Bioadditives

Small quantities show a big effect - this is how additives for plastics could be described in a few words. Today, plastic additives are still mainly obtained from petrobased sources.  However, phenolic antioxidants are also found in nature. Fraunhofer CCPE employees are researching to produce efficient additives from suitable plant raw materials.

Various plastics, such as the extensive class of polyolefins, can neither be processed nor used in a durable application without the addition of suitable additives, in this case antioxidants. In many examples, quantities of just a few tenths of a percent are sufficient to achieve the necessary protective effect. Additives are therefore crucial to the success of plastics and contribute substantially to innovation for tailor-made plastic applications. How can these essential substances be taken into a new era?

Today's antioxidants are mainly derived from petrobased sources therefore not very sustainable and only partially environmentally friendly. Antioxidants are widespread in nature, as plants also use them to protect themselves from oxidation, harmful free radicals and against aging. However, plants do not have to withstand common plastic processing temperatures above 200 °C. How can we now identify suitable structures from plant raw materials, convert them into thermally stable additives for plastics and generate efficient plastic stabilizers?

Ferulic acid is one such antioxidant from nature that occurs in many plant cell walls and can also be produced biotechnologically. Reaction with a fatty alcohol, also derived from nature, yields an effective antioxidant that is ideally suited, for example, for the processing stabilization of polyolefin packaging. Further synergistic combination with selected sugar alcohols, i.e. other natural products, also improves the long-term stability of plastics, if required. Thus, "bio" solutions comparable to today's petrochemical standards are available.

Additives for plastics, for biopolymers and recyclates, formulation development and the tailoring of plastic properties is an essential element in the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Circular Plastics Economy CCPE. Contact us.