CEN/TR 15932:2010

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-november-2011
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Plastics - Recommendation for terminology and characterisation of bioplastics
Kunststoffe - Empfehlung für die Terminologie und die Charakterisierung von
Biokunststoffen
Plastiques - Recommandations pour la terminologie et la caractérisation des
bioplastiques
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: CEN/TR 15932:2010
ICS:
01.040.83 Gumarska industrija in Rubber and plastics
industrija polimernih industries (Vocabularies)
materialov (Slovarji)
83.080.01 Polimerni materiali na Plastics in general
splošno
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

TECHNICAL REPORT
CEN/TR 15932
RAPPORT TECHNIQUE
TECHNISCHER BERICHT
March 2010
ICS 01.040; 83.080.01
English Version
Plastics - Recommendation for terminology and characterisation
of biopolymers and bioplastics
Plastiques - Recommandations pour la terminologie et la
caractérisation des biopolymères et bioplastiques

This Technical Report was approved by CEN on 17 August 2009. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee CEN/TC 249.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland,
Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2010 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. CEN/TR 15932:2010: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
Foreword .3
Introduction .4
1 Scope .5
2 Commonly used terms .5
2.1 “Bio”polymers: polymers based on renewable raw materials .5
2.1.1 General .5
2.1.2 Natural polymers from biomass .6
2.1.3 Synthetic polymers derived from biomass .6
2.2 “Bio”polymers: polymers exhibiting a “bio” - functionality .6
2.2.1 Polymers for biomedical applications .6
2.2.2 Biodegradable polymers .6
2.3 Consequences .7
2.4 Public perception .7
3 Standardisation needs .8
3.1 Recommendation for terminology .8
3.1.1 General .8
3.1.2 Definitions of terms .8
3.1.2.1 Organic material .8
3.1.2.2 Polymer .8
3.1.2.3 Plastic .8
3.1.2.4 Renewable resource .8
3.1.2.5 Biomass .8
3.1.2.6 Biobased .8
3.1.2.7 Biobased carbon content .9
3.1.2.8 Biomass content .9
3.1.2.9 Biocompatible .9
3.1.2.10 Biodegradable .9
3.1.2.11 Biobased polymer .9
3.1.2.12 Biocomposite .9
3.2 Standard test methods .9
3.3 Standard designation of the term biopolymer . 10
Bibliography . 12

Foreword
This document (CEN/TR 15932:2010) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 249 “Plastics”, the
secretariat of which is held by NBN.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document is a working document.

Introduction
The main reason of the recent interest in bioplastics is due to the origin (i.e. use of biobased raw materials) or
to the biodegradability of the final products, needed for instance for organic recovery. The use of biobased raw
materials could be beneficial with reference to two current problems: fossil resources depletion and climate
change. Today, regarding the latter issue, we have to manage the carbon in order to avoid its accumulation in
atmosphere. Efficient use of all available resources and responsible utilization of renewable carbon is a way to
participate to this reduction. Plastics are important materials which contribute significantly to environmental
protection: thanks to their tailor-made properties (e.g. light weight, excellent insulation ability, tunable
properties for optimum food protection, etc.) they reduce energy use by 26 % and reduce greenhouse gas
1)
emissions by 56 % across variety of applications compared to alternatives .
The global manufacture of plastics in all applications only uses a small part of the entire consumed mineral oil:
2)
in Europe, it makes up only about 4 % . The major fraction (> 80 %) of the residual fossil material is used for
energy production, predominantly for transportation and heating purposes. Besides crude oil, natural gas and
coal, biomass is an additional raw material source for plastics.
The currently available biomass is consumed in different segments: food and feed production, power and heat
generation, biofuel production and industrial applications (e.g. production of paper, fine chemicals). Due to the
limited capacity of ecosystems, the utilization efficiency of renewable resources and availability issues have to
be addressed across the whole bio-economy landscape. The eco-efficiency in this competitive use (e.g.
energetic use vs. manufacture of goods) should always be in focus.
3)
According to various scientists , it would appear appropriate to use agricultural raw materials predominantly
in a cascade of uses, instead of burning them directly in furnaces or engines. That would mean, for example,
first producing a bioplastic from biomass: around 2 t to 10 t of bioplastic can be produced per hectare of
agriculture land. The bioplastic thereby stores CO in the form of vegetable carbon and removes it from
atmosphere. It would be desirable to trap this CO in the plastic for as long as possible. Finally, after
maximum utilization including recycling when achievable and appropriate, the polymer can then be used either
as energy source or as soil improver – to return the bound carbon to the natural cycle in the form of CO .
In order to ensure responsible and environmentally conscious use of natural (fossil and renewable) resources,
a clear and unambiguous terminology is of particular importance.

