Produce plastics from starch.

Previously, starch is the main application in the food industry such as noodles, pasta, bread, and other confectionery products. Tapioca is known to be an indispensable component in the food industry. However, there are many other applications of starch. Some typical applications are used to make starch fillers and adhesives in paper and carton, as the adhesive silk fiber in the garment industry, as the dispenser for capsules ( antibiotics) and to promote the disintegration of the water with compressed tablets (Decolgen) .... With the continued advancement of science and technology, a lot of achievements in the application Tapioca realize this can not have been discovered and used. We've listened to vehicle fuel from cassava starch processing (gasohol), super-absorbent gel from starch, even resin (plastic) from starch processing.

For many people, the starch into plastics imagine that seemed impossible, so this process occurs like?

In summary

Research on starch to produce biodegradable plastics are starting from 1970. At the beginning of this study do not attract attention understand, but later due to environmental issues, climate change and limited raw material resources should the world have flocked research new materials to replace traditional materials previously. To promote the study, both the invention of technology and aggressive marketing plan being promoted. Thereby helping to create awareness for people, especially consumers when they accept new raw material purchase instead of traditional materials while the new material has a much higher price. Biodegradable plastic is a new material developed for use as the traditional plastic but has the molecular structure can be destroyed by the action of enzymes secreted from the bacteria available in the lip natural.

 If these materials are biodegradable in appropriate environments such as plants decompose, they can break down into CO2, water and microbial substances without causing any toxic agent to the environment around. Although biodegradable plastic can be produced from petroleum sources, but most studies have been focused on the biological material to prevent depletion issues in future materials and make environment round cleaner. In all biological materials, the starch is promising to offer the best possible future for very large quantity and low cost as well as its biodegradable in the environment.

Produce biodegradable plastics from starch.

2 starch granules contain sugar polymers exist as semi-crystalline. Starch grain structure is quite stable, and can be destroyed at a temperature of 2200C (Shogren, 1993). The approach of the ability of starch in the production of biodegradable plastics will be conducted in the following ways:

1. Starch is biodegradable resin fillers.

Starch granules can be mixed directly with the polymer melt temperature - high pressure in the grain structure remains unchanged, so that starch particles in the polymer chain adhesion (Figure 1). In this way, a starch were mixed in plastic polymer molecules; Application of film industry: 10% starch was bound into a film (plastic) (Griffin, 1994).

01en Producing plastics from starch.

Initially, the starch granules with plastic binder, however mixed ability depends on the type of starch structure is used in the mixture. Because starch and resin composition are two different types of hydrogen (hydrophilic and hydrophobic), so we can not link together easily, so when the adhesive creates a heterogeneous mixture of resin. To overcome this problem, the starch must first be transformed (with chemicals) into hydrophobic. Hydrophobic modified starches may be mixed with the resin during mixing footage. One more note, the film industry, the film thickness can not be thinner than the size of the starch granules, so there are still certain restrictions.

2. Material TPS (Thermoplastic Starch) or thermoplastic materials

TPS is the polymer materials can transform plastic into a soft or melting temperatures - high pressure or hard form when frozen. Most plastics are now as TPS, so they can be made into films, containers or any item with defined shapes. In nature, starch is not thermoplastic materials, semi-crystalline molecules in grain starch is converted automatically into the organization of higher molecular form stable crystalline structure. As a result, the melting temperature of the higher starch decomposition temperature of it, therefore, the decomposition process takes place before the melting process if we baked starch. However thanks to the involvement of the additive, the crystalline structure of starch granules can be broken and starch particles can melt at very low temperatures and creating new material called thermoplastic materials or TPS. When baked, thermoplastic member (TPS) will melt and can be manufactured to any desired object thanks to appropriate machine tool incorporates participation in processes such as resin filler machine, machine molding, film blowing machine ....

 02en Producing plastics from starch.

Although countries with starch plasticizer effect but inappropriate in making plastic products from TPS. When waterproof TPS will leave more brittle and cracked. TPS plasticizer Glycerol is the most common. Unlike starch granules, TPS members can be used as key components in plastic structure because TPS may melt and the engineering of various shapes. However, TPS has two major disadvantages: it is very sensitive to water and low mobility. Most research in this area has focused overcome two limits. And the most common approach to improving TPS is changing the structure of starch granules with chemical effects (modified starches) and TPS from starch into denaturation products will be largely overcome such weakness . Typical plants in the use of plastics from starch is Novamont (Italy), Biotec (Germany) and Rodenburg (Netherlands) ...

3. The starch foam.

Conventional foam - used for production of expanded polystyrene foam (the material to fill the excess space around the product in the box), shelves foam and other porous materials. To become biodegradable materials and processes to produce starch sponge using only water during blowing to create holes in the sponge structure. Starch foam waterproof and has many characteristics superior to polystyrene foam. Ham manufactured using porous starch with other polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, polycaprolactone and polyactic acid is a commonly used to enhance the properties of porous starch.

 03en Producing plastics from starch.

Porous starch (Figure 3) is one of the first biodegradable products are warmly consumers favor and gain a stable market for many years. As reported by Messias de Braganca and Flower Market, the US alone has 25% of polystyrene foam has been replaced by a foam made from starch (2004), while the UK has 20% market share is a porous foam starch . This rate of growth is stable because of porous starch quality increasingly improved. The main companies producing starch foam which is ECO - National Starch and Chemical FOAM under (USA), Green Cell Foam of KTM industries, Inc. (USA) and Green Light EcoFlo of Product Ltd (UK).

4. Application of lactic acid from starch in the fermentation process.

As a pure sugar polymer capable of reuse, starch is used as a main raw material for the manufacture of industrial products such as alcohols, aldehydes, esters and acid for a long time. In these products, lactic acid attract much attention in the role of basic materials to help successfully develop biodegradable plastics. Lactic acid is a compound used for producing polylactic acid (PLA), a product with potential applications in industrial production. In the last decade, a lot of scientific research in theory and practice to promote the development of polylactic acid is a polymer properties of substances. A perfect process to produce PLA has formed and manufacturing the world's largest NatureWorks PLA (USD) LLC starch content to produce PLA. PLA is a biodegradable plastic has many features similar to traditional plastic, it is used many familiar products such as fruit and vegetable bags, food bags disposable, film containers, toys, appliances family and even some car decorations. With the development of technology, the PLA is an important material in the replacement of non-biodegradable materials in the future. This promise PLA will increase demand and demand for raw materials for production - Starch will also increase.