Development Trend of Degradable Plastics in the World Market

With the rapid development of plastics industry technology, the current total output of plastics in the world has exceeded 150 million tons, and its use has penetrated into all sectors of the national economy and people’s lives. It has become the four major supporting materials along with steel, wood, and cement. . However, with the continuous increase in the output of plastics and the continuous expansion of its use, its waste is also increasing. According to statistics, the weight of plastics in municipal solid waste has reached more than 10%, and the volume ratio has reached about 30%. Their pollution to the environment and the destruction of ecological balance have caused great social concern. The research and development of plastic recycling technology and degradable plastics has become an important strategy for the development of the plastics industry and packaging industry, and has become a global research hotspot.
Degradable plastics are a new class of materials with a degrading function in the plastics family. Before or during use, degradable plastics have the same or similar application and health properties as ordinary plastics of the same kind. After they have completed their use, they can Under natural environmental conditions, they are rapidly degraded into fragments or fragments that are easily consumed by the environment and degrade further into CO2 and water over time, eventually returning to nature.
The research and development of degradable plastics began in the 1970s. Currently, degradable plastics technology is still in the process of further deepening research. The technology needs to be further improved to improve performance, reduce costs, expand usage, and gradually accelerate the marketization process.
At present, major countries producing degradable plastics at home and abroad are the United States, Japan, Germany, Italy, Canada, Israel, and other countries. The varieties produced include photodegradation, light/biodegradation, and fully biodegradable plastics. In recent years, various types of degradable plastics in foreign countries have progressed to varying degrees, and the photodegradation technology is relatively mature. The research and development of biodegradable plastics are the most active. Currently, the total annual biodegradable plastic production in the world is about 30,000 tons. According to relevant estimates, the production of biodegradable plastics in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan will increase from 14,000 tons in 1996 to 70,000 tons this year, and the average annual output from 1996 to 2001 The growth rate is 35%. Among them, the U.S. production and consumption accounted for more than 50%, and Western Europe accounted for 1/3. Currently, companies that dominate the biodegradable plastics market include BASF, Dow Chemical, DuPont and Eastman.
In general, biodegradable plastics can degrade to carbon dioxide and water in a relatively short time under certain environmental conditions, but the price is high, which is about 6 to 10 times that of ordinary plastics. Therefore, its use is subject to great restrictions. In addition to high-value-added packaging materials, it is difficult for large-scale product markets, such as disposable packaging films (bags), garbage bags, tableware, and plastic film, which have a large impact on the environment, to get involved. In order to overcome the problem of high prices, and at the same time to promote its products to enter the market soon, in recent years, Europe, the United States, Japan and other countries in the original process on the one hand to tap potential, improve raw material synthesis purity and product quality, while actively exploring new uses, such as civil engineering Isolation villages, aquaculture nets, magnetic cards for industrial and domestic use, and laminating with paper products, etc., are dedicated to accelerating the process of practical application. On the other hand, efforts are made to develop natural materials and biodegradable plastics, and common plastics are filled and new products are blended. Although the application properties or degradation performance of these degraded plastics are affected to a certain extent, their performance prices are relatively suitable and they are easy to market. It also helps reduce environmental pollution.
As we all know, plastics are light and have good overall performance. According to foreign research data from the product life cycle analysis and evaluation, plastic and the currently introduced paper-based alternative products have the advantages of energy saving, resource conservation, emission of waste gas and waste water in the production process, low pollution, and waste generation. The amount is also significantly reduced. Its only drawback is that it is not easy to degrade, but the development of plastic materials is only about 100 years old. It is not surprising that there are some shortcomings compared to the history of traditional materials for thousands of years or tens of thousands of years. A positive method should be taken to solve the problem, that is, the use of scientific and technological progress methods to solve, but should not be negatively prohibited, eliminated. The research and development of degradable plastics is a method that is based on scientific and technological advancement, giving it the characteristics of easier degradation and retaining its original excellent performance. It is a feasible method.
At present, the research and development of degradable plastics at home and abroad have made notable progress, but there are also many problems in the development. The main problems are: There is no unified definition in the world, and thus there is a lack of degradable plastics and its role in environmental protection. Accurate and unified understanding and exact assessment have caused some controversy. To date, no unified test evaluation methods, identification marks, and product testing standards have been established in the world, causing the technical market and product market to be confusing. Degradable plastic own technology such as a more reasonable process recipe, accurate time control, rapid degradation after use and complete degradability, recycling technology of scrap left to be further improved and perfected, although there are some degradable plastic products at home and abroad Entering the market, but due to high prices, especially the high price of fully biodegradable plastics, has become a "bottleneck" for promotion and application. To advance the practicalization process, the cost needs to be further reduced and more rational.
Although there are various problems and controversies for degradable plastics, its development is in the ascendant. To speed up the development of degradable plastics, countries are striving to accelerate the research and establish a unified definition of degradation plastics, degradation mechanisms, evaluation methods and standards. The 21st century is the century of environmental protection. As a seedling of degradable plastics as an environmental protection material, its development prospects have aroused great concern in the society. At present, Japan, the United States, and Europe are all strengthening the research and development of degradable plastics and accelerating the process of practical application. Japan's biodegradation utility test committee predicts that the market size of biodegradable plastics in the next 10 years will be 150,000 tons in Japan, and 1.3 million tons in the world. The statistics from the American fredonia Group show that the demand for the degradable plastics market in North America in 2000 In 1994, the growth rate was 8.8%, of which the United States increased by 8.6% and Canada increased by 12.2%. The latest report from the European Feostsullivan Company showed that the market for biodegradable plastic products in Europe is growing rapidly. By 2004, the market sales will increase from 16.3 million US dollars in 1997. To 73.1 million US dollars, an increase of 3.5 times.
In summary, degradable plastics, as high-tech products and environmentally-friendly products, are becoming the focus of research and development in the world today. Its development not only expanded the function of plastics, but also eased the environmental contradictions to a certain extent, and demonstrated the power and prospects of biotechnology and alloying technology in the field of plastic materials from synthetic technology. Therefore, the research, development and application of degradable plastics are of great significance both from the perspective of protecting the environment of the earth, or from inexhaustible renewable resources, or from the academic point of view of the synthesis of functional polymers.