Naturally reinforced Bio-Plastics (co-polymers) by SKILLICORN Technologies
How Naturally reinforced Bio-Plastics creates synergies and adds value to advanced, innovative co-polymers
Bio-plastic production today is miniscule, amounting to only 0.6% of total global production of plastics. While demand is growing quickly (16.5% per annum), albeit from a tiny base, the relatively high price of bio-plastics limits its use to “specialty applications.” Two basic categories of bioplastics are now commercially available: PLA (polylactic acid) plastics and protein (Henry Ford invention) plastics. PLA can be made from any combination of starch and sugar (both derived from various plants), while protein plastics are generally derived from a mixture of soy protein isolates and glycerol. Both plastics can be manufactured using off-the-shelf equipment.
STL is working to reinvent bioplastics and bring their price down below that of petroleum-derived plastics. This is done by combining the company’s significant comparative advantages in production of Lemnaceae (duckweeds) and two fiber crops: kenaf and Arundo donax. A Lemnaceae crop can produce approximately 15 times as much starch as a corn crop on that same footprint. It can also simultaneously produce close to 30 times as much protein as a soy crop on the same footprint. Lemnaceae starch (approximately 40% of the plant) can easily be turned into conventional polylactic acid (PLA) using off-the-shelf equipment. The residual remaining upon removal of Lemnaceae starch (60% of the plant) is 85% protein. Lemnaceae protein residual is easily polymerized in a Banbury mixer upon adding some (33% by weight) glycerol. In combination, the resulting PLA and the Lemnaceae protein plastic deliver about 125% by weight as much product as was contributed by the Lemnaceae crop alone. These two polymers are then added together to form a variant of the “STL Lemnaceae” copolymer. Variations of this copolymer can be used to manufacture a full range of products that compete with common polyethylene and polypropylene. STL’s commercial preference is to blend these copolymers with kenaf bast fiber (up to 50/50 mix) to produce a range of 100% renewable natural fiber reinforced plastics that are competitive with glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene and polyethylene.
STL is working to reinvent bioplastics and bring their price down below that of petroleum-derived plastics. This is done by combining the company’s significant comparative advantages in production of Lemnaceae (duckweeds) and two fiber crops: kenaf and Arundo donax. A Lemnaceae crop can produce approximately 15 times as much starch as a corn crop on that same footprint. It can also simultaneously produce close to 30 times as much protein as a soy crop on the same footprint. Lemnaceae starch (approximately 40% of the plant) can easily be turned into conventional polylactic acid (PLA) using off-the-shelf equipment. The residual remaining upon removal of Lemnaceae starch (60% of the plant) is 85% protein. Lemnaceae protein residual is easily polymerized in a Banbury mixer upon adding some (33% by weight) glycerol. In combination, the resulting PLA and the Lemnaceae protein plastic deliver about 125% by weight as much product as was contributed by the Lemnaceae crop alone. These two polymers are then added together to form a variant of the “STL Lemnaceae” copolymer. Variations of this copolymer can be used to manufacture a full range of products that compete with common polyethylene and polypropylene. STL’s commercial preference is to blend these copolymers with kenaf bast fiber (up to 50/50 mix) to produce a range of 100% renewable natural fiber reinforced plastics that are competitive with glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene and polyethylene.
BENEFITS OF STL Naturally reinforced Bio-Plastics
We MAKE and DELIVER SUPERIOR MOLDED AND PRESSED PRODUCTS SUCH AS DOME HOUSING KITS MANUFACTURED FROM OUR SUPERIOR BI0-PLASTIC & ENGINEERED LUMBERS -- and we do it less expensively and at a better quality and more reliably than anyone else in the world -- AND . . We also use up the CO2 we produce, and we have a residual of energy and pure water, which we use efficiently.
WHY? Because we are THE producers of superior bio-plastics and engineered lumbers AND we value-add locally and use internally.
WHY? Because we are THE producers of superior bio-plastics and engineered lumbers AND we value-add locally and use internally.
