4 new options for bio-based plastic raw materials

4 new options for bio-based plastic raw materials: fish skin, melon seed shells, olive pits, vegetable sugars.

Globally, 1.3 billion plastic bottles are sold every day, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg of petroleum-based plastics. However, oil is a finite, non-renewable resource. More worryingly, the use of petrochemical resources will contribute to global warming.

Excitingly, a new generation of bio-based plastics, made from plants and even fish scales, is starting to enter our lives and work. Replacing petrochemical materials with bio-based materials would not only reduce dependence on limited petrochemical resources, but also slow the pace of global warming.

Bio-based plastics are saving us step by step from the quagmire of petroleum-based plastics!

friend, you know what? Olive pits, melon seed shells, fish skins, and plant sugar can be used to make plastic!

01 Olive pit (olive oil by-product)

A Turkish startup called Biolive has set out to develop a series of bioplastic pellets made from olive pits, otherwise known as bio-based plastics.

Oleuropein, the active ingredient found in olive seeds, is an antioxidant that extends the life of bioplastics while also accelerating the composting of material into fertilizer within a year.

Because Biolive’s pellets perform like petroleum-based plastics, they can simply be used to replace conventional plastic pellets without disrupting the production cycle of industrial products and food packaging.

02 Melon Seed Shells

German company Golden Compound has developed a unique bio-based plastic made from melon seed shells, named S²PC, and claims to be 100% recyclable. Raw melon seed shells, as a by-product of oil extraction, can be described as a steady stream.

S²PC bioplastics are used in a wide variety of fields, from office furniture to the transport of recyclables, storage boxes and crates.

Golden Compound’s “green” bioplastic products include award-winning, world-first biodegradable coffee capsules, flower pots and coffee cups.

03 Fish skin and scales

A UK-based initiative called MarinaTex is using fish skins and scales combined with red algae to make compostable bio-based plastics that could replace single-use plastics such as bread bags and sandwich wraps and is expected to tackle half a million tonnes of fish produced in the UK each year Skin and scales.

04 Plant sugar
Amsterdam-based Avantium has developed a revolutionary “YXY” plant-to-plastic technology that converts plant-based sugars into a new biodegradable packaging material – ethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF).

The material has been used in the production of textiles, films, and has the potential to be the main packaging material for soft drinks, water, alcoholic beverages and juices, and has partnered with companies such as Carlsberg to develop “100% bio-based” beer bottles.

The use of bio-based plastics is imperative
Studies have shown that biological materials account for only 1% of the total plastic production, while the materials of traditional plastics are all derived from petrochemical extracts. In order to reduce the adverse environmental impact of the use of petrochemical resources, it is imperative to use plastics produced from renewable resources (animal and plant sources).

With the successive introduction of laws and regulations on bio-based plastics in European and American countries, as well as the promulgation of plastic bans in various regions of the country. The use of eco-friendly bio-based plastics will also become more regulated and more widespread.

International certification of bio-based products
Bio-based plastics are one type of bio-based products, so the certification labels applicable to bio-based products are also applicable to bio-based plastics.
USDA Bio-Priority Label of USDA, UL 9798 Bio-based Content Verification Mark, OK Biobased of Belgian TÜV AUSTRIA Group, Germany DIN-Geprüft Biobased and Brazil Braskem Company’s I’m Green, these four labels are tested for bio-based content. In the first link, it is stipulated that the carbon 14 method is used for the detection of bio-based content.

USDA Bio-Priority Label and UL 9798 Bio-based Content Verification Mark will directly display the percentage of bio-based content on the label; while OK Bio-based and DIN-Geprüft Bio-based labels show the approximate range of product bio-based content; I’ m Green labels are for use by Braskem Corporation customers only.

Compared with traditional plastics, bio-based plastics only take into account the raw material part, and select biologically derived components to replace petrochemical resources that are facing a shortage. If you still want to meet the requirements of the current plastic restriction order, you need to start from the material structure to meet the biodegradable conditions.