PHA Bioplastic Packaging Materials (WP-1478) Objective

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

PHA Bioplastic Packaging Materials (WP-1478) Objective PHA Bioplastic Packaging Materials (WP-1478) Objective Plastic packaging materials represent a significant portion of the world's plastics consumption. Although these materials are low-cost and effective for many Department of Defense applications, the logistics of managing packaging waste in remote areas and foreign countries is becoming increasingly problematic and costly for the military. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are a family of biobased, biodegradable natural plastics that can functionally replace over 50% PHA bottle biodegradation over a of the plastics used today. They range in properties from strong, period of 2 months. moldable thermoplastics to highly elastic materials to soft, sticky compositions, and can be made as resins or as latex with excellent film-forming characteristics. PHAs are also biodegradable in aquatic, soil, and municipal waste treatment environments, and can be composted. The objective of this project was to demonstrate the use of biodegradable PHA natural plastic for foamed packaging and stretch/shrink film applications. PHA packaging foams and stretch/shrink films were produced and tested for functional performance and biodegradability. Technical Approach Specific PHA formulations were designed for each application. For foamed PHAs, a suitable blowing agent and a foam cell nucleant were selected, and a foam extrusion process was identified. For stretch and shrink films, film orientation introduced during processing was a necessary requirement for achieving our target properties. Once the formulation and processing parameters were identified, prototype PHA foams and stretch/shrink films were produced and converted to useful packaging products. Mechanical performance and composting and biodegradability testing was then performed. Results The research team successfully demonstrated PHA polymer branching, thus enabling production of long-chain length PHA polymers. They also produced high melt-strength and melt-elasticity PHA polymers by blending these branched, long-chain length PHA polymers with linear PHA polymers. As a result of these accomplishments, PHA biodegradable plastic was successfully formulated into both foam and film grades. The implications of these findings are important to note. Different foam expansion ratios enable different applications. Low expansions use more material but are much stronger. Very high expansions are most cost efficient, but don’t have sufficient strength for some applications. PHA 1 / 2 foams with expansion ratios of 15X were successfully made. One of the goals of this project was to develop PHA foams with higher (30X) expansion ratios (for use in packaging peanuts). While this goal was not achieved, the medium expansion ratios achieved are ideal for semi-structural applications, such as foam food plates. PHA films produced under this project were used to make blown and cast films. These films did not exhibit any shrinking properties, which the team attributed to the slow crystallization kinetics of PHA and the consequently low levels of orientation frozen-in during film fabrication. Through additional experimentation, however, the team was able to determine the approximate temperature and stretch rate conditions to produce a properly oriented PHA film. It was also not possible to stretch the PHA film at high speed commercial rates. Stretching was achieved at a slow, hand stretching rate. Benefits The biodegradable natural plastic products developed in this project can improve logistics and reduce the costs of transporting and disposing of packaging waste that are burdening military operations worldwide through a substantial reduction in nondegradable plastic waste. PHA plastics also benefit the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy utilization for resin production relative to conventional fossil fuel-based thermoplastics. In addition, PHAs offer the only opportunity for marine degradable packaging while being water resistant and having good barrier properties. Points of Contact Principal Investigator Dr. Chris Schwier Metabolix Phone: 978-513-8300 [email protected] 2 / 2.
Recommended publications
  • Developing Bioprospecting Strategies for Bioplastics Through the Large-Scale Mining of Microbial Genomes
    fmicb-12-697309 July 6, 2021 Time: 18:39 # 1 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 12 July 2021 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.697309 Developing Bioprospecting Strategies for Bioplastics Through the Large-Scale Mining of Microbial Genomes Paton Vuong1, Daniel J. Lim2, Daniel V. Murphy1, Michael J. Wise3,4, Andrew S. Whiteley5 and Parwinder Kaur1* 1 UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia, 2 Department of Physics and Astronomy, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia, 3 School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia, 4 Marshall Centre for Infectious Disease Research and Training, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia, 5 Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, CSIRO, Floreat, WA, Australia The accumulation of petroleum-based plastic waste has become a major issue for the environment. A sustainable and biodegradable solution can be found in Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a microbially produced biopolymer. An analysis of the global phylogenetic and ecological distribution of potential PHA producing bacteria and Edited by: archaea was carried out by mining a global genome repository for PHA synthase (PhaC), Obulisamy Parthiba Karthikeyan, University of Houston, United States a key enzyme involved in PHA biosynthesis. Bacteria from the phylum Actinobacteria Reviewed by: were found to contain the PhaC Class II genotype which produces medium-chain Rajesh K. Sani, length PHAs, a physiology until now only found within a few Pseudomonas species. South Dakota School of Mines Further, several PhaC genotypes were discovered within Thaumarchaeota, an archaeal and Technology, United States Vijay Kumar, phylum with poly-extremophiles and the ability to efficiently use CO2 as a carbon Institute of Himalayan Bioresource source, a significant ecological group which have thus far been little studied for PHA Technology (CSIR), India production.
