Biopolyethylene (also known as renewable polyethylene) is

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...

made out of

ethanol Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...

, which becomes

ethylene Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon-carbon double bonds). Ethylene i ...

after a dehydration process. It can be made from various feedstocks including

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalks t ...

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together wi ...

, and

wheat grain Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeological ...

. The final product is indistinguishable from conventional polyethylene, and thus is recyclable in the same chain established for conventional PE.

The first plant

Ethanol-based chemical pole, totally integrated from sugarcane to polyethylene, was recently announced by

The Dow Chemical Company The Dow Chemical Company, officially Dow Inc., is an American multinational chemical corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company is among the three largest chemical producers in the world. Dow manufactures plastics ...

, in conjunction with Crystals, a large sugar and ethanol producer in Brazil. The pole is said to be projected to produce 770 million pounds per year of renewable

LLDPE Linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) is a substantially linear polymer (polyethylene), with significant numbers of short branches, commonly made by copolymerization of ethylene with longer-chain olefins. Linear low-density polyethylene differs s ...

(linear low-density polyethylene), will begin construction in 2008, and is slated to start production in 2011. The amount of ethanol needed to make one tonne of polyethylene is roughly two tonnes, as dehydration takes half of the weight in water, from the sugarcane-based ethanol, before converting into

(). Braskem is the world leader in the production of biopolymer, with the Green Polyethylene – I'm green, a thermoplastic resin produced from ethylene made from sugarcane ethanol, a 100% renewable raw material which helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The production started in 2010 and is located in Triunfo, South of Brazil.pp

Benefits

One of the main environmental benefits of Green PE is the sequestration of roughly 2.15 tonnes of per tonne of Green Polyethylene produced, which comes from the absorbed by the sugar cane while growing, minus the emitted through the production process. Renewable polyethylene is non-biodegradable and can be recycled in the same waste streams as traditional polyethylenes (

HDPE High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density ratio, ...

LDPE Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic made from the monomer ethylene. It was the first grade of polyethylene, produced in 1933 by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) using a high pressure process via free radical polymerization. Its ...

) as it is chemically identical.

Disadvantages

Producing feedstock for biobased plastics relies upon intensive agriculture, potentially contributing to deforestation in order to clear land for agricultural use. Large-scale production of feedstock also requires inputs such as fossil fuels, fertilizers, and pesticides.

Production

Today

Braskem Braskem is a Brazilian petrochemical company headquartered in São Paulo. The company is the largest petrochemical company in Latin America and has become a major player in the international petrochemical market (8th largest resin producer worldw ...

industrial unit has an annual production capacity of 200 tonne of Green Polyethylene. Green PE has the same properties, performance, and application versatility as fossil-based polyethylene, which makes it a drop-in replacement in the plastic production chain. For these same reasons, it is also recyclable in the same recycling chain used by traditional polyethylene. Because it is part of the portfolio of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) products, Green PE rapidly became an option for applications in rigid and flexible packaging, closures, bags, and other products. In January 2014, the family of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was added to the product portfolio, effectively covering additional applications in packaging and films.

References

{{Reflist Plastics