A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids. Its mouth, at the bottling line, can be sealed with an internal stopper, an external bottle cap, a closure, or induction sealing.
Ingeo is the trademarked brand name for a range of polylactic acid (PLA) biopolymers owned by NatureWorks.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs are polyesters produced in nature by numerous microorganisms, including through bacterial fermentation of sugars or lipids. When produced by bacteria they serve as both a source of energy and as a carbon store. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties. These plastics are biodegradable and are used in the production of bioplastics.
Polylactic acid, also known as poly(lactic acid) or polylactide (PLA), is a thermoplastic polyester with backbone formula (C
3H
4O
2)
n or [–C(CH
3)HC(=O)O–]
n, formally obtained by condensation of lactic acid C(CH
3)(OH)HCOOH with loss of water. It can also be prepared by ring-opening polymerization of lactide [–C(CH
3)HC(=O)O–]
2, the cyclic dimer of the basic repeating unit.
Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, sawdust, recycled food waste, etc. Some bioplastics are obtained by processing directly from natural biopolymers including polysaccharides and proteins, while others are chemically synthesised from sugar derivatives and lipids from either plants or animals, or biologically generated by fermentation of sugars or lipids. In contrast, common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics are derived from petroleum or natural gas.
Polyethylene or polythene film biodegrades naturally, albeit over a long period of time. Methods are available to make it more degradable under certain conditions of sunlight, moisture, oxygen, and composting and enhancement of biodegradation by reducing the hydrophobic polymer and increasing hydrophilic properties.
Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be decomposed by the action of living organisms, usually microbes, into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass. Biodegradable plastics are commonly produced with renewable raw materials, micro-organisms, petrochemicals, or combinations of all three.
The plastics industry manufactures polymer materials—commonly called plastics—and offers services in plastics important to a range of industries, including packaging, building and construction, electronics, aerospace, manufacturing and transportation.
Biobased economy, bioeconomy or biotechonomy is economic activity involving the use of biotechnology and biomass in the production of goods, services, or energy. The terms are widely used by regional development agencies, national and international organizations, and biotechnology companies. They are closely linked to the evolution of the biotechnology industry and the capacity to study, understand, and manipulate genetic material that has been possible due to scientific research and technological development. This includes the application of scientific and technological developments to agriculture, health, chemical, and energy industries.
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from very small bottles to large carboys. Consumer blow molded containers often have integral handles or are shaped to facilitate grasping.
NatureWorks LLC is an international company that manufactures bioplastics—polymers derived entirely from plant resources—as an alternative to conventional plastic, which is made from petroleum. The commercial quality polymer is made from the carbon found in simple plant sugars such as corn starch to create a proprietary polylactic acid polymer (PLA) which is marketed under the brand name Ingeo. Headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, NatureWorks is jointly owned by Cargill and PTT Global Chemical, a Thai state-owned company.
Biodegradable bags are bags that are capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms.
Plastic film is a thin continuous polymeric material. Thicker plastic material is often called a "sheet". These thin plastic membranes are used to separate areas or volumes, to hold items, to act as barriers, or as printable surfaces.
NNFCC is a consultancy company specialising in bioenergy, biofuels and bio-based products.
Danimer Scientific, formerly known as Meredian Holdings Group Inc. and MHG, is a biopolymer manufacturer headquartered in Bainbridge, Georgia.
Jalila Essaïdi is a Dutch artist, inventor and entrepreneur based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Essaïdi is specialised in the fields of modern biotechnology and biological arts (bio-art), and an entrepreneur in the field of sustainability with a background in business management and expertise in cross-sectoral collaborations. She is also founder and director of the non-profit BioArt Laboratories, and the for-profit Inspidere BV.
Synthetic microbial consortia are multi-population systems that can contain a diverse range of microbial species, and are adjustable to serve a variety of industrial, ecological, and tautological interests. For synthetic biology, consortia take the ability to engineer novel cell behaviors to a population level.
Catia Bastioli is an Italian researcher, chemist, and entrepreneur. Born in Foligno in 1957, she was always interested in chemistry and the natural world. Bastioli went on to attend the Business Management School at Bocconi University and get a degree in chemistry from the University of Perugia. She started her career as a researcher for the largest research group in Italy, Montedison, where she used her chemistry expertise to develop bioplastics with waste and agricultural raw materials. At Montedison, she helped to found a research center that later became Novamont. With this transition to Novemont, Bastioli began focusing on experimenting with eco-friendly materials and bioplastics. Bastioli now serves as CEO of Novamont, as well as President of Terna Spa of the Kyoto Club Association and a member of the Board of Directors of Fondazione Cariplo. She also served as the CEO of Matrìca, a joint venture between Novamont and Versalis.
Amar K. Mohanty is a material scientist and biobased material engineer, academic and author. He is a Professor and Distinguished Research Chair in Sustainable Biomaterials at the Ontario Agriculture College and is the Director of the Bioproducts Discovery and Development Centre at the University of Guelph.
