Biodegradable plastics
Biodegradable plastics are plastics that will decompose in natural aerobic (composting) and anaerobic (landfill) environments. Biodegradation of plastics can be achieved by enabling microorganisms in the environment to metabolize the molecular structure of plasctic films to produce an inert humus-like material that is less harmful to the environment. They may be composed of either bioplastics, which are plastics whose components are derived from renewable raw materials, or petroleum-based plastics which utilize an additive. The use of bioactive compounds compounded with swelling agents ensures that, when combined with heat and moisture, they expand the plastic's molecular structure and allow the bio-active compounds to metabolize and neutralize the plastic. Biodegradable plastics typically are produced in two forms: injection molded (solid, 3D shapes), typically in the form of disposable food service items, and films, typically organic fruit packaging and collection bags for leaves and grass trimmings, and agricultural mulch.
Our whole world seems to be wrapped in plastic. Almost every product we buy, most of the food we eat and many of the liquids we drink come encased in plastic. In Australia around 1 million tonnes of plastic materials are produced each year and a further 587,000 tonnes are imported. Packaging is the largest market for plastics, accounting for over a third of the consumption of raw plastic materials Australians use 6 billion plastic bags every year! Plastic packaging provides excellent protection for the product, it is cheap to manufacture and seems to last forever. Lasting forever, however, is proving to be a major environmental problem. Another problem is that traditional plastics are manufactured from non-renewable resources oil, coal and natural gas.
The term biodegradable means that a substance is able to be broken down into simpler substances by the activities of living organisms, and therefore is unlikely to persist in the environment. There are many different standards used to measure biodegradability, with each country having its own. The requirements range from 90 per cent to 60 per cent decomposition of the product within 60 to 180 days of being placed in a standard composting environment. The reason traditional plastics are not biodegradable is because their long polymer molecules are too large and too tightly bonded together to be broken apart and assimilated by decomposer organisms. However, plastics based on natural plant polymers derived from wheat or corn starch have molecules that are readily attacked and broken down by microbes.
While aromatic polyesters are almost totally resistant to microbial attack, most aliphatic polyesters are biodegradable due to their potentially hydrolysable ester bonds: o Naturally Produced: polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) like the poly-3hydroxybutyrate (PHB), polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) and polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHH); o Renewable Resource: p;olylactic acid (PLA); o Synthetic: Polybutylene succinate (PBS), polycaprolactone(PCL)... Polyanhydrides Polyvinyl alcohol
Most of the starch derivatives Cellulose esters like cellulose acetate and nitrocellulose and their derivatives (celluloid) .
biodegradable polymers to produce a variety of flexible and rigid plastics. These are being made into film and injection moulded products such as plastic wrapping, shopping bags, bread bags, mulch films and plant pots.
landfill in Australia. By ensuring that biodegradable plastics are used to package all our organic produce, it may well be possible in the near future to set up large-scale composting lines in which packaging and the material it contains can be composted as one. The resulting compost could be channelled into plant production, which in turn might be redirected into growing the starch to produce more biodegradable plastics.
However, proponents of biodegradable plastics argue that these materials offer a solution to this problem. Certified biodegradable plastics combine the utility of plastics (lightweight, resistance, relative low cost) with the ability to completely and fully biodegrade in a compost facility. Rather than worrying about recycling a relatively small quantity of commingled plastics, these proponents argue that certified biodegradable plastics can be readily commingled with other organic wastes, thereby enabling composting of a much larger position of nonrecoverable solid waste. Commercial composting for all mixed organics then becomes commercially viable and economically sustainable. More municipalities can divert significant quantities of waste from overburdened landfills since the entire waste stream is now biodegradable and therefore easier to process. The use of biodegradable plastics, therefore, is seen as an enabler for the complete recovery of large quantities of municipal sold waste (via aerobic composting) that were are heretofore unrecoverable by other means except land filling or incineration.
Recycling Recycling schemes sound good, but are they economic when you take into account the resources consumed in transporting, processing and reworking the material to be recycled? At this stage there are no rigorous environmental studies on plastic that take into account greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution or energy consumption. Quantitative or qualitative analysis Life cycle analysis, often referred to as cradle to grave analysis, is great in concept, and central to any sound approach in ecodesign. In practise, however, its difficult to apply quantitatively because there are no universal standards of comparison and many of the costs are impossible to define precisely. For example, what is the long-term impact of generating more carbon dioxide when we still dont know the basic mechanics of global climate change. However, even when applied qualitatively, and acknowledging our imperfect knowledge, life cycle analysis quickly demonstrates that the price we pay for a product often bears no relation to the environmental cost of creating it. Sustainability is all about taking this into consideration.
Challenges ahead
Acceptance of biodegradable polymers is likely to depend on four unknowns: (1) Customer response to costs that today is generally 2 to 4 times higher than for conventional polymers; (2) Possible legislation (particularly concerning water-soluble polymers); (3) The achievement of total biodegradability; and (4) The development of an infrastructure to collect, accepts, and process biodegradable polymers as a generally available option for waste disposal. In a social context biodegradable plastics call for a re-examination of life-styles. They will require separate collection, involvement of the general public, greater community responsibility in installing recycling systems, etc. On the question of cost, awareness may often be lacking of the significance of both disposal and the environmental costs, which are to be added to the processing cost. Biodegradability is tied to a specific environment. For instance, the usual biodegradation time requirement for bioplastic to be composted is 1 to 6 months. The development of starch-based biodegradable plastics looks very promising given the fact that starch is inexpensive, available annually, biodegradable in several environments and incinerable. The main drawbacks the industry is running into are bioplastics' low water-barrier and the migration of hydrophilic plasticizers with consequent ageing phenomena. The first problem together with the cost factor is common to all other biodegradable plastics. These challenges have to be faced and solved accordingly to enter the niche market.