Japanese coasts. • Takada et al Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 318‐324 • Blight, L.K. & A.E. Burger. 1997. Occurrence of plastic particles in seabirds from the Eastern North Pacific. Mar. Poll. Bull. 34:323‐325 • From Algalita Marine Research Foundation – www.algalita.org/pelagic_plastic.html

• Thompson, R.C. et al. 2004. Lost at sea: Where is all the plastic? Science 304, 838, 2004 • Plastic debris around the globe can erode (degrade) away and end up as microscopic granular or fiber‐like fragments, and that these fragments have been steadily accumulating in the oceans • Fragments come from several sources, the researchers suggest. These include mechanical erosion of nondegradable plastic bottles and packaging, nondegradable parts of biodegradable plastics, and plastic pieces used as abrasives in cleaning agents. FLOTSAM Lab experiments show that marine animals consume microscopic bits of plastic, as seen here in the digestive tract of an amphipod. © Science 2004

Oxo-Degradable Compostable Film Polyethylene Film

Organic Waste (35% by weight of MSW stream)

Diverted away from Landfills to Centralized Composting Facilities

Key Benefits: • Organic waste in landfills decomposes anaerobically into Methane, which is 23

times more dangerous than CO2 as a Green House Gas (GHG) • Composting provides 70% volume reduction in waste and end product is valuable soil amendment (fertilizer)

A growing trend is the implementation of “Zero Waste” or “Zero Landfill” solutions. Entities of all sorts and sizes, will look to adopt biodegradable foodservice ware in their cafeterias to enable source segregation and diversion of food waste (organics), away from landfills, and to centralized composting facilities.

Broad portfolio of Biopolymer Resins: • Price‐Performance optimized for specific end‐user applications • Meet industry standards for biodegradability (EN 13432, ASTM D6400) • Sourced from renewable feedstock

Process Natur-Tec® Bio Resins Application Examples Trash bags, Bin liners, Pet Waste bags, Blown Film BF703B Agricultural film, Disposable film packaging Injection Compostable cutlery, cups, hangers, durable BF3002 Molded consumer goods, engineering plastics Extrusion BF3001J Coated paper cups, plates, pouches, bags Coating

• 100% Biodegradable ‐ meets requirements of EN13432 , ASTM D6400 and AS4736

• Engineered for high performance – good tensile and elongation in both directions • Easily processable on standard PE lines with a very stable bubble • Provides excellent print surface with no corona treatment needed • Patented technology provides lower film density of 1.15, versus up to 1.35 for competitive starch‐based compounds

• Fully biodegradable • Meets requirements of ASTM D6400 and EN13432 • Renewable resource‐based • Successfully processed on PS lines and PP lines

• Renewable resource‐based (modified PLA) • Flexible, and not brittle unlike competitive VS. c‐PLA based products • High temperature resistance: up to 190°F

Natur‐Tec® Competitor’s • Certified Compostable Cutlery Cutlery

• Modified PLA‐based resin compound

• Fully Compostable as per EN13432 and ASTM D6400

• Provides excellent melt strength and reduced neck‐in compared to virgin PLA

• Easily processable on PE coating lines with high throughputs

• Michigan State University (MSU), USA – One of the leading research institutes for advanced biobased chemistries

• Natur‐Tec® collaborates closely with MSU in commercializing cutting edge bioplastics technologies including:

– National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored project on development of next‐ generation PLA‐based materials

– US Dept. of Defense sponsored project on advanced plant‐oil based coatings

Reactively Compatibilized PLA Compounds

• $150K in Phase I ‐ proof of concept • $500K as Phase II ‐ to commercialize PLA based compounds in various applications + • Collaboration with Prof. Narayan’s group • Current Students on Project – Shawn Shi

Technology & Applications

• The proposed reaction induces in situ formation of a diblock copolymer at the interface between the two phases in the phase‐separated system in presence of a catalyst.

• The copolymer can act as an interfacial modifier to strengthen the interfacial region between the blend components resulting in improved properties of the blend.

Vegetable Oil Based Coatings for Marine Biodegradable Waste Bags

• $70K in Phase I ‐ proof of concept • $500K as Phase II ‐ to commercialize coatings on paper substrates for water resistant waste bags for the U.S. Navy + • Patented chemistry • Collaboration with Prof. Narayan’s group • Current Students on Project – Kyle Thompson

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OMe O Si MeO OMe

O + H2O - CH3OH O O O RT Vulcanization of Silylated O O O MeO O Soy Oil Si HO Si O OMe O

Rate of Cure: MeO O Si OH Si O OMe O •Relative Humidity O •Temperature O • Accelerator O O O •Sample Thickness O

Vineet Dalal Director, Global Market Development Phone: 763.225.6600 Email: [email protected]