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Bio-Plastics Markets
Nano-595
Published Nov.2012
Bio-Plastics Markets
In this report NanoMarkets analyzes and quantifies the business opportunities available for bio-plastics in the polymer industry and along with it, discusses their applications. We also discuss the major players in the bio-plastic space and also identify the latest trends in bio-plastics. Apart from examining the market share region wise, we have highlighted the market share based on the major types of bioplastics. The focal point is on the following resin chemistries; Polylactic acid (PLA) Thermoplastic starch Bio-polyamides Poly hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Cellulose Bio-polyethylene Bio-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) For the past two years starch based bio-plastics and PLA based bio-plastics have witnessed increased growth. The demand for starch based and PLA based bio-plastics will rise by 2 times in the next two years, but with PHA having entered into commercial scale it has given route to its use in many bio-plastic applications because of its numerous unique properties. Many projects are going on which cater to the entry of bio-plastics into medical, electronics and automotive applications and NanoMarkets expects a slew of innovative products to be launched in bio-plastics in the coming years. This report provides the key decision makers with the current developments in bioplastics, the market potential, and the growth for next eight years. The data would be a driver for the fast-growing polymer industry as we have provided insights into the use of renewable resources to create monomers that replace fossil-based monomers, such as feedstocks made from sugarcane that are used to manufacture polyester and polyethylene. These resources could enable many fossil based product manufacturers to change their direction towards bio-plastics in the future and also have thrown light onto the issues (climate change, littering, unawareness of the benefits of bio-plastics, feedstock availability and municipality actions) which exist in the present bio-plastics markets.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary E.1 Opportunities for bio-plastics by application E.1.1 New business revenues for bio-plastics from the packaging sector E.1.2 Emerging non-packaging applications for bio-plastics E.2 Opportunities for bio-plastics by type of material E.2.1 Assessment of next-generation bio-plastics E.3 Firms to watch in the bio-plastics space E.3.1 Analysis of joint ventures, acquisitions and cooperative agreements in bioplastics industry E.3.2 Why American and European bio-plastic products are going to be more costly than Asian bio plastic products E.4 Supply chain and marketing opportunities for bio-plastics E.5 Impact on existing recycling processes and facilities E.6 Summary of eight-year forecasts of bio-plastics markets E.6.1 Summary of forecasts by type of material E.6.2 Summary of forecasts by application E.7 Analysis and forecast of bio-plastics market by geographical region
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Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background to this report 1.1.1 Emerging Markets to Power the Growth in Bio-Plastics 1.1.2 What is Driving Bio-Plastics Awareness and Growth? 1.1.3 Long-Term Challenges for the Bio-Plastics Industry 1.2 Objective and scope of this report 1.3 Methodology of this report 1.4 Plan of this report
Chapter Two: Bio-plastics: Materials and Technical Trends 2.1 Starch-based bio-plastics 2.1.1 Technical trends, commercialization and applications for starch-based bioplastics 2.1.2 Major suppliers of starch-based bio-plastics 2.2 Bio-Polyesters 2.2.1 Polyactic Acid & Polyhydroxy Alkanoates 2.2.2 Technical trends, commercialization and applications for cellulose based bioplastics and bio-polyesters 2.2.3 Major suppliers of bio-polyesters/cellulose-based bio-plastics 2.3 Bio-polymers 2.3.1 Bio-derived polyethylene
2.3.2 Bio-derived polyamides 2.3.3 Other biopolymers (Sugar based biopolymers) 2.3.4 Major suppliers of bio-polymers 2.4 Novel bio-based feed stocks for bio-plastics 2.4.1 Seaweed based bio-plastics 2.4.2 Polymers from CO2 2.5 Key points from this chapter
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Chapter Three: Market Assessments and Eight-Year Forecasts of Bio-plastics Markets 3.1 Key drivers for the bio-plastics industry 3.1.1 Which governmental regulations will really drive the bio-plastics industry? 3.1.2 How real are user concerns about feedstock availabilities? 3.1.3 Consumer environmental concerns as a driver for the bio-plastics market 3.2 Food industry applications for bio-plastics 3.2.1 Food packaging 3.2.2 Disposable utensils 3.2.3 Eight-year forecasts of food industry applications for bio-plastic by application and type of material 3.3 Medical and pharmaceutical applications for bio-plastics 3.3.1 Pharmaceutical packaging 3.3.2 Implants 3.3.3 Diapers 3.3.4 Eight-year forecasts of medical and pharmaceutical industry applications for bio-plastic by application and type of material 3.4 Other applications 3.4.1 Organic waste bags 3.4.2 Mulch foils 3.4.3 Electronics casing 3.4.4 Tires and other automotive applications 3.4.5 Eight-year forecasts of other industry applications for bio-plastics by application and type of material 3.5 Emerging and future applications for bio-plastics 3.6 Importance of standards and certifications 3.7 Key points from this chapter
The latest developments in polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), and other biobased polymers show the entry of bio-plastics into newer applications in the medical, automobile, electronics, food packaging, and disposable cutlery industries. In addition, many large companies, as part of corporate social responsibility programs, have adopted bio-plastics, particularly in consumer packaging: Coca Cola, under the PlantBottle trademark, has the intention of substantially switching its source of supply from fossil-based polymers to bio-plastics. Starbucks is now trying to turn all of its used coffee grounds, along with other bakery food waste, into other useful products, such as laundry detergents and bio-plastics. Starbucks initiative works by blending the waste coffee grounds and baked goods with a mixture of fungi to break down the carbohydrates into simple sugars.
