27-Sep-16 By 2024, the bio-based construction polymers market is expected to reach $33.3 billion globally, forecasts Grand View Research. Bioploymers are natural alternatives to fossil-based materials. In 2015, demand for the bio-based construction polymers market was 4.9 million tons. By 2024, demand is forecasted to reach 11.6 million tons. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% between 2016 and 2024. Last year, Asia-Pacific represented 31.5% of global demand. Over the next eight years, this market is expected to continue to experience rapid growth.
The segment with the largest market share in 2015 was epoxies, accounting for 24% of the market. This was because of the demand for adhesive applications and coatings. From 2016 to 2024, the pipe-application segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.6%. The market continues to be dominated by chemical polymers. However, the market for biopolymers may be at its tipping point. Bioplastics, for example, are growing at a CAGR of 20% to 30%. They still remain, however, only 1% of plastics market, with 300,000 metric tons produced annually. Technology is finding new bio options. Calcium carbonate crystals from seashells are one of the more recent biopolymer ingredients.
Biomaterials have environmental benefits. They are renewable and less carbon dioxide is produced during the manufacturing process. Despite its growth, the biopolymer market does face challenges, especially economic ones. New technologies that cut costs are a solution to this barrier. "Although the technologies were developed many years ago, large scale production of polymers from biomass was not feasible because those technologies were too expensive," researchers Lei Pei, Markus Schmidt and Wei Wei said in a 2011 research paper. "However, in recent years, the innovations from the research sectors, particularly those on biotechnology, have made some of the biological conversions able to compete with the existing fossil-based processes." The misperception that biopolymers are not as good or high quality as traditional materials is another challenge.
DuPont is one of the first major companies to make use of biomaterials. It has engineered a polymer, in partnership with Archer Daniels Midland Co., that uses furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) from fructose as the primary biological component. FDME will be used in producing bottles for the beverage-packaging industry. The polymer improves gas-barrier properties which extends shelf life.
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