Bio-based material offers alternative to plastic

The first biologially based membrane material in China, called BOPLA, entered large-scale production recently in Xiamen, Fujian province.

Manufactured by Changsu Industrial, a new materials enterprise, the green material is a candidate for use in packaging material for food, electronic products and books, as well as tapelike encapsulating applications.

By using bio-based degradable polylactic acid as raw material, the product uses a unique stretching technology.

Compared with traditional membranes, the new one is thinner with improved mechanical properties. It promises biodegradability, high transparency, excellent processing performance, ability to heat-seal and accept color printing.

It is estimated that it will take 400 years less to break down compared with traditional plastic, and it can disintegrate entirely in as little as six months in an industrial composter, experts said.

Mass production and application of BOPLA will reduce the carbon footprint in the plastic packaging industry, decreasing emissions by more than 68 percent from conventional fossil-based materials, said a manager with Sinolong New Material, the parent company of Changsu.

On its website, Xiamen Changsu Industrial says it is the biggest biaxially oriented polyamide producer in the world, with production of more than 20 percent of global capacity, and it is dedicated to the vision of "being the leader of world-class green life materials".

Feng Xiaojie contributed to this story.