Intelligent plastics, naturally Intelligent plastics, naturally Our mission is to produce bioplastics that can challenge the dominance of oil-based polymers, and ultimately replace them completely.
Contents
02 Bioplastics 04 Applications 06 Products 08 R&D 10 Company 12 Contact
Biome Bioplastics 01 Bioplastics The evolution of polymers
From their inception over 100 years ago, plastics have become What is a bioplastic? Why bioplastics? indispensable to our daily lives. A more sustainable product In 1907 Leo Baekeland added phenol to formaldehyde to form Bakelite. Leo became a very wealthy man and the Bioplastics reduce the use of non-renewable, oil-based world became a very different place. Today, plastics are resources, which are increasingly scarce and unstable in price. indispensable at every stage of the supply chain, for every industry, product or service. Managed end-of-life However, whilst plastics are prized for their durability, Bioplastics can biodegrade or compost at the end of their light weight and long life, it is these very factors that useful life. Durable plant-based bioplastics can also be make them one of the larger environmental threats of recycled as well as their conventional equivalents. the modern world. Apart from the small amount that’s incinerated, every bit of plastic made over the last century is still present somewhere on our planet. The price of this Consumer engagement Consumers are increasingly seeking more environmentally ‘miracle material’ is being paid by the natural world: from A bioplastic is a plastic that is made the sea life that consumes it, to hormonal disruption in friendly products, and looking to brands to demonstrate their animals, to the area of ocean dominated by the Great partly or wholly from materials sustainability credentials. Products and packaging made from Pacific Garbage Patch. derived from biological sources, such bioplastics send a direct message to consumers. as sugarcane, potato starch or the Around 4% of the oil that the world uses every year goes cellulose from trees and straw. into producing plastics. Global resources have long been Intelligent benefits unable to sustain escalating consumption. As the cost Bioplastics are often designed so that Bioplastics can be engineered to have novel technical of oil rises and the effects of global warming intensify, they biodegrade or compost at the characteristics such as vapour control and tactile properties. governments and industries the world over are forced to Tailored to biodegrade after a determined period of time, take action. As giving up plastics would mean giving up end of their useful life, aided by fungi, modern life as we know it, attention is turning to a viable, bacteria and enzymes. they can also enrich the soil on decomposition. natural alternative. Bioplastics can generally be directly Improving carbon footprints Bioplastics are that alternative; they are made partly or substituted for their oil-based Biomass feedstock absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows. wholly from sustainable plant sources, and are often biodegradable, composting at the end of their useful equivalents. They can also be made In addition, bioplastic manufacture can use less energy in life. Challenging the dominance of oil-based products, to be chemically identical to standard production, reducing manufacturing costs and lowering the modern bioplastics are now suitable for an impressive industrial plastics. carbon footprint of the final product. range of applications without the need for new equipment or infrastructure.
02 Bioplastics Biome Bioplastics 03 Applications The range and capability of our products are The everyday made extraordinary continually expanding. They are already in more places than you might imagine. In the next decade we will see bioplastics become part of our everyday lives.
Paul Law, Managing Director, Biome Bioplastics
Modern bioplastics are now suitable Food service Cosmetics Automotive for an impressive range of applications Problem: UK pubs, restaurants, takeaway outlets and Problem: The cosmetics industry creates over 120 Problem: With transport representing one of the highest without the need for new equipment hotels produce over three million tonnes of waste every billion units of packaging a year. Much of this is short contributors to global carbon emissions, automotive year. The challenge is to create sustainable packaging lived and often ends up in landfill. Even the most basic manufacturers are addressing materials as part of the or infrastructure. Our biopolymers without impacting on food quality or safety, or daily personal care products, such as toothbrushes and drive to design more sustainable vehicles. In this industry, are suitable for both short-life and inconveniencing the customer. The desire for resources razors, pose a major environmental challenge. However, safety and performance are paramount and cannot be that are GM-free and non-food-derived is particularly consumers have come to expect high standards and don’t compromised. disposable products as well as long- important to this sector. want to compromise on quality in the drive for a more life, durable applications. sustainable solution. Solution: Bioplastics can be used