Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4.6.1 Bio-Based Plastics and Sustainability
Responsible use of non-renewable resources is one of the three emphasis
conserve fossil fuel reserves help achieve that goal. Using renewable
bioresources to make plastics, especially types of plastics used in high
volume, is therefore a sustainable move by the industry (Philp et al., 2013;
Reddyetal.,2013).Biomassrawmaterialscanyieldthesamebasicchemical
intermediates that are derived from fossil fuel raw materials, making
bio-based synthesis of conventional and novel plastics a possibility. The
option is particularly attractive where the embodied energy as well as the
carbon emissions associated with manufacture of the bio-derived variety is
at or below that of conventional plastic material.
Figure 4.14
compares the conventional and bio-based pathways for
thermoplastics PS and PET and poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The renewable
pathways rely on fermentation and simple reactions, while the fossil fuel
materials havetobecracked andrefined toobtain thesamebasicchemicals.
