Overview: Biodegradable Packaging Film Materials

Abstract

Currently, bioplastics, which are bio-based (biodegradable/non-biodegradable) plastics, account for about 1% of the approximately 390 million tons of plastic produced annually. But as demand is rising, and with more new materials demerging, the market is already growing very dynamically. Europe ranks the 1st place in the field of research and development of bioplastics. About a fifth part of the world’s volume of such materials, produce here. The development of such technologies in Russia goes slowly. Biodegradable plastics are mainly produced from starch, polylactic acid and cellulose. Moreover, all of components are biodegradable. So-called biocomposites are also available, which are a mixture of a polymer with a filler introduced in order to reduce the cost of materials and/or to improve the chemical-mechanical properties of the product. The obtaining of biodegradable packaging materials by fermentation process is very expensive. Traditional synthetic plastics with biodegradable additives introduced into them need special composting conditions. In this article, there is the market’s analysis of the packaging biodegradable products. It also contains the ways to obtain such products from natural raw materials. A large number of studies are devoted to the chemical modification of such polymers, which makes it possible to obtain flexible packaging materials with improved physical and mechanical characteristics compared to the original and not inferior to traditional synthetic plastics.