BIOPLASTICS
Timeline
Testing Procedures
Timeline
Alexander Parkes (1862)
Alexander Parkes was a chemist, inventor, and also a metallurgist from Birmingham, England known for the development of the first bioplastic, which was Parkesine, a thermoplastic made from cellulose nitrate. His goal was to create a synthetic material that could be molded while hot.
[TL.1]
John Wesley Hyatt (1869)
John Wesley Hyatt from Starkey, New York invented a machine capable of producing Celluloid,
a bioplastic that was easy to shape under high temperatures or pressure. This was when he was trying to find a cheap material for billiard balls. [TL.2]
Leo Baekeland (1907)
During an experiment to find a substitute for shellac, Leo Baekeland produced a polymer mixed with fillers and called it Bakelite. The new plastic could be molded quickly, and soon it became popular as more and more companies started making their products from it. [TL.3]
Jacques E. Brandenberger
(1912)
Maurice Lemoigne (1926)
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Maurice Lemoigne, a French microbiologist discovered poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) from a bacteria called, bacterium Bacillus megaterium that makes it. He fed these bacteria with a nutrient rich diet, and took out the glucose they respond to by making PHB. [TL.5]
With the intention of designing a liquid repellent/waterproof cloth, a Swiss chemist by the name of Jacques E. Brandenberger fashioned a thin flexible film called Cellophane in 1912 by blending cellulose and diaphane together. Only after multiply attempts
using different materials and viscose,
was he truly successful.
Imperial Chemical Industries (1990)
In 1990, Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) developed and launched the first biodegradable plastic able to break down within a few months with the help of microorganisms. It was called Biopol. Along with that it was made out of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), so it could break down into carbon dioxide and water, [TL.6]
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E.W. Fawcett and R.O.
Gibson (1933)
E.W. Fawcett
R.O. Gibson
During their time at Imperial Chemical Industries, E.W. Fawcett and R.O. Gibson were given a series of tasks to study the reaction of organic compounds like ethylene when put under high pressure and temperatures. When combined with benzaldehyde, Ethylene showed to have produced Polyethylene, a white, waxy solid able to be melted and shaped into threads. [TL.7]
Henry Ford (1942)
Rilsan (1947)
The soybean car was made out of more than just soybean, but it was made from other ingredients including wheat, hemp, flax and ramie. It was also made up of 70% cellulose. Ford's vision at the time before creating the car was to bring industry and agriculture together and hopefully replace metals being used to manufacture cars. Unexpectedly, the project took nearly 10 years to complete. [TL.8]
Rilsan, also known as Nylon 11 or Polyamide 11 was the first bioplastic introduced into the market and was put into use immediately after, starting with oil and gas, textiles, electronics, and other manufactures goods and products. It was a polyamide bioplastic produced by Arkema under the trademark name "Rilsan", which was where it got its name from. [TL.9]
Monsanto (1996)
In 1996, Monsanto bought the Biopol business off of Imperial Chemical Industries/Zeneca, so they could continue developing and expanding on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHA) acid/polymer in order to make polyhydroxybutyrate from plants rather than attempting to produce it from bacteria.[TL.10]
Prototype Bioplastic Car
(2018)
22 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology had teamed up together to fashion a car made completely out of bioplastic. Their car that they referred to as "Noah", was made out of different bio-based materials. For instance, the chassis was constructed out of sugars; whereas, the body was made from polylactid acid (PLA). And not just that, the car was actually recyclable! [TL.11]