For the past two years, starch-based bio-plastics and PLA-based bio-plastics have witnessed increased growth. The demand for these two bio-plastics will continue to rise by a factor of two in the next two years; however, now that PHA is being produced on a commercial scale, it has found use in many bio-plastic applications because of its numerous unique properties. Many projects are also underway that target the entry of bio-plastics into medical, electronics, and automotive applications, and NanoMarkets expects a slew of innovative products to be launched in the bio-plastics market in the coming years.
NanoMarkets believes that the dynamic growth in consumption in the Asia Pacific region will lead to a substantial rise in demand in the next three years, enabling the region to reach a market potential equal to that of the European and American markets by 2015. The biggest growth engine will be the Brazilian market, which will lead the surge in bioplastic demand in Latin America with its significant progress and advancements in Page | 5 biopolymer production and help the South American region grow strongly in the next eight years.
campaigns, many countries around the world are raising consumer environmental awareness and educating people about proper waste separation and avoidance, as well as recycling and recovery. This work is usually conducted by local municipalities. The responsibility of bio-plastic manufacturers to recycling processes varies region to region. Composting facilities are Page | 6 being established in many countries at present, but so far, the existing waste management policies in the European Union, for example, have been very successful to a large extent, with member states exceeding the recycling and recovery targets set by EU legislation. From the energy consumption angle, plastics made from biological materials also generally need lesser amounts of energy to manufacture, but are equally recyclable. They also use fewer pollutants during the manufacturing process. If oil prices rise, the value of bio-plastics will increase yet further.
Technological advancements lead to evolving applications: Continued research and development is creating high quality bio-plastic products for a wide variety of applications across numerous industries. Advances in technical know-how with respect to commercial manufacturing, consistency of properties, etc. are having an impact: The growth of the bio-plastics market has been evident in many developed countries due to advances in the compounding technology and the blending process, in which resins and other additives are combined to attain the desired mechanical and physical properties. These advances have resulted in the rapid growth of many enterprises. Much of the pioneering work in bio-plastics has been achieved in the U.S., leading to the successful commercial scale production of PLA and PHA. In Japan, the development of bio-plastics products has been substantial and rapid. Major electronic companies have turned to bio-plastics for their product packaging needs. Showa Denko K.K. (SDK), Japan at its Tatsuno Plant in Hyogo Prefecture, has succeeded in producing its biodegradable polyester resin Bionolle on a commercial scale using bio-derived succinic acid. In addition, Chinas increased development of newer green technologies is expected to enhance investments in the bio-plastics sector, while Brazil continues to become a major center of supply for bio-based feedstocks. A well-known Russian financial conglomerate, Renova, plans to invest over $400 million in a biopolymer production plant in the Moscow region. This project is part of a cooperation agreement between Renova and the Moscow authorities, and the plant may export to the global market.
Not that bio-plastics are without technological issues that need to be resolved: Polylactic acid is considered as an eco-friendly resin. However, it has a few property shortcomings, such as a deficient heat-deflection temperature, a slow crystallization time and brittleness, which limit its application in injection molding processes. Changes in
formulation and plasticization are required to address these issues for many applications. NanoMarkets believes that these disadvantages will tend to diminish as bio-plastics manufacturing plants become larger and benefit from economies of scale. Bio-plastics that are mixed wrongly during recycling can pollute batches of oil-based plastics, hampering standard recycling efforts. Page | 7 Finally, bio-plastics derived from food crops can cause global price hikes in food commodities. However, researchers are working on the creation of bio-plastics derived from non-food crops, such as switch grass and seaweed, and thus more environmentally friendly plastics can be expected in the future.
NanoMarkets aim is not only to forecast market growth and describe the latest technology trends in the bio-plastics industry, but also to provide data that will help address remaining challenges that may impact bio-plastics industry growth, thereby making this report unique. In this report, NanoMarkets analyzes and quantifies the business opportunities available for bioplastics in the polymer industry and discusses their applications. We also discuss the major Page | 8 players in the bio-plastics space and also identify the latest trends in the bio-plastics market. For the forecasts, the market is broken out on a regional basis, we have also broken out on both a regional and materials basis. Finally, trends in the development of several resin chemistries are reviewed: Polylactic acid (PLA) Thermoplastic starch Bio-polyamides Poly hydroxyalkanoates (PHA) Cellulose Bio-polyethylene Bio-polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
The forecasts presented in this report are ultimately derived from a combination of the above factors.