AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, held on 1 and 2 March the VI edition of the International Seminar on Biopolymers and Sustainable Composites, where more than 170 professionals from the sector were brought together to present their developments and discuss the challenges and trends on biodegradable plastics from renewable sources.
The demand of materials from renewable resources will be doubled from 2014 to 2019 to reach 1.4 million hectares for their production, without competing with the surface for food, nearing 1,240 million hectares, according to Constance Ißbrücker, from European Bioplastics. During the first day, different innovations in raw materials from renewable sources, such as castor-oil plant, sugar cane and corn, even milk whey, with demanding applications such as resins to produce skis and recyclable snowboards or kitesurf boards were shown, to be implemented in sectors such as the automotive and construction, requiring high performances on the part of the materials used.
The meeting has shown a progress in the use of biopolymers in the food packaging sector with developments in this field such as heat-resistant packages for ready-to-eat food or packages for fresh food with a high barrier to extend their shelf life. A table where sustainable coffee was served, caught the attention of the attendees, since bioplastics were in all the items used for its preparation and service: from capsules to teaspoons or cups and even the packaging of the chocolate bars, thus overcoming the challenge of heat resistance.
