This document summarizes research from Scion, a New Zealand research organization, on biopolymers and chemicals from 2014-2015. It discusses how Scion is supporting manufacturers through research on sustainable and biobased resources. Key points include Scion developing an eco-friendly bioplastic alternative to polystyrene foam called ZealaFoam, research finding that a biocomposite reinforced with wood fibers can be highly recyclable, and industrial extrusion trials being assisted by computer simulation to optimize natural fiber compounding processes.

1. www.scionresearch.com/services
Biopolymers and Chemicals Research
Highlights 2014-2015
Scion’s biomaterials and bioproducts research focuses
on supporting New Zealand’s manufacturers and brand
owners with innovative technologies that utilise
sustainably-derived, biobased resources. Achievements
from our 2014 and early 2015 research programme are
highlighted in the summary.
The production capacity of biopolymers is expected to
grow from 5.1 million tonnes to 17 million tonnes in the
next five years, doubling biopolymers’ share of the total
polymer production (expected to be around 400 million
tonnes in 2020) from 2% to more than 4%. Effectively,
this means that biobased production capacity will grow
faster than the overall production.
Some of the key drivers to get more biobased content
into products will be new legislation and consumers
and manufacturers demanding products and materials
that are more than just clean, green and renewable.
Scion is targeting bioproducts with new functionalities
such as lighter weight, heat and water resistance,
durability, toughness and flame retardancy. These
renewables will need proven green credentials, free from
harmful chemicals and to be cost-effective. By building
on features designed by nature, we aim to develop
products that deliver performance additions beyond
the sustainability and renewability claims; products that
will meet the demands of the global market place.
Scion realised that biopolymers would be a future area
of growth and new innovations in the polymers and
composites manufacturing sectors more than ten years
ago. As a result, we have invested in new facilities and
capability to support New Zealand manufacturers, and to
become New Zealand’s centre of expertise in this area.
Aspects of our research take a different approach to
many countries in how we use, manufacture and
develop bioproducts as New Zealand is not set up for
refining petroleum to chemicals and polymers. Thus,
we have leading expertise in extrusion processing of
biomass, biopolymers, fillers, novel biobased additives
and fibre addition.
We are continuing to expand our capability, adding new
manufacturing technologies to our processing portfolio.
A good example is 3D printing, a rapidly developing
and highly disruptive manufacturing technology that is
expected to change much of the way business is done.
Florian Graichen
Science Leader, Biopolymers and Chemicals, Scion.

2. An eco-friendly alternative
to polystyrene foam
ZealaFoam™ is a bioplastic (made from polylactic acid,
PLA) alternative to expanded polystyrene (EPS) that can
be manufactured on existing production lines with little
modification. Biopolymer Network Ltd (BPN), supported
by Scion, established an industrial scale pilot plant in
Nelson to mould fish boxes and other products from
ZealaFoam™ for use in packaging, sporting goods,
furniture and insulation. This equipment has been moved
to commercial premises in Auckland.
Expanded polystyrene packaging is a multi-billion dollar
industry worldwide with world consumption of 5.8
million tonnes; it is however made from non-renewables
and its disposal is an international problem. As an
alternative to a world-wide problem, ZealaFoam™ creates
potential to generate substantial economic returns by
providing a significant marketing advantage for New
Zealand’s primary exports, in particular fresh and frozen
strength, stiffness and impact strength. The WoodForce™
reinforced plastics fared the best. On average, they
retained 87% of their original properties, compared with
72% for the flax composites and 59% for glass.
Underlying this, the MDF wood fibres retained most of
their original fibre length with recycling while the flax and
glass fibres were more prone to degrading or breaking.
MDF wood fibre has lower density than glass fibres
making it attractive for applications where weight is
important. A recent McKinsey study estimates that to
compensate for increasing vehicle weight due to electric
drives and fuel-efficient engine technology, the proportion
of lightweight parts will increase from 30 to roughly 70%
by 2030. Reducing weight and increasing recyclability
are now two major agenda items for the global
automotive industry.
These encouraging results may help MDF wood fibre
plastic composites meet industry standards, reduce costs
of disposal and assure their place in future markets.
Several compounders are already offering commercial
products based on Woodforce™. The results are also
attractive for plastic recyclers, some of whom in Europe,
have decided to stop recycling glass filled plastic parts.
New study finds WoodforceTM
highly recyclable
A study on recycling thermoplastic composites has
found that plastics reinforced with MDF wood fibres (as
Woodforce™) can be recycled many times with only
minor changes to their mechanical properties.
Woodforce™ is an engineered diced pellet that provides
mechanical reinforcement to thermoplastic polymers.
These MDF wood fibre dice were developed at Scion, and
licenced to Sonae Industria for use in Europe and the
United States.
To minimise waste and comply with environmental
standards in many countries, and to take advantage of
production efficiencies, most plastic processors recycle
plastics.
Thermoplastic composites include fibreglass (plastic
reinforced with glass) or natural fibre composites in
which the plastic is reinforced with MDF wood fibres or
other agrifibres such as flax
These natural fibres are dispersed through the plastic
and help increase its strength. Recycling these composite
materials over and over is an environmentally sustainable
option. Reprocessing of composites is not workable if
the fibre length reduces with successive recycling and
they lose the strength properties that make them desirable
in the first place.
In this study, polypropylene was reinforced with
WoodForce™ fibres (40% by weight), flax (30%) or glass
(20%). The glass reinforced thermoplastic is typical of
the industry standard for thermoplastic composites.
These composites were all recycled six times through
Scion's injection moulding and extrusion pilot plant in
Rotorua. Following these six cycles, all three (by now
thoroughly recycled) composites were tested for their

