The story about PBS – a green material
Posted onIn order to meet the increasing demands of customers on sustainable solutions, to tackle the current problem of environmental pollution, materials originating from renewable raw materials(which are naturally derived and can be recreated through a biological cycle) such as PBS, PLA are used to produce green packaging, cup, disposable consumer goods,… and become more popular.
To protect the environment, the first and best option is reducing waste, reusing or recycling disposable products after using them. However, when recycling is not technically or economically feasible, solutions based on compostable materials are emerging and developing. Despite being born a long time ago, when comparing to the popularity of PLA, PBS has been known by users in only recent years.
100% compostable material PSB.
PBS has been in the market since the early 1990s. Since that time, it has been used in many products that can completely decompose, such as agricultural film, garbage bags, plant pots and many other products. PBS possesses special physical properties such as high flexibility, strength and good heat resistance. PBS is also easily processed at high extrusion speeds, has a short molding cycle, requires no pre-print processing and is suitable for food storage. Therefore, it’s no surprise that PBS is been favorite and popularity.
Polyme PBS (poly-butylene-succinate) are made from 1,4-butanediol and succinic acid. In the past, both monomers had to be made from fossil fuels, but gradually, with the development of renewable materials, humans successfully synthesized these monomers from that source. Biological materials today can be produced from different sources such as starch (corn, potatoes, cassava,…) or sugar from sugarcane, radish,…
PBS is applied in AnEco 100% compostable paper cups
Products made from PBS (packaging, paper cups, agricultural films,…) are 100% compostable, which means that when these materials are buried in appropriate conditions (according to process of industrial microbiological composting), products made from PBS are capable of decomposing, converting into CO2,water and biomass, leaving no plastic flakes in the environment.
According to statistics from many sources, there are currently about 10 companies producing 100% compostable products in the world, including four leading companies in France, Germany, Italy and China. Only products derived from bio-materials can meet the 100% compostable requirements. This is completely different from many conventional self-decomposed products when decomposed into smaller pieces of plastic, drifting on the sea and in the air, not dissipating and causing more serious environmental harm.