Degradable plastics dissolve white trash White pollution spawns "green revolution"

For manufacturers of degradable plastic products in Europe and the United States, Ningbo Tianan Biomaterials Co., Ltd. is a magic company. Such an ordinary company can actually produce PHBV (polyhydroxybutyrate-valerate), an indispensable raw material for degradable plastics manufacturers. Such a company is actually in China, which really surprises them.

"From a domestic point of view, not only biodegradable plastics production technology has reached the international level, and some domestic companies have successfully reached the international market." Weng Yunxuan, Secretary General of the China Plastics Association Degradable Plastics Professional Committee, told China Investment.

"White pollution"

Give birth to "green revolution"

The problem of "white pollution" of waste plastics has become increasingly serious. It is time for non-resolved issues. Countries, especially Western Europe, the United States, and Japan, have restricted the use of disposable foam packaging. In recent years, the European Union has introduced regulations to restrict or prohibit the use of non-degradable plastic packaging.

The fundamental difference from traditional petroleum-based synthetic resins is that the main source of raw materials for biodegradable plastics is renewable resources such as starch and cellulose, which use sunlight and carbon dioxide as energy sources and carbon sources, and is converted into polymers by biotechnology. The high-tech materials, their products will be completely decomposed into carbon dioxide and water after being discarded. Organic fertilizers can also be produced if they are recycled and composted.

With the emphasis on environmental protection, various countries have begun research and development of biodegradable materials. Similarly, as a major consumer of disposable plastic products, China began to research and develop biodegradable materials in the 1980s.

Biodegradable plastics are divided into natural biodegradable plastics, biodegradable plastics, and chemically synthesized biodegradable plastics.

Natural biodegradable plastic refers to a class of materials that can be made into biodegradable plastic products through various molding processes using natural polymers as raw materials, including natural polymers such as starch, cellulose, chitin, and soy protein and various types thereof. Derivatives and mixtures. Among them, thermoplastic starch has been industrialized, and other natural materials are still in the basic research stage. At present, Wuhan Gorgeous Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., which has achieved industrialization, has formed an annual production capacity of 2-3 million tons.

Microbial biodegradable plastics include polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). PLA is synthesized from lactic acid obtained by fermentation such as molasses by direct condensation polymerization or its dimer lactide ring-opening polymerization method. At present, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhejiang Haisheng Biodegradable Plastics Co., Ltd. are conducting pilot studies together. The product performance has basically reached the level of Cargill Dow's products. At present, it has basically completed the construction of a demonstration production line with a production capacity of 5,000 tons.

The high price of biopolyesters synthesized by microorganisms and other methods is the main obstacle that is difficult to universally adopt. Biodegradable plastics developed by chemical synthesis mainly include various aliphatic polyesters. The former main varieties include polycaprolactone (PCL), aliphatic polycarbonates (carbon dioxide and epoxy compound copolymers, or carbon dioxide copolymers), and the like. The adoption of the chemical synthesis method for the production of degradable plastics was adopted by Inner Mongolia Mengxi Hi-tech Group. In addition, Henan Tianguan Group also uses carbon dioxide, a by-product produced during the production of alcohol, to produce fully degradable plastics. In addition, the chemical synthesis of polybutylene succinate by the Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences is also in the process of industrialization.

In addition to the above three categories, there is a technology for blending natural resources such as starch with chemical substances. Guangdong Zhaoqing Huafang Degradable Plastics Co., Ltd. achieved the plasticization of starch, and then blended with polyvinyl alcohol to produce degradable plastics.

“Since 1999, we have started to use renewable starch as raw material, and used fermentation engineering technology to produce new biological materials, and invested a total of more than 70 million yuan,” said Liu Hui, marketing manager of Ningbo Tianan Company, to China Investment.

Ningbo Tianan's technical idea is mainly to use glucose extracted from starch as a carbon source, to cultivate certain microorganisms in the fermenter, and to gradually synthesize PHBV in vivo during its growth and metabolism. Its main application is in addition to food packaging and containers, shopping bags, toys and other daily necessities and packaging, it can also be used to produce disposable syringes, surgical gowns and other medical products. Ningbo Tian'an is the only company that currently realizes commercial and large-scale production of PHA materials.

“In 2004, we have formed a production scale of 10 million tons per year, and the capacity will reach 2,000 tons by the end of this year.” Liu Hui is very proud of this.

Exhaust gas becomes higher value-added plastic

The large number of applications of plastic products cause "white pollution", excessive carbon dioxide emissions cause a "greenhouse effect," and the global climate and environment are greatly threatened.

For cement companies with large carbon dioxide emissions, under the pressure of “emission reduction”, one of the most difficult problems for enterprises is how to reduce the problem of carbon dioxide tail gas treatment in cement kiln.

The combination of "white pollution" and excessive carbon dioxide emissions gives companies a best way to improve the environment.

At the beginning of July, a pilot production line with an annual output of 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide-based fully degradable plastics that can solve the problem of CO2 emissions from enterprises and can produce degradable plastics was born in Inner Mongolia Mengxi Hi-tech Group Company.

As early as 2000, Inner Mongolia Mengxi Hi-tech Group Co., Ltd. adopted the leading domestic pressure swing adsorption technology of Southwest Research and Design Institute to solve the problem of carbon dioxide production during the production of cement, and built an annual output from the waste of cement kiln tail gas for recovery and purification. 10,000-ton food grade carbon dioxide device. However, at that time, the purified carbon dioxide was sold to food processing companies for preservation, preservation, and other ways. The price per ton was about 800 yuan, and the economic benefit was not obvious.

In the international market, the total price of a fully degradable plastic produced using carbon dioxide as a raw material is about 20,000 yuan per ton. It was this huge profit temptation. Subsequently, Mengxi invested more than RMB 40 million in cooperation with the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, using carbon dioxide emitted from cement kiln exhaust as raw material, using carbon dioxide and epoxides in combination with rare earth catalysts. Under the action of copolymerization, production of carbon dioxide-based fully degradable plastics. In October 2002, it built the world's first continuous, fully enclosed pilot production line with an annual output of 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide-based fully degradable plastics. The plastic produced is transparent, biodegradable, and the incineration process only produces carbon dioxide and water.

However, due to policies, funding, and technology, for many years, the degradable plastic products produced in the pilot line have only sold 700 tons, said Xianghui Hui, project manager of Mengxi High-tech Group, to China Investment. Since then, in order to solve the post-processing problem, Mengxi once again invested 5-6 million yuan at the end of 2005 to carry out industrialization.

After more than five years of trials, the research in the laboratory finally took off—the result of a pilot test that solved double environmental pollution was finally industrialized. According to the carbon dioxide produced by the cement company owned by its own group, Mengxi can produce 3,000 tons of carbon dioxide-based fully degradable plastics each year.

Carbon dioxide polymers have the characteristics of degradable (incinerating), transparent, and high gas barrier properties. They are very suitable for disposable foods and medical packaging materials. This technology received one each of the invention patents of the United States and Japan and applied for eight Chinese invention patents.

Can degradable plastics produced with carbon dioxide bring considerable profits to companies? “If I ask this question earlier, I dare not answer it, but now I can say that such projects can achieve post-tax cost recovery in two to three years, including the construction period,” she said proudly.

Weng Yunxuan also praised Mengxi’s technology. “The cement industry's exhaust carbon dioxide is made into a fully degradable plastic, which has a wide spread value in domestic cement production enterprises. This technology can also be extended to oil refining, steel-making, thermal power generation, and chemical engineering. Carbon dioxide and other key emission companies will form a unique industrial chain and will play a role in alleviating the greenhouse effect."

High and low demands need to be supported

According to data from the Decomposition Plastics Association of the United States, Japan, and Europe, the world demand for degradable plastics exceeds 500,000 tons in 2005. The next five to 15 years will be the period of rapid development of degradable plastics. It is estimated that by 2010, the global production capacity will be 800,000 tons. Will reach 1 million tons.

European and American companies started as early as possible, so the production has already formed a 10,000-ton production scale. At present, the US-based Nature Works Corporation has an annual output of PLA series with an annual output of 140,000 tons. Japan Showa Polymer Co., Ltd.'s PBS (polybutylene succinate) industrialization scale reaches 1,000 tons, and Italy's Novonmont Co., Ltd. The production capacity will reach 10,000 tons. In addition, Germany's BASF currently has a capacity of 14,000 tons.

"And we spent nearly 10 years, the country's production reached 50,000 tons," Weng Yunxuan introduced.

Although the annual output value of domestic degradable plastics companies reached 1 billion yuan, profits have been individually realized, and most companies are still in the investment stage.

Similarly, the investment of over 70 million yuan over 8 years did not bring significant profits and recognition to the domestic market for Ningbo Tianan. For any company, the absence of users means that there is no market, no profit, and there is no incentive for production. “Because of the current production costs and imperfect environmental protection requirements, it is difficult for the biodegradable plastics produced by enterprises to be produced by enterprises themselves or by environmental protection organizations to form mass sales. Compared with developed countries, the domestic market lacks Is the corresponding laws and regulations support," Liu Hui is also very helpless. Like most other manufacturers of biodegradable plastic products, products produced by Ningbo Tianan are almost exclusively for international customers.

In China, compared with ordinary plastics, the cost of biodegradable materials is one to three times that of ordinary plastics, so the price is still high. Taking the most popular lunch box as an example, the lunch box made of polystyrene material basically reaches 8 points to 1 hair, while the current full-biodegradable starch-based meal box costs 1.8 hair to 2 hair, particularly good at 2. Hair to 3 hairs. In addition, in terms of performance, some of the degraded materials are slightly inferior, and the containers they produce are soft in texture, easily shrink when subjected to high heat, high temperature, and are easily soluble in water.

With high cost and lack of production experience, plastics manufacturers are reluctant to use this polymer material. The lack of a domestic market has prevented companies from achieving large-scale production. Therefore, although international demand is growing at a rate of 30% per year, the productivity of domestic companies is far from meeting demand.

As one of the earliest companies engaged in the production of biodegradable plastics in China, Ningbo Tianan has received support from government funds: In 2000, the science and technology innovation fund was 600,000 yuan, and during the “Tenth Five-Year Plan” period, it received funding of 1 million yuan as the “863” project subject unit. During the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" period, it became a "863" major project unit. "The government's financial support has played a role in the development of the company, but in the long run, the market is the way for the company to survive," said Liu Hui.

Despite the lack of strong market-oriented support in the domestic market, Ningbo Tianan has been compensating for the loss of biodegradable plastics production based on other income of its own group because of its optimistic view on the future of the industry. However, Liu Hui expressed his concern: At present, China's biodegradable material production technology is in an international advanced status, but compared with foreign counterparts, our market environment is much worse. If this situation goes on, the competitiveness of the domestic industry will not be adequately developed, and it may gradually become a weak position. When domestic demand arises, then only those international companies can occupy the market.

Also lacking in government support is the Mengxi Group. Mengxi is preparing to amplify the existing pilot production line to achieve industrial production, but some equipment in the pilot production line can not meet the requirements of industrial operation, how to reduce costs, shorten the polymerization time, and achieve continuous polymerization process requires technology