The government promotes the integration of production, research and development of bioplastics and strives to break through

Bioplastics are highly praised for their green and low-carbon advantages, but the response from the domestic market has been dull. "Technology and cost are certainly the bottlenecks that restrict their development, and more importantly, people lack the awareness of environmental protection using bioplastics and government policy support." The 3rd China International Bioplastics, held in Guangzhou from May 15th to 16th At the seminar, industry experts believe that through the establishment of an innovation alliance for industry, universities, research, and research, the government, enterprises, and associations will be able to achieve a breakthrough in technology and cost. If they cooperate with policy support to enhance the environmental protection concept of the entire people, Can achieve market breakthroughs. This is news obtained by reporters.

The rapid growth prospects are beyond doubt

Experts at the meeting pointed out that if bioplastics are used to replace China's traditional three synthetic polymer materials, hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide can be reduced. Therefore, bioplastics will play an important role in promoting a low-carbon economy.

According to Wang Wenguang, secretary general of the Shenzhen Plastics Industry Association, low-carbon bioplastics include biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastics. Currently, there are six types of biodegradable bioplastics that are being developed and industrialized, including natural polymer-modified and polyhydroxylated. Alkanoic acid esters, aliphatic polyesters, etc. Non-degradable and partially degradable bioplastics mainly include polyesters, nylons, starch/non-degradable plastics, fiber/plastic blends, and cellulose.

According to statistics from relevant U.S. agencies, bio-plastics in the United States have grown at an average annual rate of 17% and are expected to reach 546,000 tons by 2012. The European Bioplastics Association predicts that the global bioplastics production volume is expected to reach 1.46 million tons in 2013. Bioplastics will maintain an average annual growth rate of more than 20%. By 2025, Asia will be the leader in the bioplastics market, accounting for approximately 32% of the market, Europe 31% and the United States 28%. China's bioplastic production will account for more than 40% of Asia's production and account for more than 12% of global production. By then, China will become a major producer and exporter of bioplastics in Asia.

Tackling technology improves performance and reduces costs

Although the market prospects are broad, the domestic market has always been applauded. The main reason is that there are some defects in the use of bioplastics.

Zhang Xiangnan, deputy secretary-general of the Innovation Alliance for Low-Carbon Biomaterial Production, Research, and Innovation, pointed out that natural polymer bioplastics generally have high water absorption and poor processing performance. For example, polylactide (PLA) has high brittleness and poor heat resistance; polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) fermentation process ** monomer is not easy to control, it is difficult to obtain stable materials; carbon dioxide-based copolymer bioplastic (PPC ) Heat resistance is poor; polycaprolactone bioplastic (PCL) has a low melting point (60°C) and is difficult to use alone.

In the face of defects in the performance of bio-plastics, it is imperative to tackle technological problems. However, the current domestic R&D strength is not optimistic. Wang Wenguang said that currently there are only dozens of universities and research institutes engaged in research and development in the field in the country. The processing technology, forming equipment, molds, auxiliary materials, standards, and inspections for forming bio-plastic products are incomplete and cannot keep pace with the bio-plastic market. Rapidly increasing demand lags behind traditional petrochemical materials industry in research and technology. Another problem is that the scientific research results of universities and research institutes cannot be transformed in time. Enterprises and research institutes do not have a good connection, lacking industrialization demonstration bases and guarantee systems and operating systems.

In addition, the price issue that has plagued the development of bioplastics is still difficult to solve for a time. The general price of bioplastics is relatively high. For example, the market prices of PHA and PCL are more than 3 times that of traditional general plastics. It is understood that at present there are no more than 30 large-scale production enterprises in China, and their production capacity ranges from a few hundred tons to tens of tons. Enterprises are scattered and relatively weak. Coupled with the general lack of understanding of degradable plastics and lack of buying enthusiasm, it is not surprising that bioplastics are difficult to open in the domestic market.

The domestic market for bio-plastics does not give power, and the development of foreign companies is overwhelming. At present, the production of bioplastics is mainly concentrated in developed countries and regions such as North America, Western Europe and Japan. They not only have technological advantages but also have market advantages. Experts concerned expressed concern that if the domestic market has been in a weak state, it will provide opportunities for foreign companies to seize the opportunity of the Chinese market.

Make concerted efforts to screw into a rope bigger and stronger

For domestic companies, if there is no support for the domestic market, simply relying on foreign markets is like having no "base area". Once foreign markets have troubles or introduce relevant trade barriers, domestic companies have no capital to compete with. For this reason, the participating experts unanimously appealed that the government should increase its policy support for domestic bio-plastics enterprises, and at the same time also called for the improvement of the environmental protection concept of the entire people.

In order to integrate all forces and promote the development of bio-plastics in China, the establishment of the Innovation Alliance for Production, Research, and Innovation of Low-carbon Bio-plastics has received unanimous support in the industry. Yang Yiji, chairman of the Alliance, said: "Technology is subject to worrying people. If the market is subject to human beings, we will not only lose our domestic market, we will even lose the entire national industry." He proposed that the Innovation Alliance for Low Carbon Bioplastics Research and Production is At present, China is the only industry alliance in the field of biomaterials. The Innovation Alliance will combine the advantages of resources, will be the government, enterprises, research institutes and industry associations and other forces into a rope, to jointly promote China's bio-plastic industry bigger and stronger.