Biopolymer

Biopolymer

1. Advantages

   • Biopolymer can be injection and shaped in the same way as regular thermoplastic can
   • Biopolymer are more marketable. For example, through a marketing effort the use of this product may boost the value add of the product
   • The usage of petrochemical (oil based) will be reduced and avoided environment danger
   • Many biopolymer are naturally present and have a lower carbon footprint than oil-based plastic because it do not require the refinement of oil.

2. Disadvantages

   • When compared to their oil-based competitors, bioplastics are often more expensive. The product are often two or three times more expensive than common polymer like PE or PET and its production is plagued by low yields and high costs.
   • Crop-based bioplastics are dependent on weather conditions and require fertile land, water and fertilisers. This means that natural disasters such as drought , could threaten the supply of raw ingredients for bioploymer
   • Some bioplastic products have a shorter lifetime than oil-based plastics due to weaker mechanical properties such as greater water permeability than standard plastic, being easy to tear like tissue paper, or being very brittle
   • Although being compostable and biodegradable sounds great many bioplastic must be disposed of in a specific manner and require industrial composting to avoid being incinerated or disposed of in landfills