BIOMASS. Biomass Project Biodegradable Materials for Sustainable Agriculture and Tourism. Layman s Report

Transcription

1 Layman s Report Ottobre 2004 Ottobre 2007 BIOMASS Biodegradabile Materials for SuStainable Agricolture and tourism LIFE04 ENV/IT/463 BIOMASS Biomass Project Biodegradable Materials for Sustainable Agriculture and Tourism LIFE04 ENV/IT/463 Biomass

2 2

3 Summary of project scope and objectives The disposal of plastic material used in the agricultural and tourist sectors as well as in public canteens represents an important environmental issue which has significative falls on environment quality and on sustainability of human activities. The Life Environment BIOMASS project is aimed at pursuing the following objectives: 1. reduce the amount of plastic material used in the agricultural sector, modify farmers habits and productive choices thanks to the introduction of biodegradable materials (mulching films for weed control and pots for flower and other plant production); 2. reduce waste production in beach resorts, canteens or during recreational initiatives such as summer feasts; 3. promote consciousness in citizens about differentiated collection of the organic fraction of wastes; 4. give support to the implementation of rules regarding the use of biodegradable materials within regional regulations, enhance waste disposal through the composting process. Project was designed to develop mainly in Liguria region, since this region produces more than 100 million potted plants exported in Northern Europe and it hosts more than 1 million tourists during 3 months of summer time. Taking in considerations these aspects, project demonstrates that it is possibile to reduce pollution transfer represented by the transportation of polipropilene used to grow potted plants outside the production areas and that it is possibile to make citizens aware of a sustainable development thanks to the use of biodegradabile items in the ricreative sector. 3

4 TECHNOLOGIES IMPLEMENTED AND RESULTS ACHIEVED Technologies implemented Biodegradabile polimers are those materials which have the capacity to biodegrade, that means to be transformed, in aerobic conditions, into carbon dioxide, water and biomass (or into methane in cade of anaerobic conditions) through a biological process where microrganisms are involved. In many cases biodegradable polymers are obtained from renewable natural sources. It must be stressed that the biodegradation process depends on the chemical structure of the material and not on the renewable source it is produced from. Biodegradable polymers belong to 4 main groups according to their origin : 1) Polimers extracted directly from a natural resource (e.g. polysaccharides as cellulose or starch). These polymers can be further modified through chemical processes (e.g. cellulose acetate). 2) Polimers produced through the syntesis of monomers obtained from renewable sources such as the polilactic acid (e.g. Natureworks produced by Natureworks LLC) obtained from the polymerization of the lactic acid monomer derived from maize. 3) Polimers directly synthetized from microorganisms or genetically modified bacteria (e.g. polyhydroxyalkanoates) 4) Polimers obtained through a classical synthesis from non renewable substances but characterized by biodegradabile properties such as Ecoflex by BASF. Mixtures of polymers of such groups can be biodegradable. It is important to stress that the 2 properties biodegradation and renewable origin are different and independent. On one hand there can be polymers having a biodegradable origin which are not biodegradabile or are hardly biodegradable such as cellulose triacetate and on the other polymers which are not derived from a biodegradable source but which biodegrade perfectly such as those belonging to the 4 groups cited above. 4

5 Therefore the term biodegradabile polymers (BP) will be used in this document focusing on the biodegradability as a functional property of the materials and on the renewable origin of some of them as a further added value. Starch and dextrose used so far for the production of BP come from maize and they can be accessed according to availability prices of the international market. Starch, which gives yields slighltly lower than maize (9,1 t/ha), can be obtained even from potato (8,2), Yield (t/ha) Fig. 1 Starch production accordin with different sources Source: IBAW ,1 8,2 5,5 5,3 5,1 4,8 Maize Potato Wheat Barley Rice Sorghum Starch source wheat (5,5), barley (5,3) or sorghum (Fig. 1). BP applications already tested and commercialized concern different Fig. 2 European plastic consumption in different economic. Source: IBAW sectors: bags, packages, tyres, medical prosthesis, biocomposed materials such as BP associated to flax or hemp fibers as a replacement of glass fiber (Fig. 2) Package Buildings Power supply Cars Sports Ag r i cu l tu r e Others In the agricultural sector BP can be found as pots, pheromone or fertilizer dispensers, mulching films or solarization films. Several kind of traditional plastics can be substituted by BP, although, because of the higher price of BP, it would be suitable to develop those sectors where the biodegradation property could give an added value to the product. For instance, mulching films produced with Mater-Bi allow the farmer to save money for film removal and its subsequent disposal as a dangerous waste due to the presence of fertilizer and pesticide residues and to directly plough them under exploiting their natural fertilizing property related to BP decay. 5

