ANALYSIS: BIOPLASTICS SECTOR SET FOR RAPID GROWTH UP TO 2017
With a sustained crude oil pricing of $100/bbl, the global demand for bioplastics is set to grow from 890,000 tonnes per year in 2012 up to 2.9 million tonnes by 2017. This growth represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 26.9%.
According to a report published by Smithers Rapra, entitled The Future of Bioplastics: Market forecasts to 2017, this predicted growth will be achieved following successful installation of announced projects and improvements to regional economies.
While the majority of bioplastic end use has been in packaging and food service non-durable applications, the disposal of such materials has impacted manufacturing.
With one-time-use packaging often ending up in landfill, for example, biodegradability was considered to be the important application driver.
Biodegrabability can be designed into many bioplastics, especially polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polybutylene succinate (PBS) and a few other aliphatic polyesters and starch compounds. However, the report remarked that biodegradability has become less of a focus in recent years, because it too represents a wasteful end-of-life option.
Rather, the focus now is on bio-based products which are considered sustainable and renewable through feedstocks that are grown and end products which are recycled. Non-durable applications will continue to be an important part of bioplastic usage, however durable applications will increasingly become more important.
The report said that having recyclable or compostable thermoplastics provider greater value if they are collected and separate from other waste plastics.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) milk containers and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) clear bottles were quoted as easily identified and recycled by most communities worldwide.
However, plastic films used in packaging are less often recycled or composted, due to the difficulty of identification and separation in the consumer waste pool. The automotive and transportation end uses for bioplastic are expected to increase in demand share from 23% in 2012 to 27% in 2017. Non-durables are expected to declinin share from 77% in 2012 to 73% in 2017.
Smithers Rapra said: "The bioplastics market is a growing fertile market which has reached a stage of serious consideration and market acceptance. Bioplastics are here to stay – the question is 'not if, but when'?
"Worldwide, we will continue to undergo an extended period of energy transition and uncertainty with regards to the cost of fossil fuels vs alternative biorenewable approaches. There is little doubt that another energy crisis (e.g. oil shortage) will again rear its head, but we don't know when."
It's anticipated that the main difference between bioplastics today compared to the future will be production.
Most bioplastics today are produced in "stand-alone single-technology facilities", based on a single feedstock such as corn. The report predicts that instead there will be multi-crop bio-refineries capable of using various types of bio-feedstock and producing many types of end products.
Findings predicted that 2nd/3rd generation cellulose conversion technology for non-food crops such as corn husks, grass, and wood will become economic. If so, the new technology would bypass the issue of 'food for fuels', using biomass waste, converted to ethanol and bio-monomers:
To conclude, the report said: "Bioplastic acceptance is advancing and improving, yet bioplastics are still in the early stages of market development and will only be considered as an alternative if cost, performance, or legislated regulations allow it.
"Today, bioplastics represent less than 1% of all polymer production worldwide. However, as fossil fuel costs increase relative to bio-based materials, and as biorenewable materials become a more important aspect of improving environmental sustainability, there will be an ever-increasing need for bioplastics."