Blockpla, de ADBiocomposites

Innovative Biodegradable PLA Plastic for an Increased Range of Packaging Applications

Bioplastics are an essential part of our efforts to reduce pollution and increase sustainability. Of these, the most ecoefficient bioplastic is PLA, as it is biodegradable, requires 50% less energy and produces 10 times less emissions in comparison to standard thermoplastics like PET and PP. Furthermore, as it does not need to be recycled, it saves the energy and cost involved in the process. However, only a fraction of the plastic produced reaches the recycling plant, the rest ending up in landfill or the sea.

Unfortunately, biodegradable plastics only make up approximately 0.2% of plastics produced in 2014. This is because conventional PLA has certain technical limitations which reduce the number of marketable applications on which it can be used. For example, it cannot compete with standard thermoplastic used in packaging applications (such as PET and PE) in terms of oxygen and water vapour barrier and thermal properties, which are the most demanded properties for packaging requirements.

Advanced & Functional Technologies for Biocomposites S.L (ADBIOCOMPOSITES) has developed an innovative, biodegradable PLA named BlockPLA which has enhanced the following technical properties: oxygen and water vapour barrier, thermal stability, transparency and flexibility. BlockPLA solves the drawbacks that PLA currently shows for packaging applications, requires less energy to be produced and production costs are slightly lower than conventional PLA. In addition, BlockPLA has been successfully tested for food contact.

Therefore, BlockPLA is a real biodegradable alternative to PET, PP and PLA for packaging applications in industries such as food and beverages, pharmaceutical, biomedical, home care packaging, cosmetics and others. ADBIOCOMPOSITES aims to use the SME instrument to scale up the production of BlockPLA and bring it to the packaging market, generating estimated revenues in 2022 of over 1.6M€ and providing 8 new jobs, with a ROI on project costs of 135%.