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Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BlockPLA (Innovative nanostructured PLA polymer to expand suitable uses of biodegradable packaging)

Teaser

Summary

PROBLEM ADRESSED: WASTED PLASTICS: a huge environmental challenge
Nowadays less than 7% of the wasted plastic reaches the recycling plant , the remaining fraction ends either on land fill during 450 years until its self-decomposition , or in oceans and seas causing â‚¬11B worth of damage to marine ecosystems alone .
It is important for society as this environmental problem will only getting worse as more oil-based plastics are produced and then partially discarded in the environment, with with very negative consequences both for marinelife and food security for humankind.
The overall objective: We are ADBIOCOMPOSITES, an R&D intensive SME specialized in the development of highly advanced biomaterials for packaging applications. We have developed BlockPLA: a disruptive biodegradable biodegradable plastic grade that provides outstanding technological advances and economic benefits to industry: it solves the drawbacks that PLA currently shows for packaging applications as it provides huge advances in the technical properties and functionality of Bioplastics: 1) High barrier to oxygen and water vapour. Improvements of up to 60 and 40% , respectively; 2) Improvement of thermal stability (an increase of up to 29Â°C); 3) Good transparency; and 4) Food contact approval.
The overall objective is to develop BlockPLa in its various grades as an alternative to the use of oil-based plastics in the packaging industry.
The main particular objectives are:
To define the technical and functional requirements of BlockPLAâ„¢, for each of the different grades selected.
To demonstrate the feasibility of DBC production at a pre-industrial scale, as a semi elaborated product necessary for BlockPLAâ„¢.
To demonstrate the feasibility of BlockPLa production at a pre-industrial scale.
To measure the performance results of each different grades of BlockPla and test them in real use conditions, as per compliance with industry standards.
To develop a marketing position for the future commercialization of BlockPla within its future market, establish a convenient business project, and start informing and testing the future market.

Work performed

We have completed the definition of the functional, economic, and technical requirements of the proposed market applications in which BlockPLAâ„¢ will be piloted and demonstrated during the project. The two pilots selected for this task were:
â€¢ PILOT 1: Yogurt biopackaging using BlockPLAâ„¢
â€¢ PILOT 2: Natural cream for skin care in rigid biopackaging using BlockPLAâ„¢
We have achieved the formulation of two grades for each sector with the most remarkable parameter the melt flow index (MFI), being lower than 10 g/10min at 210ÂºC and 2.16 kg for the extrusion-thermoforming (yogurt) grades and higher than 10 g/10min at 210ÂºC and 2.16 kg for injection moulding (skin-care cream) grades.
For these two grades, the dentification of gaps in the grades for fulfil the foreseen market application requirements have been completed. Two grades for each sector were proposed in D1.1, BlockPLA E 2420, E 2430, I 2420 and I 2430, where the letter preceding the numbers represents the transformation technology, i.e., E for extrusion-thermoforming and I for injection moulding.

The main by-prodyuct necessary for the manufacturing of BlockPLa is DBC. DBC synthesis optimization (including the scaling-up process) and characterisation of DBC have been totally completed,therefore. Tailored-made DBC checking and production have been achieved. Synthesis and characterisation of diblock copolymer (DBC) with the similar chemical structure and properties that P7635 commercial diblock copolymer manufactured by Polymer Source Inc, have been carried out .

BlockPLAâ„¢ grades at pilot-scale were produced and characterised at ITENE facilities. Extrusion-thermoforming grade for yogurt, injection moulding grade for skin-care cream, injection blowing grade for pharma, and extrusion film grade for food packaging were prepared by blending PLA homopolymer with specific amount of DBC using compounding technology (Coperion machine). Main properties of BlockPLAâ„¢ evaluated, comparing commercial DBC and ADBIOCOMPOSITES one, were: oxygen and water vapour barrier, melt flow index and tensile properties.

Comparison & Selection | Benchmarks : an exhaustive analysis of the different biobased materials existing nowadays in the market have been completed. 84 companies, prospective future clients, were analysed, and pricing study was started. A strategic selling price of 3.5 â‚¬/kg was considered for ADBIOCOMPOSITESâ€™s BlockPLAâ„¢.
The greatest advantage of BlockPLAâ„¢ with respect to common plastics has been established as its bio-origin y bio-end-of-life. In addition, BlockPLAâ„¢ has been determined to have better oxygen barrier than PE and PS, and better water vapor barrier than PS.

Pre-industrial upscale has been completed for these two grades. Selected BlockPLAâ„¢ grades pellets were produced at semi-industrial scale at ITENE facilities by using a Coperion compounding line at a throughout of 15 kg/h, for supplying sheet/film extrusion or injection moulding machines.

Among the many other tasks in progress , substantial work has already been done on IPR and knowledge protection, developing the Sales Model, and communication & dissemination activities like the use of website, social media, mass media and the assistance and participation in exhibitions and trade fairs .

Final results

A much closer collaborations has been developed with some of the Brand Owners producing articles in need of a compostable packaging solution. They are very aware of the regulatory pressure under the EU Plastics Strategy and Directives 2018/172 and 2018/852 and the 2030 deadline they set for plastic packaging. Their interest in our BlockPLAâ„¢ technology has grown much more intense, and they will thus represent the bulk of our future customer base.

As we have been able in the last months to develop the BlockPLAâ„¢ technology to the particular technical and functional requirements for each of the four grades under the program, more specific values of the required characteristics have been achieved and thus the performance advantage over competing compostable materials has increased.

The original target market volume for Bioplastic Packaging of over 43 mâ‚¬ by 2023 is still a realistic target. In our frequent visits to packaging manufacturing industries, the necessity to comply with this Directives prior to the 2030 deadline implies a bigger interest in our compostable BlockPLAâ„¢ materials.

European Commission Directives are the main drivers for the implementation of compostable materials, such as BlockPLA in the packaging industry as a whole. This will imply a much bigger impact of our product in this high-volume market.

Some of the potential barriers stated in the DoA are still present: a higher prize than traditional oil-based polymers, and the availability of the raw materials needed for the manufacturing of BlockPLAâ„¢ , such as Polylactic Acid (PLA).