    [Show full text]
  • Extrusion Foaming of Bioplastics for Lightweight Structure in Food Packaging
    EXTRUSION FOAMING OF BIOPLASTICS FOR LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURE IN FOOD PACKAGING A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Sitthi Duangphet School of Engineering and Design Brunel University December 2012 i Abstract This thesis reports the systematic approaches to overcome the key drawbacks of the pure PHBV, namely low crystallisation rate, tensile strength, ductility, melt viscosity, thermal stability and high materials cost. The physical, mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the pure PHBV were studied systematically first to lay a solid foundation for formulation development. The influence of blending with other biopolymers, inclusion of filler, and chain extender additives in terms of mechanical properties, rheology, thermal decomposition and crystallization kinetics were then followed. Creating lightweight structures by foaming is considered to be one of the effective ways to reduce material consumption, hence the reduction of density and morphology of PHBV-based foams using extrusion foaming technique were studied comprehensively in terms of extrusion conditions (temperature profiles, screw speed and material feeding rate) and the blowing agent content. The material cost reduction was achieved by adding low-cost filler (e.g. CaCO3) and reduction of density by foaming. The thermal instability was enhanced by incorporation of chain extender (e.g. Joncryl) and blending with a high thermal stability biopolymer (e.g. PBAT). The polymer blend also improved the ductility. Adding nucleation agent enhanced the crystallization rate to reduce stickiness of extruded sheet. The final formulation (PHBV/PBAT/CaCO3 composite) was successfully extruded into high quality sheet and thermoformed to produce prototype trays in an industrial scale trial. The effect of the extrusion conditions (temperature profiles, screw speed and material feeding rate) and the blowing agent content are correlated to the density reduction of the foams.
    [Show full text]
  • Impacts of a Ban Or Restrictions in Sale of Items in the EU's Single Use Plastics Directive
    SOCIAL RESEARCH NUMBER: 32/2020 PUBLICATION DATE: 19/05/2020 Preliminary Research to Assess the Impacts of a Ban or Restrictions in Sale in Wales of Items in the EU's Single Use Plastics Directive Mae’r ddogfen yma hefyd ar gael yn Gymraeg. This document is also available in Welsh. © Crown Copyright Digital ISBN 978-1-80038-424-8 Title: Preliminary Research to Assess the Impacts of a Ban or Restrictions in Sale in Wales of Items in the EU's Single Use Plastics Directive Author(s): George Cole, Resource Futures Carla Worth, Resource Futures Katie Powell, Resource Futures Sam Reeve, Resource Futures Susie Stevenson, Miller Research (UK) Nick Morgan, Miller Research (UK) Howard Walker, Bridge Economics Full Research Report: Cole, G; Worth, C; Powell, K; Reeve, S; Stevenson, S; Morgan, N; Walker, H (2019). Preliminary Research to Assess the Impacts of a Ban or Restrictions in Sale in Wales of Items in the EU's Single Use Plastics Directive. Cardiff: Welsh Government, GSR report number 32/2020 Available at: https://gov.wales/impacts-ban-or-restrictions-sale-items-eus-single- use-plastics-directive Views expressed in this report are those of the researcher and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government For further information please contact: Isabella Malet-Lambert Knowledge and Analytical Services Welsh Government Cathays Park Cardiff CF10 3NQ 03000 628250 [email protected] Table of contents List of tables ..........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • 1610 8 Shashoua Icomcc 2017
    ICOM-CC 18th Triennial Conference Sustainable future alternatives 2017 Copenhagen to petroleum-based polymeric SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH conservation materials YVONNE SHASHOUA* INTRODUCTION National Museum of Denmark Kongens Lyngby, Denmark [email protected] Conservation treatments often employ petroleum-based plastic materials KATJA JANKOVA ATANASOVA as packaging, adhesives and coatings that are synthesised from non- Technical University of Denmark Kongens Lyngby, Denmark renewable crude oil, a resource at risk of exhaustion within the next [email protected] 100 years. The Going Green conference held at the British Museum in CLAIRE CURRAN ICA Art Conservation April 2009 concluded that conservators are under increasing pressure to Cleveland OH, USA [email protected] review their practices in light of international environmental targets and *Author for correspondence the rising costs of fossil fuels. Biopolymers are considered sustainable either because they are synthesised from renewable sources or because they biodegrade to CO2 and H2O in soil and water after use. The range and KEYWORDS: sustainable, biopolymer, bioplastic quality of