6 Development of BP sector is increasing: in the last years new biofirms have been built. Fig. 3 Evoluzione della capacità produttiva delle bioplastiche Fonte: IBAW In 2003 BP represented less than 0,1 % of the plastic market (source: IBAW), while at the end of 2006 the production capacity was doubled to raise 3 times by 2010 (Fig. 3). At the same time market penetration of BP increased rapidly with a demand higher than current productive capacity. Results obtained During 3 years thanks to BIOMASS project it has been possible to: Substitute traditional pots with biodegradable ones, Mulch an overall surface of about 115 with biodegradable films for the cultivation of different horticultural crops, Substitute polystyrene or polyetylene plates and cutleries sets with biodegradable ones in canteens, public events, feasts and beach resortssostituire, Collect litres of organic wastes using biodegradable plastic bags (5 and 120 litres volume), thanks to the use of 11 composting heap too briefly In the agricultural sector the amount of traditional polyethylene was reduced by 10 tons falling back upon innovative biodegradable materials, In the tourist and recreational sector the amount of traditional polystyrene and polyethylene was reduced by 9 tons falling back upon innovative biodegradable materials, That means an overall reduction of 19 tons of plastic materials which correspond to the 146% of the amount that was foreseen by the project. Main project achievements regarding the use 6

7 of biodegradable materials were implemented within regional regulations about integrated crop production. ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS Biopolymers with particular regards to the ones produced with thermoplastic starch as Mater-bi - can guarantee: - A reduction of the greenhouse gases thanks to the use of renewable raw materials, the biodegradation and composting properties of the materials used for different pureposes, particular performances in comparison with traditional materials; - The enhancement of environmental performances For instance relevant to mulching films and tyre biofillers the environmental benfit is related to a 30% reduction of the carbon dioxide emission LIFE CYCLE ANALYSIS (LCA) AND ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCT DECLARATION (EPD) LCA and, more recently, EPD, are two methods to determine the environmental impact and they are used to verify the real utility related to the use of biodegradable plastic materials. Environmental impact of mulching films, bags for organic waste collection and shopping bags was evaluated through the analysis of their life cycle compared to traditional polyethylene and paper bags. The evaluation takes in consideration all phases of the lyfe cycle, from raw material to production including disposal and transports. Results obtained show that paper bags are much more energy demanding than the corrispondent bags produced in Mater-Bi or polyetylene due to their weight and that Mater-Bi bag significantly contribute to lower greenhouse effect thanks to its component of natural origin. Therefore, from an environmental point of view, the use of biodegradabile BP may represent an advantage if compared to non biodegradabile polymers and to cellulose. 7

