Trends in Bioplastics and Efforts for a Development of Bio-polypropylene

Abstract

Many aspects of daily life depend on plastics due to their functionality and convenience. On the other hand, plastics are facing societal challenges such as efficient treatment after-use, leakage to the environment, depletion of fossil resources, and climate change. From the viewpoint of a circular economy, an important countermeasure is to convert fossil resources to biomass, or renewable resources, as a raw material for plastics. This paper introduces the role of bioplastics and the current state of raw material conversion with an emphasis on polyolefins, which account for a large proportion of plastics. In addition, we introduce business and technological examples of bio-polyethylene, which has been societally implemented worldwide among bio-polyolefins. We also provide examples of development and challenges of bio-polypropylene. Further development and utilization of environmentally sound bio-polyolefins should promote a sustainable social system.