The degree of purity of materials recovered from municipal solid waste (MSW) depends mainly on the objective: the intended use of the recovered material and the cost to recover this material in its pure form, determined by the intensity of the effort...
Plastics has been an integral part of our lives for the last century as the main material for various useful commodity items. Irony of fate, the same specific properties that make plastics ideal to create such a wide range of products are also respon...
To address the problem of fossil-based pollution, bio-plastics have risen in use in a wide range of applications. The current waste management system still has some weakness for bio-plastics waste (BPW) treatment, and quantitative data is lacking. Th...
The separation process within a mechanical recycling plant plays a major role in the context of the production of high-quality secondary raw materials and the reduction of extensive waste disposal in landfills. Traditional plants for plastic separati...
Bio-plastics are rapidly growing in popularity, and many new techniques and approaches are emerging as a result of intensive research and development (R&D) activities. Many industries worldwide are installing their new production capability. Bio-...
Plastics are used for various applications, including in the food and beverage industry, for the manufacturing of plastic utensils and straws. The higher utilization of plastic straws has indirectly resulted in the significant disposal of plastic was...
Transforming the plastic industry toward producing more sustainable alternatives than conventional plastics, as an essential enabler of the bio-based circular economy (CE), requires reinforcing initiatives to drive solutions from the lab to the marke...
The accumulation of plastic wastes is one of the most widely spread problems affecting the environment. The reality that plastics can be made from renewable resources and degrade naturally has prompted academics to think outside the box to develop &l...
28 May 2020
Plastic waste production around the world is increasing, which leads to global plastic waste pollution. The need for an innovative solution to reduce this pollution is inevitable. Increased recycling of plastic waste alone is not a comprehensive solu...
Bioplastics, which are plastic materials produced from renewable bio-based feedstocks, have been investigated for their potential as an attractive alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Despite the harmful effects of plastic accumulation in the env...
In recent years, an increasing trend towards replacement of conventional fossil-based plastics with bio-based plastics was noticed, i.e., production of plastics partly or fully made from biomass is rapidly expanding. Currently, bio-based and biodegra...
The European Union is working towards the 2050 net-zero emissions goal and tackling the ever-growing environmental and sustainability crisis by implementing the European Green Deal. The shift towards a more sustainable society is intertwined with the...
Nowadays, bio-plastics can contaminate conventional plastics sent to recycling. Furthermore, the low volume of bio-plastics currently in use has discourage the development of new technologies for their identification and separation. Technologies base...
Bio-based plastics are increasingly appearing in a range of consumption products, and after use they often end up in technical recycling chains. Bio-based plastics are different from fossil-based ones and could disturb the current recycling of plasti...
Bio-plastics and bio-materials are composed of natural or biomass derived polymers, offering solutions to solve immediate environmental issues. Polysaccharide-based bio-plastics represent important alternatives to conventional plastic because of thei...
This work investigates the effect of a bio-based plasticizer derived from used sunflower oil on the crystallization behavior of poly (lactic acid) (PLA), comparing it with that of the conventional plasticizer tributyrin. This study aims to explore bi...
Plastic particles are widespread in the environment including the terrestrial ecosystems. They may change the physicochemical properties of soil and subsequently affect plant growth. In recent decades, traditional, petroleum-derived plastics have bee...
Replacing fossil-based feedstock with renewable alternatives is a crucial step towards a circular economy. The bio-based plastics currently on the market are predominantly used in single-use applications, with remarkably limited uptake in durable pro...
Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most important biopolymers employed on the market due to its good mechanical strength and barrier properties. On the other hand, this material presents a rather low flexibility, limiting its employment. The valoriz...
Fossil-based plastics are significant contributors to global warming through CO2 emissions. For more sustainable alternatives to be successful, it is important to ensure that consumers become aware of the benefits of innovations such as bio-based pla...
The increasing use of bio-based and/or biodegradable plastics reflects a global push towards more sustainable materials. In the context of food packaging, where plastic waste and contamination risks are acute, these materials offer promising alternat...
Large-scale worldwide production of plastics requires the use of large quantities of fossil fuels, leading to a negative impact on the environment. If the production of plastic continues to increase at the current rate, the industry will account for...
Today’s world is at the point where almost everyone realizes the usefulness of going green. Due to so-called global warming, there is an urgent need to find solutions to help the Earth and move towards a green future. Many worldwide events are...
Plastic manufacturing depends heavily on petroleum-derived monomers like terephthalic acid, the main component of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). However, the depletion of fossil resources and increasing environmental concerns have heightened the n...
The bio-based plastic market is forecast to grow in the next years. With a growing market share and product range, the implementation of circular thinking is becoming more and more important also for bio-based plastics to enable a sound circular econ...
