Reducing Greenhouse Gases with Bioplastics

1. CHE379 Technology Report Reducing Greenhouse Gases with Bioplastics By Waygene Koay

2. Factors to using Bioplastics • Diffusion properties • Tensile strength • Thermal properties • Permeability • Environmental Factors • Life span • Manufacturing

3. Why Use Bioplastics? • Bioplastics • Applications • Bottling, resins, packaging, etc • Main constituents • Polylactic acids from starch (Corn, Potatoes, etc) • Oils, sugars, fibers, etc • Pros • Reduces or eliminates GHG in production • Requires less or no petrochemicals • Plants decreases CO2 in the atmosphere • Biodegradable - byproducts water, CO2, and organic materials • Can be utilized as fuel • Slow Release of CO2 allows for plants to absorb CO2 than release it in the atmosphere • Potential Cons • Uses Genetically Modified processes • Cost up to three times more than regular Plastic • Use of fertilizers and pesticides for crops

4. Problems with Conventional Plastic • Pros • Cheap and Easy to Manufacture • Good Commercial Properties • Cons • Complex entanglements of polymer chains (usually PET or PBT) make it hard to decompose • Relies heavily on petrochemicals • Needs processing • Recycling requires energy and money • Releases toxic chemicals • Fragmentation or Cyclization occurs • 200 million tons produced each year and most of it is not recycled

5. Composition • Polylactic acids (PLA) • Similar to regular plastic • Polyhydroxyalkanoic acids (PHAs) • Aliphatic polyester that does not require synthetic processing • Uses bacteria/enzymes • Better heat resistance than PLA • Broader range of materials can be used to make PHAs • Polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBVs) • Polyols • Plant oil • Variety of other Bioplastics • Extracted or Used • oil, starch, sugars, lactic acid, fatty acids, proteins, bacteria, fibers

6. Lactic Acid Polymerization

7. Broad Range of Bioplastics • Bioplastics made from starch use sorbitol and glycerine which plasticizes the starch into a plastic. • Different amounts of these additives are used to fit the use of the plastic • Bottling, packages, cloth,etc • Similar properties of regular plastic but environmental friendly • Starch can also be fermented into lactic acid to make PLA • Bioplastics derived from fatty acids (oils) can be utilized as a fuel resource • Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing of Macromolecules (CBBM) created a new plastic that degrades in a form similar to diesel. • Thermal Properties • Can exceed stainless steel, which can be utilized in household appliances and mobile devices. • High conductivity increases heat dissipation can be used in electronics • Easy to mold due to lower melting temperature

8. We showed DARPA that we could make a new plastic from plant oils that has remarkable properties, which includes being tougher and more durable than typical polyethylenes. Additionally, the bioplastic can be placed in a simple container where it is safely broken down to liquid fuel. • —Prof. Gross • Military units generate substantial quantities of packaging waste when engaging in stationary field operations. If we can turn this waste into fuel, we will see a double benefit—we will reduce the amount of waste that we have to remove, and we will reduce the amount of new fuel that we must deliver to the units. • —Khine Latt, program manager for DARPA’s Mobile Integrated Sustainable Energy Recovery program

9. Currently: Utilizes waste materials Reduces Municipal waste Use manure or compost Reduces methane High moisture content Replace regular cloths Can be converted back to monomer, purified, and further utilized as a plastic Biodegradable Requires less energy to manufacture Less petrochemicals or none required Requires no processing Can use conventional plastic factories for manufacturing Can replace fertilizers Potentials: Improving biodegradability for certain environments Metallization could provide better barrier properties Addition of SiO2, carbon fiber, or other metals Increases thermal conductivity Specialized enzymes can enhance production Could be cost effective as petrochemicals increase in price

10. Overview Overall even though bioplastics are generally more expensive than regular plastic, the variety of uses and benefits could outweigh the cost. It cuts down on municipal waste, reduces GHGs, it’s environmentally friendly, and it can be used as a fuel. Lastly with developing technologies, these benefits will improve and the cost will be competitive in the market.

11. References • http://www.nec.co.jp/eco/en/annual2006/02/2-1.html • http://biopact.com/2007_09_25_archive.html • http://www.greencarcongress.com/2007/03/researchers_dev_1.html • http://www.european-bioplastics.org • http://www.environmentalleader.com/2007/10/23/bioplastics-carve-out-niche/ • http://www.epo.org/topics/innovation-and-economy/emerging-technologies/article-6.html • http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/bioplastics/ • http://www.waste-management-world.com/display_article/273126/123/ARTCL/none/BIOTR/1/Beauty-of-bioplastics/ • http://www.biobasics.gc.ca/english/View.asp?x=790 • http://www.immnet.com/articles?article=3135