bioplastics have increased dramatically since 2006 and, today, polyethylene, polyester, soya, humic acid polyethylenes, polyesters, polyurethanes and polyvinyl alcohols can be fully synthesised from biomass, although their commercial availability ABSTRACT is more limited in Europe than in the USA and South America. While The research described here is the first study extensive research has been conducted into the rates and mechanism of on the use of sustainable, plant-based biopoly- degradation of bioplastics on disposal (Rani et al. 2012), few projects have mers in conservation practice. Two applications of biopolymers to conservation were investi- focused on their chemical and physical properties during use and none gated – in commercial bioplastics as substi- have addressed the application of bioplastics to conservation practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Characterization and Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), Polylactides (PLA) and PHA-PLA Blends
    Characterization and Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), Polylactides (PLA) and PHA-PLA Blends Rafeya Sohail Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore Nazia Jamil ( [email protected] ) Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab Lahore Research Keywords: Degradation, FT-IR, Mixed Culture, PHA-PLA blends, Polyhydroxyalkanoates, Polylactides, SEM, Soil Posted Date: December 1st, 2020 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-113670/v1 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License 1 Characterization and Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoates 2 (PHA), Polylactides (PLA) and PHA-PLA blends 3 Rafeya Sohail1, Nazia Jamil1 4 1Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam 5 Campus, Lahore 54590, Punjab, Pakistan 6 Correspondence: 7 Nazia Jamil 8 [email protected] 9 1 10 Abstract 11 Biodegradable biopolymers such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and polylactide (PLA) have 12 wide range of applications in almost all sectors. Degradation of these polymers, however 13 efficient, still creates a paradox with green chemistry principles. Blending of these polymers can 14 potentially decrease plastic pollution due to their increased biodegradability. During this study, 15 PHAwas produced using bacterial strains DL3; Bacillus subtilis (MT043898), PWA; Bacillus 16 subtilis (MH142143), PWC; Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MH142144), PWF; Bacillus tequilensis 17 (MH142145) and PWG; Bacillus safensis (MH142146). Corn-based PLA was produced 18 chemically and physically blendedwith PHA (PHA-PLA blends). During molecular studies, 19 PHA, PLA and PHA-PLA blendswere characterized via FT-IR analysis, SEM, and light 20 microscopy indicating successful blending of PHA-PLA samples.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodegradable Packaging Materials from Animal Processing Co-Products and Wastes: an Overview
    polymers Review Biodegradable Packaging Materials from Animal Processing Co-Products and Wastes: An Overview Diako Khodaei, Carlos Álvarez and Anne Maria Mullen * Department of Food Quality and Sensory Science, Teagasc Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin, Ireland; [email protected] (D.K.); [email protected] (C.Á.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +353-(1)-8059521 Abstract: Biodegradable polymers are non-toxic, environmentally friendly biopolymers with con- siderable mechanical and barrier properties that can be degraded in industrial or home composting conditions. These biopolymers can be generated from sustainable natural sources or from the agri- cultural and animal processing co-products and wastes. Animals processing co-products are low value, underutilized, non-meat components that are generally generated from meat processing or slaughterhouse such as hide, blood, some offal etc. These are often converted into low-value products such as animal feed or in some cases disposed of as waste. Collagen, gelatin, keratin, myofibrillar proteins, and chitosan are the major value-added biopolymers obtained from the processing of animal’s products. While these have many applications in food and pharmaceutical industries, a sig- nificant amount is underutilized and therefore hold potential for use in the generation of bioplastics. This review summarizes the research progress on the utilization of meat processing co-products to fabricate biodegradable polymers with the main focus on food industry applications. In addition, the factors affecting the application of biodegradable polymers in the packaging sector, their current industrial status, and regulations are also discussed. Citation: Khodaei, D.; Álvarez, C.; Mullen, A.M. Biodegradable Keywords: biodegradable polymers; packaging materials; meat co-products; animal by-products; Packaging Materials from Animal protein films Processing Co-Products and Wastes: An Overview.
