Introduced to the plastics market in 1998, initially as a fossil-based feedstock and later with partially biobased grades, BASF's biobased polymer ecoflex® (PBAT) is the world's first biodegradable, certified compostable polymer. Since then, customers have come to know and trust ecoflex® for its consistently high performance and quality. A quarter of a century has passed since it was first marketed, and today it is 25 years old.
ecoflex® is an ideal blending component for the production of plastics from renewable raw materials such as polylactic acid (PLA) and starch, which can be biodegraded by microorganisms under home composting conditions as well as in agricultural soils, making many applications possible. ecoflex® is one of the few certified compostable polymers to meet the requirements of the European Food Contact Regulations and the US FDA Food Contact Substance Notification. Thus, ecoflex® provides the basis for the certified compostable BASF compound ecovio®.
Studies have shown that Ecovio® has advantages in food production, packaging, shelf life and food waste collection. These advantages are based on the material's certified biodegradability in commercial and home composting as well as in agricultural soils: food waste is reduced, nutrients are returned to the soil through larger volumes of compost, and accumulation of persistent microplastics in agricultural soils is avoided. This helps to close the nutrient cycle through the organic matter cycle, thus realizing a circular economy.
With compounding capabilities in all regions, BASF can offer best-in-class material performance and customized services to support the global film, packaging and agricultural markets. Marcel Philipp Barth, Head of Global Business Management for Biopolymers at BASF, said: "We are proud to be pioneers in the biopolymers market and have been thinking about circular economy solutions since before the word was even on people's lips. Since its launch 25 years ago, Ecoflex® has been delivering high quality and performance to our customers from start to finish, and has enabled many of the compostable applications on the market today. We look forward to continuing to shape the industry and support our valued customers and partners around the world. As a trusted partner to major brands, we use Ecoflex® as a foundation to develop innovative packaging solutions that meet new market needs. For example, in 2023, we launched a new Ecovio® grade that extends the life options of paper-based packaging through certified home and industrial composting. ".
While bioplastics remain a niche market, accounting for about 1% of the overall polymer market, recent policy incentives, such as the U.S. plan to replace 90% of plastics with biomaterials over the next 20 years, have triggered a significant amount of research, development, and investment.
Butene-based biopolymers, such as PBAT, have been the focus of much research. The activity of the top five organizations filing patents on butene polymers has more than doubled since 2018 (from 26 to 56 in 2020), and the number in 2020 is more than 200% higher than in 2016.
