Bio-Based Polymers

Bio-based polimeri su oni proizvedeni od obnovljivih sirovina. Ove sirovine su sirovi sastojci koji potiču iz održivih i dopunjavajućih izvora, a ne tradicionalno korišćenih fosilnih goriva. Na primer, talovo ulje i jestiva ulja koja su nusproizvodi poljoprivredne i ugostiteljske industrije.

Zamena izvora na bazi fosilnih goriva sa obnovljivim sirovinama podržava kružnu ekonomiju i rezultira polimerima sa značajnim smanjenjem ugljičnog otiska uz zadržavanje kvaliteta primarnog ili netaknutog polimera.

Sustainable Solutions from Nature

Renewable feedstocks are sent to a chemical plant where they are converted to molecular building blocks for polymers e.g. bio-naptha.

Renewable feedstocks are those derived from renewable biological resources, rather than traditional materials derived from fossil fuels such as natural gas or crude oil. Example sources include:

Starch from corn, sugarcane or maize
Tall oil, a by-product of manufacturing paper from pine trees
Organic waste from the food and catering industry
Methane gas captured from compost manufacturing facilities

Renewable and traditional raw ingredients are combined, such as bio-naphtha from renewable sources with traditional naphtha, then repolymerised to make new material. This specific manufacturing process is known as bio-attribution, however, there are many other varieties of bio-based polymer.

The proportion of renewable material in the process is carefully tracked and documented throughout the supply chain (using an independent accreditation such as ISCC).

Why choose a bio-based polymer?

The inclusion of renewable feedstocks in the manufacture of polymers can help to reduce the carbon footprint of a final product from that of a product made from virgin plastic.

With the mass balance approach, bio-based feedstocks can be used in existing polymer manufacturing processes and provides prime level of quality for use in high-end, demanding applications.

Neki biopolimeri imaju prednost što su biorazgradivi ili kompostirani. Ova sposobnost da se razbije u prirodnom okruženju može pomoći u isporuci hranljivih materija u zemljište, a istovremeno podržava upravljanje otpadom i odgovorno odlaganje.

Varieties of Bio-Based Polymer

There are several varieties of bio-based polymer, each offering different sustainable benefits:

Bio-Based Plastic - A bio-based plastic is made from renewable biomass sources such as starch from corn/rice/potatoes or sugar from sugar cane/sugar beets. Cellulose from trees/cotton can also be used as well as vegetable oils from seeds and much more.
Bio-Attributed Plastic - This is a plastic made from a combination of bio- and traditional feedstocks. Typically using the mass-balance method to track and certify the level of renewable feedstock that has gone into making the polymer.
Biodegradable & Compostable Plastics - If decomposition occurs through biological activity, a material can be called biodegradable. A special variant of this is compostable plastic. If there is enough oxygen available for the microbes, fully biodegradable materials leave nothing behind except CO₂, water, minerals and possibly more slowly degrading biomass.