8 COST/BENEFITS ANALYSIS Cost analysis Economic survey subsequent to the gradual diffusion of items produced with biodegradable or compostable raw materials confirms the following: it is possible to obtain innovative products characterized by prices comparable to the ones of conventional products. In the following tables a summary of the data collected is reported. Table 1. Examle of comparison between mulching costs (Polietilene - Mater-Bi ) Film PE Biodegradable film (Mater-Bi) Thickness (mm) 0,045 0,015 0,012 Total cost Euro/ ha Difference % - 1,12-21,11 Table 2. Example of comparison between pots for flower production (Polipropilene - Mater-Bi ) Pot PP Mater-Bi Pot diameter (cm) Cost Euro/pot 0,1107 0,0350 0,0248 0,27 0,09 0,08 Table3. Example of comparison between cutleries sets (Polipropilene - Mater-Bi ) Product Material item Cost ( each) Mater bi Plate diameter 22 cm 0,067 Plate Polystyrene Plate diameter 20,5 cm 0,050 Glass Cellulose pulp Glass 0,016 White polystyrene glass 0,006 Mater bi Fork 0,108 Cutlery Wood Fork 0,067 Polystyrene fork 0,064 Cost of biodegradable products is nowadays much more competitive if compared to the cost of analogous non biodegradable items. Cost of mulching films is the same or it is even lower than the one of traditional non biodegradable films. Relevant to other items there are still differences in prices, but they are progressively decreasing. The reduced difference between prices of biodegradable and non biodegradable materials is mainly due to the following reasons: (a) industrial production of biodegradable polymers is increasing (b) spread of biodegradable products on the market has significantly increased during the last 3 years (c) the cost of petrol derived products is constantly increasing. For instance polyethylene cost at the beginning of the project was 1,2 /kg. Nowadays it has gone over 2,1 /Kg, with heavy rebounds on the final cost of the product. 8

9 Project benefits. Direct: substitution of about 19 t of plastic materials with biodegradable and compostable polimers. Indirect: set up of governance measures. The use of biodegradable materials was introduced into the guidelines for integrated production of some relevant crops by the regional authority. RESULT TRANSFERABILITY The reduction of non biodegradable polimers production had as a consequence the reduction of non renewable energy consumption, the reduction of the effects deriving from the climate change (greenhouse effect caused by non renewable carbon), a reduction in the depletion of ozone layer, a rundown of the acidification of soil and eutrophization of water bodies, a reduction in the formation of photochemical oxidant, a reduction in the production of dangerous wastes. Moreover the consumption of the following resources was decreased: water, clay, barite, bauxite, limestone, coal, coke, natural gas, gravel, wood, petrol and sulphur. The project has fostered differentiated waste collecting, it has increased the use of biodegradable materials in the agricultural sector, it has promoted the spread of environmental consciousness through the use of everyday goods. The project was carried out in the frame of the Sixth Action Programme for the Environment promoted by the European Union (6EAP), helping in the constitution of a right approach addressed to soil conservation through the reduction of Carbon footprint. For instance, the production of a starch based bag in comparison with a non biodegradable one of the same weight leads to a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emission. Policy development e Governance Liguria Region has introduced the use of biodegradable materials in 5 production guidelines in 2006 (BURL 15/03/2006 n. 11) and it has set up 12 new guidelines in 2007 with significant falls on the accomplishment of the Rural Development Plan and of the Regional Operative Plan. Long term results: from 1990 to 2007 the production of biopolymers has increased from few hundreds t/year to about t/year; the increase is promoted by common European regulations and by national laws which foresee the gradual substitution of non biodegradable plastics with biodegradable ones. 9

10 From end-of-pipe approach to prevention: the project is an example of the introduction of product/plant/management solutions which allow the reduction of environmental impacts deriving from productive processes favouring the prevention applied to polluting substances instead of falling back upon more expensive purifying devices located at the end of pipe. Therefore the project contributes to the prevention and the reduction of pollution sources (DIR CE 96/61 Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control), taken in the Italian legislation by D.L. 372/99. Window offices for organic farming were created during the project to promote the long period dissemination. Local activities carried out by partners and by other actors will permit to extend project achievements beyond its end. Result transfer was carried out at a national and international level through several initiatives. Crop productions obtained with biodegradable materials were promoted on the main markets in Europe in order to have a direct contact with consumers. The use of cutleries sets for public catering and school canteens represents a small scale example about how biodegradable materials can be used at any level. The use of biodegradable bags for compostable waste collection represents a close cycle of biodegradable wastes. Therefore the project has led to a product innovation (new biodegradable materials), a process innovation (agricultural production chain) and an innovation oriented to enterprises through the realization of window office for organic farming. Briefly, premises were put for new economic opportunities and for a broader cooperation at local and interregional level. 10