Applications of biodegradable plastics

Biodegradable plastic refers to a type of plastic that is degraded by the action of microorganisms such as bacteria, molds (fungi) and algae that exist in nature. The ideal biodegradable plastic is a kind of high-molecular material with excellent performance, which can be completely decomposed by environmental microorganisms after being discarded, and finally inorganicized to become a component of the carbon cycle in nature.

Biodegradable plastics can be divided into two types: fully biodegradable plastics and destructive biodegradable plastics. Destructive biodegradable plastics currently include starch modified (or filled) polyethylene PE, polypropylene PP, polyvinyl chloride PVC, polystyrene PS, and the like.

Fully biodegradable plastics are mainly made from natural polymers (such as starch, cellulose, chitin) or agricultural and sideline products through microbial fermentation or synthesis of biodegradable polymers, such as thermoplastic starch plastics, aliphatic polyesters, polylactic acid , Starch / polyvinyl alcohol, etc. belong to this type of plastic.

Biodegradable plastics based on natural materials such as starch currently include the following products: polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), starch plastics, bioengineering plastics, bio-generic plastics (polyolefins and polyvinyl chloride) Ethylene).

Biodegradable Drawstring Bag

Application

Biodegradable plastics are mainly used as food soft and hard packaging materials due to their good degradability. This is also their largest application area at this stage.

The main target markets for biodegradable plastics are biodegradable packaging bags, agricultural films, disposable plastic bags and disposable plastic tableware. Compared with traditional plastic packaging materials, the cost of new degradation materials is slightly higher. However, with the increasing awareness of environmental protection, people are willing to use a slightly higher price of new degradation materials in order to protect the environment. The increased environmental awareness has brought great development opportunities to the biodegradable new materials industry. With the development of China's economy, the successful hosting of many large-scale events such as the Olympic Games and the World Expo, and the need to protect the world cultural heritage and national scenic spots, the environmental pollution caused by plastics has become more and more important. Treat white pollution as one of the key tasks.

Developed countries and regions in Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries have successively formulated and introduced relevant regulations, restricting the use of non-degradable plastics through measures such as partial bans, restrictions, mandatory collection and collection of pollution taxes, and vigorously develop new biodegradable materials such as compostable plastic bag to protect the environment, protect the soil. Among them, France introduced a policy in 2005 that requires all disposable plastic bags to be biodegradable after 2010.

At the same time, China has also issued a number of policies to encourage the application and promotion of biodegradable plastics. In 2004, the National People's Congress passed the Renewable Energy Law (Draft) and the Solid Waste Law (Revision) to encourage the use of renewable biomass energy and the promotion and application of degradable plastics; in 2005, the National Development and Reform Commission Document No. 40 explicitly encouraged The use and promotion of biodegradable plastics; In 2006, the National Development and Reform Commission launched a special fund project for promoting the development of biomass biodegradable materials; the "Definition, Classification, Labeling and Degradation Performance Requirements of Degradable Plastics" implemented on January 1, 2007 was obtained The mutual recognition of countries such as Europe, the United States and Japan has facilitated the export of Chinese products.