page_title: Bioplastic
section_title: History and development of bioplastics
hierarchical_section_title: Bioplastic / History and development of bioplastics
caption_attribution_description: View of University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, USA.
context_page_description: Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics are derived from petroleum or natural gas. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable nor biodegrade more readily than commodity fossil-fuel derived plastics. Bioplastics are usually derived from sugar derivatives, including starch, cellulose, and lactic acid. As of 2014, bioplastics represented approximately 0.2% of the global polymer market.
context_section_description: 1862: At the Great London Exhibition, Alexander Parkensine displays Parkenisine, the first plastic. Parkensine is made from nitrocellulose. (White 1998)
  1897: Still produced today, Galalith is a milk-based bioplastic that was created by German chemists in 1897. Galalith is primarily found in buttons. (Thielen 2014) 
  1907: Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite, which received the National Historic Chemical Landmark for its non-conductivity and heat-resistant properties. It is used in radio and telephone casings, kitchenware, firearms and many more products. (Pathak, Sneha, Mathew 2014)
  1912: Brandenberger invents Cellophane out of wood, cotton, or hemp cellulose. (Thielen 2014) 
  1920s: Wallace Carothers finds Polylactic Acid (PLA) plastic. PLA is incredibly expensive to produce and is not mass-produced until 1989. (Whiteclouds 2018)  
  1926: Maurice Lemoigne invents polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) which is the first bioplastic made from bacteria. (Thielen 2014) 
  1930s: The first bioplastic car was made from soy beans by Henry Ford. (Thielen 2014) 
  1940-1945: During World War II, an increase in plastic production is seen as it is used in many wartime materials. Due to government funding and oversight the United States production of plastics (in general, not just bioplastics) tripled during 1940-1945(Rogers 2005). The 1942 U.S. government short film The Tree in a Test Tube illustrates the major role bioplastics played in the World War II victory effort and the American economy of the time.
  1950s: Amylomaize (>50% amylose content corn) was successfully bred and commercial bioplastics applications started to be explored. (Liu, Moult, Long, 2009) A decline in bioplastic development is seen due to the cheap oil prices, however the development of synthetic plastics continues.
  1970s: The environmental movement spurred more development in bioplastics. (Rogers 2005) 
  1983: The first bioplastics company, Marlborough Biopolymers, is started which uses a bacteria-based bioplastic called biopal. (Feder 1985) 
  1989: The further development of PLA is made by Dr. Patrick R. Gruber when he figures out how to create PLA from corn. (Whiteclouds 2018). The leading bioplastic company is created called Novamount. Novamount uses matter-bi, a bioplastic, in multiple different applications. (Novamount 2018) 
  1992: It is reported in Science that PHB can be produced by the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. (Poirier, Dennis, Klomparens, Nawrath, Somerville 1992) 
  Late 1990s: The development of TP starch and BIOPLAST from research and production of the company BIOTEC  lead to the BIOFLEX film. BIOFLEX film can be classified as blown film extrusion, flat film extrusion, and injection moulding lines. These three classifications have applications as follows: Blown films - sacks, bags, trash bags, mulch foils, hygiene products, diaper films, air bubble films, protective clothing, gloves, double rib bags, labels, barrier ribbons; Flat films - trays, flower pots, freezer products and packaging, cups, pharmaceutical packaging; Injection moulding - disposable cutlery, cans, containers, performed pieces, CD trays, cemetery articles, golf tees, toys, writing materials. (Lorcks 1998) 
  2001: Metabolix inc. purchases Monsanto's biopol business (originally Zeneca) which uses plants to produce bioplastics. (Barber and Fisher 2001) 
  2001: Nick Tucker uses elephant grass as a bioplastic base to make plastic car parts. (Tucker 2001) 
  2005: Cargill and Dow Chemicals is rebranded as NatureWorks and becomes the leading PLA producer. (Penisi 2016)  
  2007: Metabolix inc. market tests its first 100% biodegradable plastic called Mirel, made from corn sugar fermentation and genetically engineered bacteria. (Digregorio 2009) 
  2012: A bioplastic is developed from seaweed proving to be one of the most environmentally friendly bioplastics based on research published in the journal of pharmacy research. (Rajendran, Puppala, Sneha, Angeeleena, Rajam 2012) 
  2013: a patent is put on bioplastic derived from blood and a crosslinking agent like sugars, proteins, etc. (iridoid derivatives, diimidates, dione
caption: Bioplastics Development Center - University of Massachusetts Lowell
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