Over the coming four years, the shift to bioplastics will be spurred by Coca-Cola’s desire to produce a renewable bottle from ethylene. The long-term driver will be shale gas production. According to Morgan Stanley, in the best case scenario, the global bioplastics market could expand up to an average of 40% annually through 2020 to reach $30 billion. Lower US natural gas prices favor the use of steam crackers, which turn gas into ethylene and could lead to a 30% expansion of ethylene capacity by 2017. This makes use of naphtha crackers, which use crude oil to produce the heavier hydrocarbons currently used to make plastics, more expensive and their supply more unpredictable. As a result, chemical companies are looking for alternative materials, such as bioplastics. BASF, Mitsubishi Chemical, Lanxess and Solvay are among the firms that are working with biotechnology companies. Chemical companies are also relying on enzymes being developed to produce biofuels.

Source: Reuters