{"id":140369,"date":"2024-03-12T07:20:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-12T06:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=140369"},"modified":"2024-03-07T10:54:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T09:54:38","slug":"does-this-patent-signal-a-turning-point-in-sustainable-plastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/does-this-patent-signal-a-turning-point-in-sustainable-plastics\/","title":{"rendered":"Does This Patent Signal a Turning Point in Sustainable Plastics?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Only about one-half of one percent of the 400 million tons of plastics produced globally each year are bioplastics<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lignin is the second-most abundant organic substance on Earth after cellulose<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Given its ubiquity, lignin should translate to a relatively inexpensive raw material in biopolymer compounds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"850\" height=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-140390\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7782426778242677;width:809px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1.webp 850w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1-150x84.webp 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin-Sinhyu-iStock-Getty-1600x900-1-400x225.webp 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sinhyu\/iStock via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>There are really only a handful of things that motivate humanity to act. Greed and fear are certainly close to the top of that list. Neither of those are inherently bad or evil motivations. In general we have a fiduciary obligation to maximize profits while minimizing costs \u2014&nbsp;what Buckminster Fuller termed ephemeralization. Likewise fear is the perfectly legitimate desire not to perish, nor kill one\u2019s descendants. Those motivators create cultural and societal pressures that as often as not are the reasons for innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Overcoming hurdles of bioplastics production\">Overcoming hurdles of bioplastics production<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last few decades, one of those cultural pressures to innovate has come in the form of demand for biodegradable plastics, fueled by widespread concerns about the effects, both long and short term, of microplastics. Yet despite increasing societal pressure on the plastics industry to make plastics biodegradable, only about one-half of one percent (0.5%) of the 400 million tons of plastics produced globally each year are bioplastics, according to a report published by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.european-bioplastics.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">European Bioplastics<\/a>, &#8220;Bioplastics Market Development Update 2023.&#8221; The reasons for that miniscule fraction are largely the cost of producing bioplastics, and the structural and mechanical properties of the currently available bioplastics. Now, however, those classic hurdles may be coming to an end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"US patent awarded to Helsinki-based researchers\">US patent awarded to Helsinki-based researchers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>On Jan. 25, 2024, researchers at UPM-Kymmene Corp. in Helsinki were awarded US Patent #20240026157 for a \u201clignin-based bioplastic material.\u201d The patent document specifies a compound consisting of a lignin fraction and at least one or more other biodegradable biopolymers. The wording, like most patents, is a little awkward, since lignin is itself a naturally occurring organic polymer, but let\u2019s not quibble over semantics. Lignin is the second-most abundant organic substance on Earth after cellulose, and together with cellulose is one of the major constituents of wood, and most other plants for that matter. It gives cells their structure by filling the gaps between cellulose fibers. In a very real sense you could think of it as the glue that holds together a plant\u2019s cells. In fact, if you are familiar with pelletized wood used for heating stoves, the wood fibers are forced through the openings in a pellet mill under high pressure and temperature, and the lignin melts and forms the adhesive that holds the wood fibers together into the shiny pellets.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin_molecule.webp\" alt=\"Representation of a lignin molecule taken from the patent document. Image courtesy of UPM-Kymmene Corp.\" class=\"wp-image-140389\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.0526315789473684;width:577px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin_molecule.webp 600w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin_molecule-300x285.webp 300w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin_molecule-150x143.webp 150w, https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/media\/2024\/03\/lignin_molecule-284x270.webp 284w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Representation of a lignin molecule taken from the patent document. Image courtesy of UPM-Kymmene Corp.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The fact that lignin is ubiquitous should translate to a relatively inexpensive raw material in that portion of the new biopolymer compound. The patent lists a relatively lengthy number of the other biodegradable biopolymers as candidates to form the remainder of the compound: \u201c. . . selected from polylactic acid (PLA), polyglycolic acid (PGA), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(\u03b5-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(butylenesuccinate) (PBS), poly(\u03b3-glutamic acid) (PGA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), polyhydroxybutyrate(PHB), poly-3-hydroxyvalerate (PHV), thermoplastic starch (TPS), polybutylene adipate terephthalate(PBAT), starch blend, copolymers and mixtures thereof.\u201d All of which are commercially available products. The number of permutations of possible compounds makes this a seemingly far-reaching patent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Microplastics-free biodegradable ground-cover cloth\">Microplastics-free biodegradable ground-cover cloth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Now the patent is careful to make the point that no specific end-product is the focus of this technology, including the rather specific reference to an item having a 2D or 3D shape. It does, however, seem to be somewhat self-restricting in specifying applications relating to agriculture, and in particular, mulching ground-cover cloth. This is not to say that the new lignin-based bioplastic material couldn\u2019t be used for other disposables, such as straws or containers, nor that such applications would fall outside of the protections of the patent. It briefly states: \u201cThe desired shape can be imparted by techniques, such as extrusion, injection molding, casting, compression molding, blow molding, rotation molding, thermoforming.\u201d Specifying ground-cover cloth does give the inventors an advantage to list, which would not necessarily fall under these other uses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ground-cover cloth is intended to be left to degrade into the soil, and having it do so without adding microplastics into the soil would be one such advantage, but the patent goes on to say that the materials when decomposed actually enhance the soil. \u201cOnce in soil, part of the lignin fraction is converted into humic acids, which are known to be growth enhancers and soil conditioners conventionally made from fossil deposits found as brown coal or turf.\u201d It is claimed that these nutrient enhancements additionally act to protect against plant parasites (phytopathogens). That could, in theory, reduce the need for the application of other less desirable pest control measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"Environmentally sound and cost effective\">Environmentally sound and cost effective<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The patent refers to lignin fairly consistently as though it were just one thing. It is not. There are a variety of chemical forms of lignin depending on where it is extracted from, such as softwoods, hardwoods, or non-woody plants or biomass. Seemingly in the patent the molecular weight of the form of lignin appears to play a more important role than the actual type. This of course increases still further the number of possible permutations in the compound, but given the almost entirely innocuous environmental impact of lignin in general, the end result will likely be both beneficial and cost effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are really only a handful of things that motivate humanity to act. Greed and fear are certainly close to the top of that list. Neither of those are inherently bad or evil motivations. In general we have a fiduciary obligation to maximize profits while minimizing costs \u2014&nbsp;what Buckminster Fuller termed ephemeralization. Likewise fear is [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":140391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"The new US patent for a \u201clignin-based bioplastic material\u201d is restrictive in its wording, but the process has potential to be far-reaching","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[11270,5838,5847,6026,11828],"supplier":[435,11726],"class_list":["post-140369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biodegradability","tag-bioeconomy","tag-bioplastics","tag-biopolymers","tag-lignin","supplier-european-bioplastics-ev","supplier-upm-corporation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140369"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=140369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}