Development of bio-based and biodegradable plastics in China

China's biodegradable plastics development strategic opportunities

China's growing environmental pressure

As the consumption of plastic products continues to increase, the amount of plastic waste every year is also growing, it is estimated that by 2050, the world will have 12 billion tons of waste plastic placed in landfills or scattered in the natural environment, about 50% of these waste plastics belong to single-use plastic products, including packaging, agricultural film and other disposable consumer goods, etc. Because it is difficult to degrade and not easy to recycle, it causes great harm to the environment, of which 115 to 2.5 million tons of waste plastics enter the ocean every year, these plastics not only pollute the Marine environment, but also endanger biosecurity, causing global concern. China is a big producer and consumer of plastic products, and plastic products brought by takeout and fast food consumption are difficult to recycle, which has caused great pressure on China's environmental protection.

With the introduction of the "Opinions on Further strengthening plastic pollution control", in 2025, the state will establish a strict management system for plastic products in the production, circulation, consumption and recycling and disposal, according to the forecast, by 2025, China's annual consumption of degradable plastics will reach 2.38 million tons, generating economic benefits of 47.7 billion yuan, and the market space is huge. Manufacturers of degradable plastics need to seize the window period of the national plastic limit, improve the technical level and production capacity as soon as possible, and meet consumer demand.

Excellent properties of bio-based and biodegradable plastics

Bio-based materials and biodegradable plastics are gradually leading the scientific and technological innovation and economic development in the contemporary world because of their green, environmentally friendly and resource saving characteristics. At the same time, it can replace petroleum-based polymer materials, so as to alleviate the energy crisis and environmental crisis that mankind is currently facing.

As the largest application of bio-based plastics, biodegradable mulch film as one of the research hotspots in recent years, not only has the function of ordinary plastic film to increase temperature and maintain moisture, but also will be completely decomposed in the natural state after a certain time, does not affect the growth of crops, is an effective way to solve the white pollution of farmland. At present, biodegradable film has been applied in potato, cotton, corn and other field crops, while some studies also show that appropriate degradable plastics can promote the growth of plants, such as Dr. Li Chengtao of Shaanxi University of Science and Technology believes that low molecular weight PBS on green vegetables and lettuce germination, root length, seedling length and chlorophyll synthesis has a certain promotion. Biodegradable sandbags are used for sand fixation in desert areas, which can effectively solve the problem that traditional sandbags are not easy to recover, and have been popularized and used in arid and semi-arid areas such as Inner Mongolia and Qinghai, and have achieved remarkable economic benefits.

The inevitable choice under the pattern of "double cycle" at home and abroad

China's dependence on oil imports of more than 70%, as well as more than 60 million tons of chemical fibers and 100 million tons of plastic products each year, are the largest use of China's petroleum products. Under the "double cycle" pattern at home and abroad, how to use China's biological resources, new bio-based fibers and bio-based plastic products to replace traditional petroleum-based polymer chemistry has become the first choice.

China has developed relatively mature polylactic acid fiber, completely made of biological raw materials, with high strength, good biocompatibility and biodegradability. The latter process can mesh the fibers by spunbond method and melt-blow method, and can also be made into various nonwoven products by spunling, needling and other methods, which can be used on disposable products such as medical and health products, and use its degradation characteristics to solve the problem of "white pollution" caused by such products. Bio-based fibers, as one of the applications to replace petroleum-based products, will have a place in the future fiber market.

Problems with the development of degradable plastics

Life cycle of bio-based and biodegradable plastics

Bio-based and biodegradable plastics also face the challenges of limited service life and recycling. And in most cases, like fossil-based plastics, bio-based plastics also have the potential to become plastic pollution. But if prepared properly, they may have environmental advantages over fossil-based plastics. Because their overall climate footprint still depends on the entire life cycle of plastic products, including end-of-life management. All bio-based fibers are not supported indiscriminately, as the environmental advantages of these materials depend on the specific raw materials used and the subsequent product life cycle.