Come early for even more networking and learning

The Biopolymers Symposium 2011 is proud to introduce our pre-conference workshops that will take place on Monday, September 26, 2011. These seminars offer an opportunity to spend additional time delving into issues and networking with colleagues before the conference.

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Additional fee is required for workshops

Workshop #1 - Introduction to Bioplastics- 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (with a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m.)
Instructor: Edwin Tam, Manager, New Strategic Initiatives, Teknor Apex

This short course presents the basics of bioplastics. It is intended for a broad audience who've recently entered this industry. Such an audience may include scientists, chemists, material engineers, application development engineers, design engineers, process engineers, mold makers, mechanical engineers, technical service engineers, marketing, market development, sales, and research and development engineers.

Topics covered in this short course include:

• The driving forces behind the bioplastics industry
• Size of bioplastics market
• Terminology & nomenclature
• Types of bioplastics, its properties and processing
  o Starch-based
  o PLA
  o PBAT
  o PHA
  o Others
• Standards governing bioplastics Industry
• ASTM D-6400 standard & certification
• Life Cycle Analysis
• Bioplastics markets, applications & examples of manufacturers or suppliers
• Challenges and opportunities faced by the bioplastics Industry

Workshop #2 - Life Cycle Assessment for Sustainable Product Development - 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Instructor: Dr. Mary Ann Curran, Manager, Life Cycle Assessment Research Center, US EPA Office of Research and Development

• Basics of Life Cycle Assessment methodology
• How LCA can support decision making in environmental decision making
• Putting LCA in context with other environmental management tools, such as carbon footprint
  

For many years, reducing the environmental impacts of products focused solely on production processes, treatment of waste and effluent streams.

While this remains important, in order to successfully address environmental sustainability issues, it is important to consider the design, manufacture, and use of a product across its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction and conversion, to its manufacture and distribution, through to use/re-use/recycling, and ultimate disposal.

The use of a holistic and comprehensive life cycle perspective helps manufacturers and policy makers identify possible improvements across the industrial system and through all the product's life cycle stages. It also applies to improving industrial processes and activities.

Attendees will learn the basics of LCA methodology and current state of the practice, the opportunities and pitfalls in applying this evolving approach to products such as bioplastics, how the results of an LCA can be used to support decision making, and how the results compare to those that are generated by other environmental assessment tools such as carbon footprinting and risk assessment.

Workshop #3 - Bio-based Plastics - Their Value Proposition Going Forward- 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Instructor: Dr. John Williams, Head of Materials for Energy & Industry, NNFCC

Key points:

• Feedstock security;
• Sustainability issues: The so called food vs. non-food debate;
• Bio-based content: Carbon-14 and Calorific value payback.
• Bio-based plastics are the dominate players in the materials supply chain in the developing bio-economy and will continue to be. As these materials are increasing in their scale of manufacture the importance of sustainable (environmental, social and economic) feedstock and manufacture becomes of paramount importance to the supply chain. Also the measurement of bio-based content and how to message it together with the increasing value for bio-based products at end of life is an important market pull for bio-plastics and needs to be understood.