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Plastics oils

Most of the world’s various forms of plastic are made from monomers and polymers derived from the production of petroleum and other liquid fuel products.

However a range of plastics can also be very successfully made from vegetable oil – including algae oil and these include both permanent and biodegradable plastics.

Biodegradable bioplastics are typically used for disposable items, such as consumer product packaging and common food catering items.

Biodegradable bioplastics are also often used for organic waste bags, where they can be composted together with the food or green waste. Some trays and containers for fruit, vegetables, eggs and meat, bottles for soft drinks and dairy products and blister foils for fruit and vegetables are also manufactured from bioplastics.

Non-biodegradable bioplastics applications include mobile phone casings, carpet fibres, and car interiors. Many of these plastics can be recycled.

The basic building block (monomer) of the popular plastic - polyethylene - is ethylene. Bio-derived polyethylene is chemically and physically identical to traditional fossil fuel sourced polyethylene. It does not biodegrade, but can be recycled and can also considerably reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Production of bioplastics such as a tonne of polyethylene has been estimated to capture (remove from the environment) 2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide whilst the traditional petrochemical production route for a tonne of polyethylene is calculated to results in emissions of close to 3.5 tonnes of atmospheric CO2.

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