18 January 2021
Plastic waste management has become a serious environmental and health concern owing to large amounts of plastic deposits globally. Recently, innovative and sustainable solutions have been introduced (e.g., bio-nanomaterial plastics) to overcome the...
The extensive use of plastics and the environmental burden associated with their disposal have attracted the attention of scientists, politicians and citizens in Europe. In this frame, the EU has adopted a European Strategy for Plastics aiming, on th...
Paper and plastic are the main materials used in food packaging. In the context of climate change, the importance of tree conservation and the mitigation of the negative environmental impacts caused by fossil consumption and deforestation is greater...
Biochar is attracting a lot of attention as it is considered a novel, renewable, and bio-based filler that can be used specifically for developing and manufacturing “bioplastics” for growing plants such as mulch films and plant accessorie...
Bio-based and biodegradable materials have the potential to replace traditional petroleum-based plastics across a range of products and contribute to a more circular economy. However, the uptake of these materials will not succeed unless consumers, m...
On a score sheet for plastics, bioplastics have a medium score for combined mechanical performance and a high score for biodegradability with respect to counterpart petroleum-based plastics. Analysis quickly confirms that endeavours to increase the m...
Today, plastic materials are mostly made from fossil resources, and they are characterized by their long lifetime and pronounced persistence in the open environment. These attributes of plastics are one cause of the ubiquitous pollution we see in our...
Due to the negative environmental impacts of synthetic plastics, the development of biodegradable plastics for both industrial and commercial applications is essential today. Researchers have developed various starch-based composites for different ap...
Bioplastics are an alternative to reduce the environmental damage caused by petroleum-based plastics. However, the effect of primary recycling (reprocessing) of bioplastics from biomass resources has not yet been well studied. If successful, this wou...
Each year, more than 330 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. The main consumers of plastics are the packaging (40%), building (20%) and automotive (8%) industries, as well as for the manufacture of household appliances. The vast majority...
A high number of technical elastomer products contain plasticizers for tailoring material properties. Some additives used as plasticizers pose a health risk or have inadequate material properties. Therefore, research is going on in this field to find...
As the global plastic pollution problem intensifies and the environmental hazards of traditional petroleum-based plastics become increasingly significant, the development of sustainable alternative materials has become an urgent need. This paper syst...
Tremendously negative effects have been generated in recent decades by the continuously increasing production of conventional plastics and the inadequate management of their waste products. This demands the production of materials within a circular e...
The increasing scarcity of natural resources, worsening global climate change, environmental degradation, and rising demand for food are forcing the biotechnology and plastics industries to seek and apply circular economy models that would lead to a...
Bioplastics demand has been increased globally due to concerns regarding environmentally friendly consumption and production. Polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) are promising bioplastics with bio-bas...
The seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae, from the Pacific Ocean, is considered an invasive species in the Mediterranean Sea. In this work, the use of this seaweed is proposed for the development of bio-based plastic materials (bioplastics) as a possible so...
Cotton gin trash (CGT), a lignocellulosic waste generated during cotton fibre processing, has recently received significant attention for production of composite bio-plastics. However, earlier studies were limited to either with biodegradable polymer...
Plastic pollution is an increasing global problem, however, replacing fossil resources with bioplastics made from renewable resources could be part of the solution. Currently, no research analyzing the influencing factors for consumers’ prefere...
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is widely used in engineering applications; however, its inherent thermal instability associated with dehydrochlorination limits its processing window and long-term performance. While blending with thermoplastic polyurethane...
Over the past few decades, synthetic petroleum-based packaging materials have increased, and the production of plastics has surpassed all other man-made materials due to their versatility. However, the excessive usage of synthetic packaging materials...
(1) Background: A bioplastic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is used in agriculture and in other applications like shopping bags, toys, and containers. Since the production of bio-based plastics, including PHBV-based materials, is...
The biodegradation of bioplastics is a topic of interest worldwide. This work aims to measure the biodegradability of five polylactic acid (PLA)-based bioplastics under aerobic, thermophilic laboratory conditions and correlate their weight loss with...
The development of sustainable and mechanically versatile polymeric materials is essential to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly, high-performance products. This study investigates the mechanical properties of blends comprising polyvinyl chlori...
Polymer blending enhances material properties by combining different polymers, which requires careful consideration of both thermodynamic and technological compatibility. This study investigates the compatibility of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermopl...
Mass-rearing of insects is being promoted to meet demands for sustainable sources of livestock and pet feed, protein, oils, pharmaceutical precursors and more. Here, we describe an industrial symbiosis, in which insect mass-rearing is based on food w...
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