Issue 02/2017
bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1702
bioplasticsMAGAZINE_1702
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Buss Laboratory Kneader MX 30-22<br />
By:<br />
Nopadol Suanprasert<br />
President<br />
Global Biopolymers Co., Ltd.<br />
Bangkok, Thailand<br />
trees are replanted each year -Thailand has been exploring<br />
the use of new materials for root trainers that could be<br />
buried in the soil with the young trees, thus eliminating<br />
potential root damage. This material would have to be able<br />
to degrade in soil to allow roots to penetrate out to the soil.<br />
Corbion Purac, headquartered in the Netherlands,<br />
and Global Biopolymers of Thailand have now jointly<br />
developed a new root trainer made from PLA compounds.<br />
The cone-shaped product is injection molded. As a test,<br />
young rubber trees were planted in the new root trainers<br />
(Fig 1) and kept in a nursery for 6 months. While in the<br />
nursery they were stored in racks for good ventilation.<br />
No degradation of the root trainers occurred during the<br />
period in the nursery. After 6 months, the young rubber<br />
trees were outplanted in the plantation without removing<br />
them from the root trainers (Fig. 2). After 4 months in the<br />
soil, the PLA root trainers had degraded, allowing the<br />
roots to penetrate and grow in vertical direction controlled<br />
by the root trainer (Fig. 3).<br />
This test was conducted in Thailand’s government<br />
rubber plantation in Rayong province. Rayong is where<br />
Corbion’s lactic acid plant is located and the site of the<br />
new Total Corbion PLA plant, currently under construction,<br />
for the production and marketing of PLA polymers and<br />
lactide monomers. The use of root trainers made from<br />
PLA to cultivate rubber seedlings is therefore a classic<br />
case of circular economy in the local host country. The<br />
lactic acid is produced in Thailand from local agricultural<br />
raw materials. PLA made from this lactic acid is used<br />
to produce root trainers for growing rubber, another<br />
agricultural economic crop. The technical benefits are a<br />
longer service life and higher productivity, and these are<br />
accompanied by lower costs and a higher financial return.<br />
From a socio-economic point of view, both the farmers<br />
producing the lactic acid raw materials and the rubber<br />
farmers gain from better economic returns for their crops.<br />
Additionally, eliminating the use of PP root trainers helps<br />
farmers to operate more sustainably.<br />
Although the research and development of root trainers<br />
is still ongoing, other tests are planned in larger areas<br />
with different climatic conditions. The initial test results in<br />
Rayong have indicated the practicality of growing rubber<br />
in PLA root trainers. Due to a longer life of the rubber<br />
trees the projected economic benefits of PLA root trainers<br />
translate to approximately EUR 850 per tree additional<br />
income from more harvested latex for the farmer.<br />
The application of PLA root trainers is just one example<br />
of bioplastics in agriculture. The same concept could<br />
be applied to other economic crops, fruit trees, and<br />
reforestations.<br />
www.globalbiopolymers.com<br />
Buss Kneader Technology<br />
Leading Compounding Technology<br />
for heat and shear sensitive plastics<br />
For more than 60 years Buss Kneader technology<br />
has been the benchmark for continuous preparation<br />
of heat and shear sensitive compounds –<br />
a respectable track record that predestines this<br />
technology for processing biopolymers such<br />
as PLA and PHA.<br />
> Uniform and controlled shear mixing<br />
> Extremely low temperature profile<br />
> Precise temperature control<br />
> High filler loadings<br />
Buss AG<br />
Switzerland<br />
www.busscorp.com<br />
bioplastics MAGAZINE [<strong>02</strong>/17] Vol. 12 25