BASF AG, Germany, says that it will have production scale quantities of its new biodegradable foams by early 2008. The biofoam, Ecovio L, consists of the company's Ecoflex product combined with polylactic acid (PLA); it has a PLAcontent of over 75% by weight.
The foam version is being developed to meet the needs of the packaging industry with target markets such as fastfood boxes and food product trays. Overall, demand for biodegradable plastics is growing at more than 20% each year, BASF says, citing a survey of 75 industry representatives, more than 70% of whom see a trend to bio-based plastics.
BASF will be offering the material as a ready-to-use product, marketed in the form of granules that, without any admixtures, can be directly expanded using an XPS installation. It is then processed into a finished fastfood box or food product tray by thermo-moulding in a further step.
Meanwhile, the group is collaborating with a major US packaging company in partnership reflecting the growing interest in the country for biodegradable packaging.
According to one of BASF's Biopolymer Sales and Marketing team, Florian Kruckl, various partners along the value chain such as foam manufacturers, foam processors and retailers are supporting the group in getting the innovative material ready for the market. Further, biofoam packaging can be disposed of together with organic waste and under industrial composting conditions, as it biodegrades completely since micro organisms attack the packaging and break it down into water and carbon dioxide.
(See also item below, PA derived from castor oil)
For further information, contact: BASF AG, Carl-Bosch-Strasse 38, D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany; tel: +49-621-600; fax: +49-621-604-2525; Internet: www.basf.com
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