Biomass-derived plastics: Viable economic alternatives to petrochemical plastics
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
This paper discusses the economic feasibility of replacing conventional petrochemical-derived plastics with plastics manufactured from biomass raw materials. Feasibility is discussed at several levels of production and use. In the case of raw materials production, oil and natural gas prices are expected to increase, but not at the rate experienced during the past one and a half decades. Biomass prices are currently high in relation to oil and natural gas. That gap is, however, expected to decrease as selected agricultural operations are dedicated to chemicals production and genetic engineering produces more appropriate species. The availability of raw materials does not appear to be a significant problem in either the case of petroleum or biomass. At the intermediate products level, biomass-derived intermediate products, which could substitute for petrochemical feedstocks in the production of conventional plastics, are currently more costly and more contaminated than the same intermediates produced from petroleum and natural gas. At the resin production level, it is generally accepted that without major technological advances, the prices of biomass-derived plastics will be significantly higher than the current or forecasted prices of petrochemical-derived plastics. Prices of the few biomass-derived resins currently being marketed are about double the prices of the conventional resins with which those new resins must compete. An added problem for biomass-derived plastics concerns potential barriers to market entry. It has been argued that the production of some of the main resin feedstocks, e.g., ethylene, is essentially a by-product of the refining industry. The prices of resin feedstocks could therefore come down sharply in response to threatened competition.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 5379571
- Journal Information:
- Materials and Society; (United States), Vol. 13:4; ISSN 0146-6399
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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BENZENE
BIOMASS
BUTADIENE
BY-PRODUCTS
CEREALS
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POLYSTYRENE
PRICES
PROPYLENE
PVC
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FOSSIL FUELS
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FUELS
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GASES
GRAMINEAE
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ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC POLYMERS
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PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PLANTS
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