Agribites

New Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Creating Environmentally Friendly Bioplastics from Potatoes

June 2009

What do disposable food and beverage containers, disposable cutlery, frisbees, golf tees, greenhouse pots, and boomerangs have in common? They can all be manufactured as biodegradable products using vegetable starch.

Corn is currently the preferred source for starches used in bioplastics as the crop is produced in large amounts in North America. The technologies for milling and fractionating the starches in corn are already well understood and available.

Now research in Canada to create bioplastics from potatoes is getting a boost through the newly-created BioPotato Network. This federally-funded network, led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, brings together scientists from governments, academia and industry to collaborate on five areas: commercializing potato extracts, healthier potato varieties, pharmaceutical uses, new generation bioplastics, and biopesticides for insect control. The $5.3 million investment in a BioPotato Network by the Government of Canada will work to develop and harness new markets for potato farmers.

The bioplastics research brings together the expertise of plant breeders, food scientists, molecular biologists and plant production specialists from across Canada. AAFC’s research team is lead by Dr. Qiang Liu, a food scientist at the Guelph Food Research Centre in Guelph, Ontario.

"We are working together to develop new potato varieties to boost the starch available for the many, many non-food uses and industrial applications," explains Dr. Liu..

The beauty of it is that the potato is a starch factory so there is a lot of raw material from this plentiful crop!

Originating in the Andes of South America over 8,000 years ago, the potato is the world’s fourth largest food crop, and a staple food for much of the world. In Canada, this crop grows in every province and contributes nearly $6 billion to the national economy.

Potato starch is currently used by the food processing industry as a general thickener, binder, texturizer, anti-caking or gelling agent. It also shows up in finished products such as snack foods, processed meats, baked goods, noodles, pet foods, shredded cheese, sauces, gravies and soups. Potato starch is also used in yeast filtration and as additives in the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

Potato starch is considered an industrial by-product from potato-processing plants. It is from this bi-product that bioplastics are made. Using a patented process, the potato starch is converted into a plastic-like resin that can be heated and shaped into a variety of products through an injection molding process.

The resulting material is completely degradable by composting and is an excellent material for food packaging because it allows the food to breathe. Food packaging made with a blend of potato, wheat and tapioca starch has proven durable enough to be baked in an oven and heated in a microwave. A few companies have already started selling these bioplastics in Canada.

However, scientists believe that further research can improve bioplastics, help broaden their applications, and create bioplastics with greater water resistance, stronger mechanical properties and greater processability.

With funding through the BioPotato Network, scientists are working to develop potato-based bioplastic film and foam and improve the performance of potato-based bioplastic.

By examining every aspect of potato starch from molecular properties to the final product, scientists are working together to create a new generation of degradable bioplastics for the benefit of the future generations.

For more information or to set up an interview, media should call 613-759-7972 or 1-866-345-7972 (toll free) or email us at mediar@agr.gc.ca.