Demand for bioplastics will rise more than fourfold to 900,000 metric tons in 2013, valued at US$2.6 bln, according Freedonia. Although the bio-based polymer business was less than 0.5% of the total polymer business at the end of 2009, growth is predicted at 20% till 2020. This estimate is based on currently known technologies, and newer technology developments and related product introductions could boost these figures. At the nascent stage, interest in bio-based plastics was mainly from manufacturers of one-time use applications. However, applications have grown to encompass many more high performance durable applications. Investment plans for the next 5 years point to quadrupling of current production capacities of bio-based plastics. Of the different bio-based polymer families commercially available, half of them are bio-based versions of well known traditional polymers, while the other half are new to the market. According to Ms Elke Hoffmann, the early thermoplastic bio-based polymer families TPS, PLA, PHA and PBS had an installed global capacity of about 435,000 tpa at the end of 2009 with capital investment plans to extend that with another 1,250,000 tpa during the next decade. Today there are also 8 bio-based polyamide product families on the market, while at least 5 others are being developed. A similar development is going on in aliphatic polycarbonates, albeit that these are in an earlier stage of development. Four major chemical companies and one agricultural company developed and commercialized bio-based polyols for polyurethane production. So far, this has been the largest bio-based plastic on the market, albeit that the final PU often is only partly bio-based. The application possibilities of these bio-based polyols rapidly increase due to improved functionalization technologies. Bio-based polymers not only replace existing polymers in a number of applications, but also provide new combinations of properties for new applications. Some examples are a 100% bio-based aliphatic polycarbonate with the mechanical properties of traditional PC and the optical properties of PMMA for functional optical films for flat panel displays, biodegradable plastics for use in care centers (hospitals, nursing houses), airlines and big hotels in combination with a new integral waste management system, PHA for biomedical applications, super-strong PHA fibers (> 1 G Pa), PLA specialties for electronics and automotive, and a whole range of new bio-based monomers that provide new functionalities to thermosets and thermoplastics. A rapid growth of bioplastics is driven from its characteristic of non-toxicity. The global market for bioplastics is set to grow by 8-10% pa, increasing its value from $1bln (€0.6 bln) in 2007 to US$10 bln (€6.4bn) by 2020. New applications in the automotive and electronics sectors will drive the growth, although packaging will remain the dominant market. This is despite its share forecast to fall from 65% in 2007 to 40% in 2025, as per a report by Helmut Kaiser Consultancy. It said that by 2025 Asia will be market leader with a 32% stake, followed by Europe with 31% and the USA with 28%. Asia is forecast to gain a lead in the market due to the fact that genetically modified plants are easier to grow there. New outlets for agriculture are also quicker to establish and build-up in Asia. Currently, bioplastics cover an estimated 10-15% of the total plastics market, but this will increase to 25-30% by 2020. This expansion will increase as the technical properties of bioplastic materials are improved and their innovation creates new applications in the automotive, medical and electronics industries. Bans and restrictions on a range of plastic additives have been introduced in recent years in Europe and North America, because of their danger to human health and the environment, as per ICIS. Globalization is forcing emerging economies such as China, with heavy reliance on export markets in developed countries, to comply with standards in Europe and North America, and even to introduce their own. Therefore, additive manufacturers are under increasing pressure to supply chemicals that are safer and more environmental friendly. The EU has been the most active in imposing strict curbs on long-established flame retardants, plasticizers, colorants and other additives. These are being controlled through legislation such as Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) in electrical and electronic equipment, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive and the European chemical registration legislation Reach. Introduction of RoHS2 in 2009 by the European Commission extended the legislation's scope to medical devices and monitoring equipment and restricted more substances. The Commission has also decided that under Reach, three plasticizers, one flame retardant and a pigment used in plastics will have to go through an authorization process if they are to stay on the market. In the US, controls on the use of phthalates in toys and other children's products were introduced earlier in 2010 through the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). China's own RoHS legislation, called Management Methods for Controlling Pollution from Electronic Information Products, is considered, in some respects, to be stricter than the original EU version. