Plant & vegetation material

see also BioPolymers & Cork

corn starch products

Starch is the reserve carbohydrate of plants and is a cheap, renewable and readily available raw material for biodegradable products.

packaging

"A line of heavy-duty fiber ware (plates, trays, bowls, cups, lunch boxes and compartment trays) made from sugar cane. Sugar cane is an annually renewable feedstock favored over tree-based products. When sugar is harvested, the stalk remains and it is this refuse that is used in the production of our fiber products along with palm fiber refuse."

• http://www.biocorpusa.com/

Treeplast product

An injection mouldable bio-polymer made from a blend of corn starch and natural cellulose extracted from wood waste. It is lightweight and available in a variety of colours. Treeplast® also possesses shock absorption properties similar to A.B.S. and therefore has many potential design applications.

• http://www.treeplast.com/

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Soy polymer

Derived from soybeans, the new plastic can be as durable and functional as traditional plastic; after processing soy protein and other ingredients, the resulting resins can be molded into a variety of products. Yet, the biodegradable nature of the plastic means it is environmentally friendly, and can be economically and safely disposed of.

Despite its innovative nature, soy-based plastic products can be manufactured using standard types of equipment common to the plastics industry. This means little capital investment is required for customers to bring the technology in-house. Start-up costs for manufacturers are also reasonable. Unlike synthetic degradable products, SoyPlus(TM) plastic comes from a renewable source, is more eco-friendly than petroleum-based plastics, and problematic waste disposal is eliminated.

• http://soyworkscorporation.com/index.html

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Orange peel polymer

"Cornell University researchers created a novel polymer using CO2, an oil present in orange peel and a catalyst that speeds the reaction along.

Limonene is a carbon-based compound that makes up about 95% of the oil in orange peel and is used to give household cleaners their citrus smell."

• from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4191737.stm
• http://www.cornell.edu/

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Miscanthus plant

Miscanthus is a perennial grass, research in the UK and Europe investigated the criteria for the ideal energy crop for combustion to generate heat and electricity. The criteria for the ideal energy crop are high dry matter yield, perennial growth, and efficient use of nitrogen, water, other resources, and pest and disease resistance. Miscanthus satisfies these criteria, and the result is a crop that is both profitable and environmentally friendly.

• http://www.bical.net/mechanisation.htm

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-- RachelWingfield - 15 Jun 2006