We are steadily moving away from our dependence on petroleum as it is both a finite resource and becoming more expensive. One trend has been to use biomass to create plastics similar to the petroleum plastics traditionally available. Athough there have been many hurdles along the way, such as meeting thermal barrier properties and increasing the biobased content of resins, the industry continues to impress with their innovative designs and solutions. Since the resins are made of biomass, products can be devised to biodegrade in different environments according to international standards. The following table presents different resins available, examples of companies producing them, the percent biobased content of the resin and its biodegradability.
| Resin | Examples | Biobased Content | Biodegradable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polylactic acid (PLA) | Natureworks Ingeo | 100% | Compostable – ASTM D6400 |
| Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) | Telles Mirel | >90% | Compostable – D6400 and Marine – ASTM D7081 |
| Tianan | 100% | ||
| Aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters (AAC) | BASF EcoFlex | 0% | Compostable – ASTM D6400 |
| IRE Chemical EnPol | |||
| AAC/Starch blends | Novamont Mater-Bi | Varies | Compostable – ASTM D6400 |
| AAC/PLA blends | BASF Ecovio | Varies (25–75%) | Compostable – ASTM D6400 |
| Cereplast Compostables | Varies | ||
| Thermoplastic Starch (TPS) | Cereplast Compostables | Varies |
[Both] Compostable – D6400 [Dupont] Marine – ASTM D7081 |
| DuPont Biomax TPS | |||
| Polybutylene Succinate (PBS) | Showa Bionelle | ? | Compostable – D6400 |
| Polyamide 11 (PA 11) | Arkema Rilsan | 100% | No |
| Bio-Polyolefins (bio-PO) | Braskem | 100% | Neither |
| Dow/Crystalev | |||
| Polytrimethyleneterphthalate (PTT) | DuPont Sorona | 37% | Neither |
| Dupont Biomax PTT | |||
| Polyamide 6,10 (PA6, 10) | BASF Ultramid Balance | 63% | Neither |
| DuPont Zytel | ? | ||
| Conventional plastic/bioplastic blends | Cereplast hybrid resins | Varies | No |
| Polyether Block Amide | Arkema Pebax Rnew | 100% | No |
Courtesy of Steve Davies’ (SPI Bioplastics Council) presentation to 2011 US Composting Council Conference, “Overview and context, types of materials (compostable vs biodegradable vs recyclable).”