in place of oil-derived Solution: Our biopolymers are suitable for a wide equivalents for the automotive industry. They can be range of catering and food-to-go products, from Solution: Our plant-based bioplastics ensure that brands injection moulded with characteristics similar to ABS, thermoformed coffee cup lids to injection-moulded in the cosmetics and personal care sector are caring for without any modifications required to existing machinery. cutlery and coatings for paper and board. Our both people and the environment. Our materials can be plant-based products perform as well as oil-derived extrusion blow moulded to form opaque, soft-feel bottles Industrial equivalents, and are 100% biodegradable and ready whilst accompanying bioplastic caps can be injection to compost along with food waste. moulded. Problem: As a highly carbon intensive sector, industry
is increasingly focused on how best to process Packaging Electronics limited natural resources into products with minimal environmental impact and reduced greenhouse gas Problem: The development of sophisticated packaging Problem: The electronics industry has made considerable emissions. has vastly improved the shelf life of products whilst strides in addressing its environmental impact, primarily helping to define brands’ relationships with their through improving the energy efficiency of products and Solution: Bioplastics meet the demand for both customers. However, with vast amounts of packaging devices. It is equally important, however, that the industry long-life and cost-effective materials that underpin the ending up in landfill, unsustainable packaging is a highly addresses the sustainability of the materials it uses. sustainability of operations. Our product ranges are visible environmental issue. optimised for films, fibres, casting, moulded and roto- Solution: Bioplastics can be injection moulded with moulded items. Solution: Bioplastics provide an ideal solution, removing characteristics similar to ABS, without any modifications the environmental impact without removing the required to existing machinery. Bioplastics can be used packaging. Our plant-based polymers compost at the in place of oil-derived equivalents for plastic casings and end of their useful life. Our products can be used for parts. They are plant derived and typically process at a a wide range of packaging items, from primary and lower temperature than conventional plastics, contributing secondary packaging films, laminates and rigid sheets to the overall sustainability of electronic products. for thermoforming and vacuum forming, to point-of-sale displays, trays and merchandisers.
04 Applications Biome Bioplastics 05 Products Intelligent plastics, naturally Need a custom blend? We work with our customers on collaborative projects to deliver market-changing opportunities. Our specialist technical team can work with you to develop custom blends with properties to suit your exact requirements.
Building on over 20 years of High temperature development activity, we produce an Our BiomeHT range for moulding and thermoforming shows unrivalled heat Key properties Processing impressive range of high-performance resistance whilst being from a GM-free, non-food, sustainable source. bioplastics that meet our customers’ High renewable content Existing machinery demands for both environmental and Coating We aim for the highest possible bio-based Our product ranges are developed to end-of-life performance. BiomeEasyFlow is perfect for extrusion content in all of our products, reducing the process on conventional machinery with coating to paper, board and film, use of non-renewable, oil-based resources. no modifications required to existing providing a GM-free, biodegradable and equipment. compostable alternative to oil-based LDPE. Enhanced performance We focus on the production of high Lower temperature Lamination performance biopolymers that offer a Bioplastics typically require lower BiomeBioLam is designed for lamination competitive alternative to conventional production temperatures, providing within complex multilayered film structures oil-based plastics. energy savings for the converter. with excellent barrier performance and interlayer adhesion. Range of feedstocks Recyclability Cords Our products use a range of natural Production waste can be re-granulated BiomeCord for spun fibre and feedstocks including potato starch, corn and used with virgin material. monofilaments provides a sustainably starch and cellulose. We look to use sourced and biodegradable alternative to GM-free materials wherever possible. Productivity polyamide resins. Doing anything new requires a little Biodegradable learning. Our technical team provides Flexible films All of our products are 100% support from the outset to optimise BiomeEP for blown flims offers enhanced biodegradable and compostable according productivity. print and adhesion characteristics, enabling to EN 13432, ASTM D6400 and Vinçotte excellent print quality at high production OK compost standards. speeds. Food safe Formed products Our product range is both EU and FDA Our BiomeRG range for moulded, vacuum formed and thermoformed products food contact approved. provides a bioplastic solution with proven performance.
