Energy Analysis of Bioplastics Processing

Considering environmental aspects is of growing interest over all life cycle phases of products. Being based on renewable and/or bio-degradable resources, bioplastics enable a positive contribution towards sustainable products in material and end of life phase. However, bioplastics can be more energy intensive during their manufacturing phase than their conventional competitors. As this contributes to the overall environmental sustainability of a product as well, it is necessary to acquire a better understanding about the energy demand of bioplastics in manufacturing. Therefore, this paper presents a study on the energy demand of bioplastic materials in injection moulding, milling, and fused deposition modelling 3D-printing including necessary preparation and drying processes. Based on this, a quantitative energy related assessment of manufacturing bioplastics in comparison to conventional plastics is possible.