Materials News can be combined with polymer or biopolymer fibres for greater versatility. Foam-formed cellulose-based materials also look like a paper product. And though it is still costly, VTT says that once cellulose-based foam production is up-scaled and becomes mainstream, it expects the price to be reasonable and lower than PLA, another alternative for EPS.
It says that tests performed by Eden Research Laboratory have now shown 97% biodegradation of a GP/PBAT film in ocean water within a year, according to ASTM-D6691 standards for marine biodegradability. The key to this new plastic compound is BioLogiQ's NuPlastiQ GP General Purpose BioPolymer. GP is a 100% natural, renewably-resourced, plant-based resin that has been
Care for marine life To solve the global waste problem with the spill-over in oceans, VTT is developing microbes that degrade plastic as part of a project called PlastBug. The aim is to develop a small, container-based factory that can be placed in an area where centralised plastic waste collecting or recycling is not possible or feasible. The container can be located on a beach or ship. The factory unit would get most its energy needed for the process from solar energy and wind power.
VTT’s PlastBug project involves developing microbes that degrade plastic as a solution to the marine plastic waste problem
This year, researchers in the PlastBug project have been searching microbes that are capable of degrading different kind of plastics (PE, PP, PS or PET) and developed methods for the pre-treatment of plastics. Researchers are currently using a threestage screening method to screen microbes from different sources. A complete process is being engineered around the fermenting unit containing microbes – a small plant in which plastic is modified from waste to products. The aim is that the pilot unit will operate on the Baltic Sea in 2021, but funding still needs to be secured for the realisation of this plan. If the process can be made to work effectively enough, the PlastBug units can progress to commercial production and operate in different locations around the world. Meanwhile, working along the lines of plastics that degrade in the ocean, BioLogiQ Inc, a US manufacturer of biobased and compostable thermoplastic resins derived from potato starch, has created a blend of its NuPlastiQ GP grade with PBAT (polybutylene adipate terephthalate), called NuPlastiQ MB BioPolymer.
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