A natural alternative for oil-based plastics are biobased plastics. But what should you as a designer know about these materials? And how can you make a justified choice? In this workshop, we introduce you to “Bioplastics4U”, a tool develop by Amsterdam University of Applied Science together with Wageningen UR. Bring your own design case or witness how other products can be redesigned using bioplastics.

3. Design Challenges
with Biobased Plastics
Matthijs de Jong
Frans Kappen

4. Matthijs de Jong
Frans Kappen
13:00 – 14:00 h

5. Matthijs de Jong
1. Biobased
2. Plastics
3. Design Challenges with Biobased Plastics
4. Hands on!
5. Key Insights & Next Steps

6. Boyan Slat
Plastic
soup

7. Will Biobased Plas-cs be the solu-on?
Biodegradable?
No, just a few…

8. Will Biobased Plas-cs be the solu-on?
Made of natural
renewable raw materials

9. BIOBASED PLASTICS
Biobased Plas%cs

10. Biobased plas%cs
Biobased yes,
Biodegradable yes
(PLA, PHA)
Biobased yes,
Biodegradable no
(bio-PE, PA-11)
Biobased no,
Biodegradable yes
(PBAT)
Biobased no,
Biodegradable no
(PET, PVC)
0
100
100
More on logo’s: hDp://www.okcompost.be/nl/home/
Biobased : made of renewable raw materials
Biodegradable : can be consumed by micro organisms,
either spontaneous (decay) or industrial (compos%ng)
Content of biobased
material (%)
Bio degradability
(%)
‘Bioplas)cs’:
actually a rather
confusing
word!
Are o5en considered
to be the same,
but differ
considerably
Property of a raw material
Property of a product
+ =

11. BIOBASED PLASTICS
Biobased Plas-cs

12. BIOBASED PLASTICS
Plas%c : Σ monomers = polymer
at T↑↓
Thermoplasts : melt - solidify
Thermosets : do not melt
Elastomers : do not melt
Applica%on of a pure plas%c is rather rare
Proper%es of a plas%c can be improved by mixing the plas%c with…
• …heterogeneous fillers : ‘Composite’
• …other plas%cs : ‘Blend’
• …addi%ves : ‘Compound’ →
Commercial mixture : ‘Grade’
(of Composite and/or Blend and/or Compound)
← PVC →

13. DESIGN CHALLENGES WITH
BIOBASED PLASTICS
Urban
Technology
April 2013 – July 2015
In coopera%on with:
Supported by:
RAAK-mkb subsidy of
Na%onaal Regieorgaan
Prak%jkgericht Onderzoek SIA

14. Increase
knowledge
Develop
Prac-cal Tools
Improve
collabora-on
DESIGN CHALLENGES WITH
BIOBASED PLASTICS
Urban
Technology

15. CHALLENGES FOR PRODUCT DESIGN
desirable product
proper-es
What should I know about processing? Where
do I find informa)on?
Materials and
processing guideline 4
material selec-on
and product design
What are the environmental impact, lifecycle
costs and other advantages?
Assessing impact
and benefits
2
How do I show that my product is made of
biobased plas)cs?
Design to show
and tell
3
Material
selec-on 1
Is there a biobased plas)c available that is
suitable for my product? ?

16. 1. Material selec%on
Selec)on tool Bioplas)cs4U
10 Bioplas-cs
• PLA
• PHA
• TPS
• CA
• PA-11
• PEF
• BioPET
• BioPE
• BioPP
• PBAT
11 Product proper-es
• % Biobased material
• Biodegradability
• Heat deflec%on stability
• Transparency
• Solubility
• Barrier proper%es
• Tenacity
• Elas%city
• Tensile strength
• Availability
• Material costs
For orienta%on on a
specific applica%on
Selec%ng one or
more materials for
further tes%ng

17. 2. Assessing impact and other benefits
LCA tools and other
Environmental impact
Most LCAs:
• Contain few biobased plas%cs
• Source unclear or not up-to-date
• Costly analysis process
Excep%ons:
• EVR : Eco-costs/Value Ra%o by Vogtlander
(CA, PHA/PHB, PLA, PTT, TPS)
• LCA2GO by Fraunhofer, aimed at SMEs
(PLA, TPS, PHB, bioPET, bioHDPE/LDPE)
Other possible benefits of biobased plastics:
• Lower life cycle costs, esp. in use and waste phase
• Extra features because of unique material characteristics
• New kind of aesthetics, with a unique look & feel
• Green image; customer awareness
• Conformity to (environmental) standards and legislation

18. 3. Design to show and tell
Look & Feel of biobased plas)cs
Percep-on of biobased plas-cs
• Natural look as well as high-quality
appearance
• Fibre look
• Even …
• Frosted
• New aesthe%cs for biobased plas%cs
• Imperfect products
• Not perfectly
Source: Elvin Karana, Deli University

19. 4. Material guidelines
Further direc)ons towards produc)on
Product designers experience difficul%es in
• finding material informa%on
• choosing the right grades and blends
• finding an experienced processor
• choosing the right research partner
DATASHEETS ARE OFTEN INCOMPLETE AND NOT UP-TO-DATE
• % biobased material
• Resemblances to other, better known materials
• …..

20. Increase
knowledge
Develop
Prac-cal Tools
Improve
collabora-on
DESIGN CHALLENGES WITH
BIOBASED PLASTICS
Urban
Technology
Download from
www.biobasedplas-cs.nl

21. Ques-ons designers have :
How rigid is this material?
Is it bio degradable?
How much
does it cost?
Is this bioplas%c applicable for my
product??
How high is the tensile strength??
Do other people have experience?
Can it whitstand higher
temperatures?
I would like to apply a biobased plas)c, but……..

22. Requirements → material selec-on
Design by Marieke Havermans: www.onora.eu

23. Key insights:

24. Next Steps: