German chemical and biotech giant BASF has launched an industrial compostable biopolymer for greenhouse twines.
The company said its ecovio T 2206 biopolymer could be used in the manufacture of black twines used in commercial greenhouses.
Comprising a partly petroleum-based compostable plastic called ecoflex FS and polylactic acid from corn starch, ecovio T 2206 had been certified as industrial compostable according to EN13432 and was biodegradable in compost within four weeks, BASF said.
Derived from renewable raw materials, polylactic acid could be brittle in its pure state but when combined with ecoflex, the company said a flexible plastic was created that could be used to manufacture a range of products, including twines.
“Both components of ecovio – ecoflex and polylactic acid – are biodegradable,” BASF head of research for biopolymers Prof Andreas Künkel said.
“For a material to be biodegradable, it is unimportant whether the feedstock is plant- or petroleum-based. What matters is the structure of the molecules. Because this synthetic polymer has been engineered for … biodegradability, microorganisms can easily digest it.”
Ecovio conforms to all relevant standards for compostable and biodegradable plastics in Europe, North America and Asia.
As the twines were biodegradable, BASF said it meant that after harvesting, the twines could be collected together with plant residues and transported to industrial composting facilities (depending on local regulations).
“In the controlled conditions of an industrial composting plant – high temperature and humidity, defined oxygen levels – microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria break the plastic down into water, carbon dioxide and biomass,” the company said on 26 April.
In addition, BASF said ecovio T 2206 could be produced on standard polypropylene (PP) machinery for twines
