Biobased plastics offer the value proposition of a reduced carbon footprint. Biodegradability offers an environmentally responsible option for products at the end of their lifecycles. This webinar reviews this value proposition and presents an approach to positioning and communicating the value proposition with real-world product examples. Material and process carbon footprint analysis and LCA (lifecycle assessment) tools will be discussed.

ASTM-D6866 documents the renewable carbon content (a.k.a. biobased carbon content) of plastics, liquids, and gases. Composite carbon components of renewable and fossil origin within plastic or any of its originating components are readily identified and conveyed with a single number result (e.g. 65% biobased). Both state and federal regulators have embraced the method as a means for identifying biobased carbon within manufactured products, raw materials, and even carbon-neutral CO2 emissions from stationary emission sources.

This presentation explains tools and methodologies used to report the carbon and environmental footprints of bioplastic materials.

Bioplastics are either alternative materials made from renewable resources such as corn or wood (cellulose) OR plastic materials that can biodegrade or be composted. Many (not all!) bioplastics are both. This e-Live presentation will cover the basics of bioplastics, possible applications, end-of-life scenarios, and some political and ethical considerations.

The introductory section will answer: Why bioplastics? What are bioplastics? What different types are available? What capacities are installed? Will enough bioplastics be available?

The use of renewable feedstock has been a major subject of recent research activities, as industry seeks to develop sustainable environmental practices. The plastics industry can benefit by using renewable feedstock in the form of chemicals, fibers, or fillers. Byproducts of crops like wheat, soy, or corn can be used as fillers in the automotive, packaging, and construction sectors. This presentation will discuss recent advances in the development of agricultural fillers, which represent an opportunity for both environmental and economical sustainability.

Mirel™ poly(hydroxy butanoic acid), or PHB copolymers, and their products are known to biodegrade in soil and compost sites and in freshwater and seawater environments. Because they biodegrade in soil, PHB copolymers are very well suited for agricultural mulch film applications. Vegetable-crop growth with PHB copolymer mulch films in various environments has been shown to be considerably better than bare-ground crop growth and similar to crop growth with polyethylene mulch films.

Completely revised and updated, the second edition considers those polymers in which a highly nonlinear response of a smart polymer to small changes in the external medium is of critical importance for the successful functioning of the system. The systems discussed are based on soluble/insoluble transition of smart polymers in aqueous solution, on conformational transitions of the macromolecules physically attached or chemically grafted to a surface and on the shrinking/swelling of covalently cross-linked networks of macromolecules, i.e. smart hydrogels.