What Do You Know About The Bio-Based Additives Industry

Auxiliaries, also known as additives, are an essential part of the polymer materials industry.

Biobased additives are those made from biomass or biologically produced materials. Bio-based auxiliaries are green, environmentally friendly, low or non-toxic and renewable in origin, replacing fossil-based auxiliaries and effectively reducing resource shortages.

Bio-based materials additives can be divided into bio-based plasticisers, bio-based flame retardants, bio-based adhesives, bio-based lubricants, bio-based cleaners, bio-based surfactants and other bio-based additives.

Bio-based plasticisers

Plasticisers are organic substances that are added to polymers to increase their plasticity, optimise their processing properties and give them softness.

Traditional plasticisers, represented by phthalates, are generally volatile and when they penetrate or migrate out of the polymer, they can cause the product to lose its flexibility and affect the quality of the product. In addition, phthalate plasticisers are generally toxic, harmful to the reproductive system and have a carcinogenic risk.

Bio-based flame retardants

The mechanism of action of flame retardants: they inhibit the production of one or more elements during the combustion of a material in order to stop or slow down the burning process.

Halogen-based flame retardants can produce toxic substances such as hydrogen halides and dioxins at high temperatures, which are harmful to humans. Since 2006, the use of halogenated flame retardants has been strictly limited in Europe and the USA. The reasons why bio-based materials can replace halogenated flame retardants: they have a high carbon content and a polyhydroxyl structure, which gives them excellent char formation properties.

Usually biomass alone is not effective as a flame retardant for PLA and needs to be modified or combined with other flame retardants. The addition of more than 10% will lead to a decrease in the mechanical properties of PLA and affect its performance.