06 Products Biome Bioplastics 07 Research and development Continual product innovation
1862 1907 1939 1953 1976 1990 2007 2009 2010 2012 2013 2014
Alexander Parkes Leo Baekeland invents The outbreak of war The commercialisation Now available in a Commercial demand Biome Bioplastics is BiomeHT is launched, BiomeCord for fibres BiomeEasyFlow is Biome Bioplastics Biome Bioplastics creates the first man- Bakelite, becomes a leads to stockpiling as of polyester fibres wide variety of forms, for bioplastics starts founded and starts establishing a and monofilaments developed, a low begins to investigate launches Biome made plastic from very wealthy man, and the military substitutes introduces the concept plastic becomes the to develop, driven by to develop its own new standard in emerges from Biome viscosity biopolymer the extraction of BioLam for use an organic material the world becomes a plastics for metals and of ‘drip dry’ and most used material in oil price volatility and biopolymers temperature-stable Bioplastics’ laboratory designed for coating to platform chemicals in multilayer film derived from cellulose very different place rubber ‘non-iron’ fabrics the world environmental concern bioplastics paper, board and film from lignin structures
Our R&D activities are tightly focused Investigating lignin Industrial biotechnology on tackling the intrinsic synthesis Biome Bioplastics is conducting research into a new, Industrial biotechnology is firmly supported by the Robust estimates of of bioplastics that currently keeps plentiful source of organic chemicals for the manufacture UK government as a means of developing less carbon the global industrial costs high and limits performance. of bioplastics that could significantly reduce costs, expand intensive products and processes. It poses a significant functionality and increase performance. opportunity for the UK’s chemical sector to maintain and biotechnology market Responding to these challenges will increase its competitiveness through the development of by 2025 range from enable us to accelerate the adoption Backed by a grant from the Technology Strategy Board efficient and sustainable ways of satisfying our chemical (TSB) and working in partnership with the University and material needs. We are always interested in hearing £150 billion to £360 of innovative, natural plastics across of Warwick’s Centre for Industrial Biotechnology and from potential partners for collaborative opportunities in billion; similar estimates an even wider range of markets. Biorefining, we are conducting a pioneering project to the industrial biotechnology field. investigate the possibility of using lignin as an alternative, for the UK industrial bio-based source of aromatic chemicals. Product development biotechnology market Biome Bioplastics personnel are working with the Backed by an extensive patent base and industry range from £4 billion Warwick team to develop methods to control the lignin knowledge, we often work with our customers on breakdown process to determine whether these chemicals to £12 billion. collaborative projects to deliver market-changing can be extracted in significant quantities. The initial opportunities. Our commercial team works with brand Industrial Biotechnology Innovation feasibility project will replace the oil-derived equivalent owners and their converters to realise their ambitions. and Growth Team, IB 2025 Report currently used in a polyester that conveys strength and We have a comprehensive range of lab facilities that flexibility in some of our products. allow us to test material performance and run pilot manufacturing and application tests on prototype Building on this work, we are exploring the possibilities products. Our bioplastics are considered the ‘best-in-the- for deriving a wide selection of bio-based aromatic market’ for use on conventional processing equipment, chemicals from lignin as the foundation for the next but we encourage our customers to work with our generation of bioplastics. support team on their first production run.
08 Research and development Biome Bioplastics 09 Biome Bioplastics Our passion is delivering Leading the field innovative polymers that combine impressive performance with strong sustainability credentials.
Paul Mines, CEO, Biome Bioplastics
Biome Bioplastics is one of the UK’s Our team Development partners leading developers of intelligent, We are proud to have built a core group of highly Offering Our development mission is to be at the forefront of natural plastics. motivated scientists and business people with bio-based polymer innovation, producing materials that considerable experience of natural polymer chemistry can challenge the dominance of oil-based plastics and Our approach and product performance, as well as the passion to Service ultimately replace them completely. deliver results. As we continue to grow, our objective is We pride ourselves on offering a to recruit and retain a team that is recognised as head We are pleased to work in partnership with a number of Biome Bioplastics is backed by over 20 years of friendly and approachable commercial and shoulders above the competition in application and organisations that are committed to materials innovation development in the polymer sector. Today we continue and technical service. Our sales teams product engineering. and the realisation of a bio-based economy. to launch new, innovative products tailored to our cover Europe and North America, and customers’ needs. are serviced by product warehousing on Group both continents. Our expertise is extensive and covers everything from raw materials and production through to a thorough Biome Bioplastics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Biome understanding of how materials and additives behave Technologies plc, a fast growing technology business Support and perform during processing and storage. Our quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock We provide operating guidelines along customers are our focus and we take a collaborative Exchange. More information on Biome Technologies plc, with telephone and on-site support approach to enhancing the value of their products including our investor relations area, can be found at throughout the testing and production through research, development and design. www.biometechnologiesplc.com. process.
Innovation Building on our research and development activities, we continue to launch new, innovative products tailored to the exact needs of our customers.
Biomass refineries Bioplastic production Converters Brand owners Businesses/consumers Capacity We have a broad and resilient supply chain that is well placed to manufacture and deliver a wide range of high- performance biopolymers to a global market. Plant Raw Biome bioplastic Plastic Finished material material granules product product
10 Company Biome Bioplastics 11 Contact We’re waiting to take your call
Get in touch to find out how our bioplastics can improve both the quality and sustainability of your products.
Head office Sales – Europe
Biome Bioplastics Limited +44 (0)2380 527 910 North Road, Marchwood [email protected] Southampton SO40 4BL United Kingdom Sales – North America +44 (0)2380 867 100 [email protected] +1 201 541 2476 www.biomebioplastics.com [email protected]
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