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) supplying the global market for electrical and electronic products are striving to keep ahead of legislation by introducing their own standards for plastic additives, as well as the polymers themselves. Flame retardants are among the most common and varied of plastic additives, with hundreds of different substances on the market for preventing or inhibiting the spread of fire in polymers. Much of their demand is driven by fire safety legislation covering consumer products. Of the three main types - halogen, phosphorus and mineral - halogenated (brominated or chlorinated) flame retardants have raised by far the most concern. RoHS, which came into effect in the EU in 2006, banned a number of BFRs, the production of which in the developed world had already been discontinued. Last year, the RoHS exemption of decabromodiphenyl ether, one of the most common flame retardants, was withdrawn. Hexabromocyclododecane has become the first brominated flame retardant to be listed as requiring authorization for marketing in the EU under Reach. It is used in polystyrene (PS) materials for building insulation and packaging. BFRs are popular because of their low cost and efficiency. The amounts required in a polyolefin or polyamide product are half to two-thirds less than those for flame-retardant minerals such as aluminum trihydrate and antimony. The closest substitutes in performance are phosphorus-based retardants, which intumesce (or swell) as a carbonized foam to stop the spread of flame. Germany-based LANXESS has introduced phosphorus compounds that create an intumescent barrier for flame retardation in polyurethane (PU) insulation materials. Flame retardants based on emerging technologies have the problem of a lack of test data, which can considerably delay their introduction into the market. Trulstech, a group of technology companies in the Europe, US and Australia, has developed an intumescence system using only water, citrates and acetate. In volume terms, plasticizers have by far the biggest share of many plastic additives markets, particularly in the emerging economies, where there is a high consumption of PVC, the main driver behind demand for plasticizers. In China and India, plasticizers make up around two-thirds of demand for plastic additives, according to Townsend Solutions, a US-based polymer consultancy. Most plasticizers are phthalates, consisting of compounds of phthalic anhydride and various alcohols, whose safety has been raising concerns among regulators and OEMs. Three phthalates - benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) - have been allocated for priority review under RoHS by the European Commission and listed for authorization under Reach. Both DEHP and DBP are used in PVC and other polymers for medical devices and packaging, as well as PVC flooring and roofing. Among OEMs, Hewlett-Packard is aiming to remove DEHP, DBP and BBP from its products by next year. Apple lists phthalates among substances being removed from its products, including DEHP, DBP and BBP as well as di-isononyl phthalate. The strong demand for phthalate alternatives has been demonstrated by the rapid growth over the past few years of German producer BASF's nonphthalate plasticizer Hexamoll DINCH. Its production capacity at Ludwigshafen, Germany, was quadrupled to 100,000 tpa in 2007. The company continues to supply 13 phthalate plasticizers. In a recent study of four nonphthalate plasticizers comprising Hexamoll, diethylhexylterephthalate, alkylsulfonic phenyl ester, acetyltributyl citrate and an acetylated castor oil derivative, the German research organization TUV Rheinland found that the BASF product was the most eco-efficient. US-based specialized polymer producer PolyOne last year licensed a series of technologies from the US-based nonprofit science firm Battelle for bio-based plasticizers. It has also agreed to collaborate with US-based agrosciences firm Archer Daniels Midland on the development of bio-based plasticizers. Safety concerns about the insolubility of substances in their pigments have forced colorant producers to reformulate products used in plastics, particularly in Europe. Europe's WEEE directive, for example, has led to the elimination of heavy metals in some plastics pigments for electronics.Colorant makers are also worried that under Reach, some pigments may be classified as persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, or very persistent and very bioaccumulative. This would mean they would have to be authorized or replaced by safer alternatives. Producers have been developing clean pigments, while also meeting the aesthetic demands of end-users. Over the next few years, the pigment content of plastics could decrease in response to changes in consumer preferences influenced by economic conditions. Nature and ecology will have a greater influence, exemplified by Clariant's promotion of a masterbatch range for polylactic acid biopolymers comprising natural pigments derived from plants. At the same time, pigment producers are not only expanding the source of raw materials for plastic colorants, but also developing pigments and dyes for plastics that have previously been considered difficult to color. Plummeting sales could put a crimp in R&D budgets, however. Many of the major additives producers reported losses in the first quarter of this year, after sharp falls in revenue. US producer Chemtura recorded a 43% drop in sales. Townsend reckons that the average global growth rate in volume demand for plastic additives in 2007-2012, which it previously forecast to be 4.6%, could now decrease to about 3%. Additive producers will have a challenging time innovating in such an environment. Sustainable plasticizers and safe ones ease processing, soften rigid polymers, and improve cold temperature behaviour. Few commercially available products include: • Dow’s Ecolibrium™ Bio-Based Plasticizers, a new family of phthalate-free plasticizers for use in wire insulation and jacketing that are made from nearly 100% renewable feedstocks. Applications in PVC compounds reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40%. • Danisco’s Grindsted® Soft-N-Safe based on a vegetable oil already used in foods is a plasticizer approved for food contact materials and will expectedly be used in toys and medical equipment. It offers equivalent processing capability to DEHP, no need for major adjustments to the standard formulation in terms of plasticizing efficiency or gel-fusion temperatures, good Low Temperature properties, clarity and colour hold in clear formulations, and good elongation at break after accelerated ageing at 135°C for 7 days. • CESA-natur light masterbatches from Clariant provide light stabilization in conventional and biopolymers. They can also function as a UV filter to protect the contents of packaging made of bioplastics such as PLA. Like synthetic additives, they are based on aromatic molecules coming from naturally occurring ingredients. The newest CESA-natur light masterbatches are formulated from light-coloured substances that are substantially more heat stable and offer UV protection comparable to conventional synthetic UV absorbers.