Bio-on and Pizzoli join hands to make bioplastics from potato waste

Italy's largest operator in the potato sector, Pizzoli SpA has tied up with Bio-on SpA, the leader in eco-sustainable chemical technologies, to build Italy’s first polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) bioplastic production plant using waste product from the potato agro-industrial process.
 
The collaboration, for which the agreement was signed by the two companies last month, arises from Bio-on’s laboratory research and Pizzoli's experience in potato transformation, and aims to build a plant producing 2,000 tonne per annum (tpa) of PHAs, expanding to 4,000 tpa in the future. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are bioplastics that can replace a number of traditional plastics currently made with petrochemical processes using hydrocarbons. PHAs guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties with the advantage of being completely naturally biodegradable.
 
"It is a big step forward in the world of bioplastics because it demonstrates how waste can be converted into raw material, teaming concepts such as biodegradability and eco-sustainability with technically advanced plastics. This collaboration represents an important factor in the affirmation of PHA in the latest-generation plastics market,” explained Marco Astorri, chairman of Bio-on SpA.
 
Nicola Pizzoli, chairman of Pizzoli SpA, said, “The path undertaken is part of an innovative industrial project aiming to improve and optimise potato processing technology, by transforming the by-products and waste into innovative products that will become new-generation plastics."
 
Following an initial study phase to optimise the integration with existing structures and check economic compatibility, the project is set to be completed within approximately two years. The new plants will start production in 2017.
 
"We will begin with a Euro 220 thousand investment for the feasibility study, but the real challenge will lie with future investments in an integrated industrial facility, serving the food sector and with zero environmental impact,” explained Pizzoli.