1) GUA – Gesellschaft für umfassende Analysen, “The Contribution of Plastic Products to Resource Efficiency,” Vienna,
2005.
2) PlasticsEurope, WG Market Research & Statistics, 2005.
3) Bioplastics - Renewable raw Materials and Climate Protection" (Kunststoffe International Journal October 2007, p;
109-115).
1 Scope
This Technical Teport gives recommendations for bioplastics and biopolymers related terminology. These
recommendations are based on a discussion of commonly used terms in this field.
This Technical Report also briefly describes the current test methods state of the art in relation to the
characterization of bioplastics and products made thereof.
2 Commonly used terms
2.1 “Bio”polymers: polymers based on renewable raw materials
2.1.1 General
In this context, the “bio-“prefix is used as an abbreviation of “derived from biomass” or "obtained from
renewable raw materials".
The term biopolymer then identifies polymers which derive from organic matter constituting living organisms
4)
and their residues . Biomass is considered as a renewable resource. A renewable resource is replenished by
natural processes at a rate comparable to its exploitation rate. The carbon content of such polymers is derived
from the so-called short carbon cycle (expected time frame: 1 year to 10 years; see Figure 1). Most industrial
polymers and plastics are presently produced starting from fossil resources which are non-renewable as they
cannot be replenished at a rate comparable to the exploitation rate (long carbon cycle, expected time frame to
convert biomass to petroleum, gas and coal: >10 years).

5)
Figure 1 —Global Carbon Cycling

4) EC DECISION (2007/589/EC) of 18 July 2007: ‘biomass’ means non-fossilised and biodegradable organic material
originating from plants, animals and micro-organisms.
5) Narayan, Ramani, Biobased and Biodegradable Materials, Rationale, Drivers & Technology exemplars, ACS (An
American Chemical Society Publication) Symposium Ser., 939, Ch. 18, pg 282, (2006).
The same polymer can often be made from both biomass and fossil resources. Polymers made from biomass
may be biodegradable (see 2.2.2.) or can exhibit a long lifetime.
Polymers derived from biomass can be natural (2.1.2) or synthetic (2.1.3). Some bioplastics may be a
combination of both natural and synthetic polymers, in which context the term biocomposite has already been
used.
2.1.2 Natural polymers from biomass
In biochemistry, biopolymers are polymers synthesized by living organisms (animals, plants, algae, micro-
organisms). The most abundant biopolymers in nature are polysaccharides. Cellulose and starch are
polymers of glucose and are extremely abundant in the biosphere. Proteins and bacterial
polyhydroxyalkanoates are also polymers.
All these polymers are natural, i.e. they are synthesized by living organisms, essentially in the form in which
they are finally used. Direct industrial exploitation is possible after extraction and purification, i.e. by physical
processes. Other industrial exploitation is also possible, e.g. in case the natural polymer is undergoing a
chemical process of functionalization.
2.1.3 Synthetic polymers derived from biomass
The term biopolymer is also applied to define polymers whose monomers derive from renewable resources,
rather than from fossil resources, even though the conversion to polymer involves chemical transformation. In
principle, many polymers can be synthesised from renewable feedstock. Amongst them, poly(lactic acid) is a
good example of this class. Corn starch is hydrolyzed to make dextrose, which is used as the fermentation
feedstock and bio-converted into lactic acid. This biomass-derived product is processed chemically to produce
poly(lactic acid). In this case the polymer is renewable because the original feedstock comes from agriculture,
but non-natural, i.e. it is not extracted from a plant or a bacterium, but synthesized in a chemical plant. In a
similar way it is possible to produce ethylene from b
...