BioCom Plastics

Compostable biodegradable plastics, BioCom plastics, can come from both renewable and fossil sources and their optimal management at the end of their life will always be to biodegrade under composting conditions.

The parameters of temperature, humidity, oxygen and microorganisms are responsible for decomposing plastics naturally into organic matter.

The alternative end-of-life offered by BioCom plastics, biodegradation under composting conditions, represents a very useful additional functionality in applications, for example, short-life, single-use products, etc.

Raw material

The BioCom offer the possibility of making the selective collection of organic matter more comfortable and efficient. This can increase its collection and thus drastically reduce the organic matter that still ends up in landfills today.

BioCom plastics come to complement the family of traditional plastics, offering new solutions and allowing further expansion of the effectiveness of plastics in the market.

The transformation of the BioCom is carried out in conventional transformation machinery, adapting the parameters to the required conditions.

The certification, by an independent organization, in accordance with international standards such as EN 13432 and EN 14995 is a guarantee that they can be composted in industrial composting plants.

Materials

The following diagram gives an overview of the situation of the most widely used plastics, in relation to the biodegradability versus bio-based of its raw material.

Under the name of BioCom plastics is understood:

    a) a plastic of plant or partially plant origin that is biodegradable compostable.
    b) a plastic of fossil origin that is biodegradable compostable.

Ehe scope of ASOBIOCOM is BioCom plastics and products, certified in accordance with EN 13432 and EN 14995 Standards.

Oxodegradable plastics, wrongly called 'oxo-biodegradable', do not comply with the EN 13432 Standard, so they cannot be considered as compostable biodegradable plastics.

It is important to know the difference between a truly compostable biodegradable plastic and a plastic that is promoted as 'oxo-biodegradable'. The latter is an additivation to a conventional polymer that accelerates an irregular and only physical disintegration. This means that the plastic is fragmented into tiny particles, but that cannot be assimilated by microorganisms. This degradation can be induced by ultraviolet light (photodegradation) or by oxidation (oxofragmentation).

ASOBIOCOM supports the recommendation of the European Bioplastics Association to use the term 'oxo-fragmentable' to describe oxo materials and products.

Properties

The biodegradability of a polymer is directly related to its molecular structure and not to the origin of the raw material.

The properties of BioCom plastics vary from material to material. The choice of a particular BioCom plastic should be considered based on the application of the product and the transformation process. BioComs may have specific properties that make them particularly suitable in applications where permeability, breathability, solubility and compostability are basic requirements. And in properties such as printing, transparency, barrier, and gloss, they reach values ??on the order of traditional polymers.

Indicted

BioCom plastics can be processed using conventional technology, adapting the processing parameters to the individual specification of each polymer. sphere factory.

Among other technologies, BioCom plastics can be processed by extrusion, film, tube or flat sheet (cast), injection, thermoforming, extrusion-blow molding, lamination, coatings, etc.

In addition, there is already a range of BioCom masterbatches, inks and adhesives on the market, with which the set of raw materials necessary to achieve a fully compostable product can be completed.