3. Industrial extrusion
trials assisted by computer
simulation
Biobased polymers and natural fibres add an extra
challenge to the compounding process because of
temperature and moisture limitations, and shear
sensitivity.
Compound production at Scion’s extrusion pilot plant
was successfully upscaled to industrial level extrusion
of natural fibres in thermoplastic resins with assistance
from computer simulation. The simulation, performed
on Ludovic™ software, was of extrusion compounding
(mixing) the Woodforce™ fibre with polypropylene at
different output and screw configurations. Modelling
Poor Fair Full
Dispersion of MDF wood fibres in thermoplastic resin with
different screw speeds.
Comparison of the processing window of different screw
designs as calculated using SCC’s Ludovic software. The
more green, the wider the window.
helped optimise processing parameters for these products.
The industrial compounding trials were run in ICMA’s
commercial scale pilot line with a co-rotating 60 mm
extruder. IMCA is an Italian-based twin-screw extrusion
equipment supplier. The research was done in association
with Portuguese conglomerate, Sonae Industria.
Using rheological data, hundreds of simulations were
computed per hour, adjusting parameters such as screw
speed, degree of fill and screw design. Pressure analysis
(identifying flow restrictions), melt temperature and
processing energy were key outputs since these quantify
the throughput, appearance and dispersion of wood fibres
in a thermoplastic resin.
The simulations showed that an increase in screw speed
with the correct screw design improved the dispersion
of wood fibres in the thermoplastic, improved colour
properties of the product and caused minimal reduction
in fibre length.
By transferring the operational processing window across
extruder sizes, the modelling allowed Sonae to
accelerate the extrusion compounding scale-up from lab
to industrial extruder.
fish. ZealaFoam™ boxes performed well in a study that
simulated exporting fish by air freight from New Zealand
to Singapore. Boxes also performed well, meeting or
exceeding industry standards in thermal conductivity,
pressure, stacking and biodegradation tests.
ZealaFoam™ has proven to be comparable with EPS in
terms of performance and cost, with the added advantage
of being sustainably derived and industrially compostable.
Biopolymer Network, a research company owned by
Scion, AgResearch, and Plant and Food, is working with
packaging and product companies nationally and
internationally. It is also collaborating with CO2 processing
experts (a significant part of the production process) and
bioplastics manufacturers.
Biospifetogocommercialand
newproductsinthepipeline
The biospife is going through its last trials before going
into commercial production.
This is an exciting accomplishment for Scion’s Biopolymers
and Chemicals team. After working on the development
with New Zealand kiwifruit producer Zespri for more than
five years, they now have a product that can be made
on industrial equipment at commercial quantities.
The biospife is made using a process developed by Scion
that combines kiwifruit residue with compostable polymer
into a processable material. Ultimately, Zespri will package
the biospife with organic fruit for export markets.
Looking beyond the biospife – a long term goal is to
replace the conventional plastics used in kiwifruit
growing and packaging with compostable or renewable
alternatives.
Meanwhile, other horticultural residues are being
incorporated into bioplastic products that will have
applications in orchards and vineyards. These include
degradable plastic products and blown films that include
residues from the New Zealand horticultural industry.

4. June 2015
Te Papa Tipu Innovation Park, 49 Sala Street, Rotorua 3010, Private Bag 3020, Rotorua 3046
Telephone +64 7 343 5899, Facsimile +64 7 348 0952, Email enquiries@scionresearch.com
www.scionresearch.com
Biodegradation results
coming in
Excellent results are being achieved from a new controlled
biodegradation test facility which measures the
composting of materials like bioplastics.
This facility measures the biodegradation profile of
biomaterials. It can help tailor the composting of newly
developed biomaterials. It approximates conditions in
an industrial composter and is available for testing on
behalf of commercial clients from packaging, plastics and
export industries.
The Zespri biospife was one of the first items tested in
this facility. Biospife samples with six variations in
composition degraded to a high level relative to a
cellulose standard. The addition of fruit residues to
the bioplastic in the biospife did not impair its
biodegradability.
In a further step, the compost soil was tested for toxins
or contaminants. Mung beans and radishes were grown
grown in the soil used to compost the biospifes. None
of the plants showed any sign of poor growth, nor were
toxins detected.
Work is also underway to create bio-alternatives to the
plastic packaging currently used to export food
products. These products are important export earners
so need to be packed right preferably in packaging from
renewable resources like wood, bark, forest residues
or plant waste from the horticultural industry. Some
newly developed biopackaging materials have been
tested in the biodegradation facility with promising
results.
Working together
Scion can tailor contractual relationships to meet the
specific needs of each customer. These could include:
• Service provision where we undertake specific
projects for clients, usually involving specialised
testing and problem solving.
• One-on-one confidential research projects targeted
to maintain client competitiveness.
• Joint technology development partnerships with
joint risk and reward.
• Strategic multi-party alliances to address sector
based challenges and innovation opportunities.
CONTACT
Florian Graichen
Science Leader, Biopolymers and Chemicals
Phone: +64 7 343 5428
Email: florian.graichen@scionresearch.com
Jeremy Warnes
Business Development Manager
Phone: +64 7 343 5791
Email: jeremy.warnes@scionresearch.com
Dawn Smith
Research Leader, Biopolymers and Composites
Phone: +64 7 343 5706
Email: dawn.smith@scionresearch.com