    [Show full text]
  • WRAP | Understanding Plastic Packaging 1 Plastic Can Be Made from Fossil-Based This Diagram Demonstrates the Or Bio-Based Materials
    Understanding plastic packaging and the language we use to describe it The way a plastic is designed This document sets out to clarify the differences Contents to behave alongside what between the materials used Material type 3 to make plastic packaging, Behaviour and features 4 material it’s made from, the way plastics can behave affects what it can be used and, the terminology used Suitability for recycling 5 for as well as how it can be to describe plastics. Treatment and disposal route 6 Environmental impact 7 recycled and disposed of at Carbon footprint over life cycle 8 the end of its life. Glossary 9 References 10 With plastics top of the sustainability compostable – and the effect these agenda many companies are looking factors have on how it’s collected at alternatives to conventional and disposed of. plastic typically used for packaging applications. Understanding the terms that we use to describe plastics is essential However, there is potential for the to ensure that the right materials language that we use to describe are used in the right applications, plastics to be confusing: with the and so that all plastics are recycled different material types of plastic – in the right way and pollution of fossil-based or bio-based; how the environment is prevented. plastic is described and referred to – conventional plastics or bioplastics; This document is aimed at anyone and, how plastic behaves – non- who is interested in understanding biodegradable, biodegradable or the complexities around different types of plastic. WRAP | Understanding plastic packaging 1 Plastic can be made from fossil-based This diagram demonstrates the or bio-based materials.
    [Show full text]
  • Bio-Based and Biodegradable Plastics – Facts and Figures Focus on Food Packaging in the Netherlands
    Bio-based and biodegradable plastics – Facts and Figures Focus on food packaging in the Netherlands Martien van den Oever, Karin Molenveld, Maarten van der Zee, Harriëtte Bos Rapport nr. 1722 Bio-based and biodegradable plastics - Facts and Figures Focus on food packaging in the Netherlands Martien van den Oever, Karin Molenveld, Maarten van der Zee, Harriëtte Bos Report 1722 Colophon Title Bio-based and biodegradable plastics - Facts and Figures Author(s) Martien van den Oever, Karin Molenveld, Maarten van der Zee, Harriëtte Bos Number Wageningen Food & Biobased Research number 1722 ISBN-number 978-94-6343-121-7 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.18174/408350 Date of publication April 2017 Version Concept Confidentiality No/yes+date of expiration OPD code OPD code Approved by Christiaan Bolck Review Intern Name reviewer Christaan Bolck Sponsor RVO.nl + Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs Client RVO.nl + Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs Wageningen Food & Biobased Research P.O. Box 17 NL-6700 AA Wageningen Tel: +31 (0)317 480 084 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.wur.nl/foodandbiobased-research © Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, institute within the legal entity Stichting Wageningen Research All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. The publisher does not accept any liability for inaccuracies in this report. 2 © Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, institute within the legal entity Stichting Wageningen Research Preface For over 25 years Wageningen Food & Biobased Research (WFBR) is involved in research and development of bio-based materials and products.
    [Show full text]
  • Fork It Over! Create Biodegradable Plastic
    Fork it over! Create Biodegradable Plastic Bioenergy Education Initiative Levels: Description: Grades 6-12 In this lesson students learn how to create bioplastic (plastic derived from renewable sources). Using the engineering design process they will create, Content Areas: test, evaluate and improve a bioplastic utensil made from an animal, alga Chemistry; Engineering; Physical Science or plant source. The background material provides an opportunity to teach students about the difference between degradable, biodegradable and Lesson Time: compostable plastic and their environmental impact. Making Utensil: 45 -60 minutes (Curing Bioplastic: 3-5 days) Using This Lesson: Testing & Evaluating Utensil: 45 minutes The experiment in this lesson is done in small groups. It is broken down Improving Design: 45-60 minutes into three parts done over two weeks, depending on the drying time, which can take up to a week. In the second half of the lesson, students Next Generation Science evaluate the different utensils’ material characteristics. They can then Standards: redo the experiment to optimize their design. An advanced student option PSA1.A; ETS1.B is also available. MS-PS1-2; MS-ETS1-4 The background information is written at a ninth grade level and can be HS-PS1-5; HS-ETS1-3 used as reading material for students. Vocabulary words are highlighted Objectives & Outcomes: in the text and defined. Additionally, leading questions are included to promote discussion and critical thinking. • Students will develop biodegradable types of plastic and optimize Why Bioplastic? materials to develop a viable There are many types of plastic used in our everyday product. life. The source, type and chemical composition of • Students will engage in the plastic determines the size of its carbon footprint engineering design and testing (total amount of greenhouse gasses produced in its process.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Issue In
    PPW_1_fcV3_Layout 1 02/05/2014 10:50 Page 1 PACKPRINT WORLD PACKPRINTWORLD.COM SPRING 2014 A HIDDEN GEM IN THE QUALITY PRINT MARKET S P R Gravure is an established technique with a quality image I N G 2 second to none - so why has it fallen out of favor? 0 1 4 + THE EVOLUTION OF PACKAGING MATERIALS DEVELOPMENTS IN INKS AND COATINGS MANAGING A DIGITAL PRINTING OPERATION SOLUTIONS FOR HIGH-QUALITY SHORT TO MEDIUM RUN PRINTED PACKAGING Game changer Combining high-quality color with the efficiency of digital printing, HP Indigo will take your business to the next level. Engineered for mid-web packaging applications such as flexible packaging and label printing, the HP Indigo 20000 Digital Press is a superior alternative to analog technology. It brings the same quality as gravure to your operation so you can meet all your client demands for medium and short runs, whilst minimizing your operational costs. Grow your business with the HP Indigo 20000 Find out more at hp.com/go/hpindigo20000 © 2014 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. 4 | Contents CONTENTS Editorial [email protected] Andy Thomas Group Managing Editor David Pittman Group News Editor Nick Coombes Consultant Editor Mike Fairley International Publishing Director Danielle Jerschefske North America Editor James Quirk Latin America Editor Kevin Liu China Editor Carol Houghton Editorial Assistant Advertising [email protected] 10 Tim Gordon Publishing Director Joerg Singer Advertising Manager – PPW Randy Kessler Advertising Manager – North America Richard Quirk Account
    [Show full text]
  • Rheology of Polyhydroxyalkanoates: a Study of a Class of "Green" Polymers
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Supervised Undergraduate Student Research Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects and Creative Work Spring 5-2005 Rheology of Polyhydroxyalkanoates: A Study of a Class of "Green" Polymers Kari Elizabeth Tjader University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj Recommended Citation Tjader, Kari Elizabeth, "Rheology of Polyhydroxyalkanoates: A Study of a Class of "Green" Polymers" (2005). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/922 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Supervised Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Work at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Rheology of Polyhydroxyalkanoates: A Study of a Class of "Green" Polymers Senior Honors Project Kari Elizabeth Tjader Chemical Engineering Spring 2005 Faculty Mentor: Dr. Simioan Petrovan Department of Chemical Engineering This research was accomplished in conjunction with chemical engineering 410, a senior special-topics laboratory class, with partner Mary Airhart. ii Table of Contents List of Figures .............................................................................................................. .iii Summary ..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • An Update on the Future Prospects of Glycerol Polymers
    Chemical and Biological Engineering Publications Chemical and Biological Engineering 2-27-2021 An update on the future prospects of Glycerol Polymers Shailja Goyal Iowa State University, [email protected] Nacú B. Hernández Iowa State University, [email protected] Eric W. Cochran Iowa State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cbe_pubs Part of the Polymer and Organic Materials Commons The complete bibliographic information for this item can be found at https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ cbe_pubs/456. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. An update on the future prospects of Glycerol Polymers Abstract Glycerol, a water‐soluble polyol, is currently used in a wide variety of markets, e.g., as a sweetener in drinks, as an additive in the food and cosmetic industry, or as an antifreeze agent, to name a few. The blooming biodiesel production has created an excess supply of glycerol by‐product. Researchers all around the world are actively exploring strategies to utilize this cheap and abundantly available biobased molecule. To date, glycerol‐based polymers have only been examined extensively for use in biomedical applications, however, the use of biobased crude glycerol is nonviable for such applications due to the presence of impurities such as methanol and residual fatty acids from the biodiesel production process. Thankfully, the increased volumes of glycerol generated from biodiesel production have stimulated the research on its use in various other industrial applications such as the production of commodity chemicals, polymers, etc. In this article, we summarize some of the efforts to valorize glycerol for polymeric applications such as polyurethanes, polyhydroxyalkanoates, and adhesives.
    [Show full text]