O o d h e a d p u b L i s h I n g L i m I t e d

14.4
Industrial trends relating to sustainable
polymers
Advanced applications of wool keratins can be considered in a similar manner
to developments undertaken elsewhere into biopolymer- or biologic-derived
materials. The factors influencing the developments come primarily from
the commercial arena, which is in turn driven by opportunities created by
innovation and importantly environmental and legislative factors. Global
interest in sustainably produced materials, and full life-cycle analysis of
products has driven interest and investment in biological materials.
Biopolymers, as alternatives to synthetic plastics, have been the promise of
white biotechnology for several decades, with Biopol™ from Monsanto an
early example of a promising technology that has not yet had the appropriate
alignment of technological, environmental and legislative factors to drive
enough commercial interest to lead to success. NatureWorks™ from Cargill
Dow, used from packaging to fibre applications, is an example of a biopolymer
material for which there is rapidly increasing consumer interest. The
development was made possible by advanced biotechnology, but its continued
development is driven by a commercial need to find biological alternatives
to oil-derived synthetic polymers because of legislative and economic pressure
on oil. While price signals are important, there is increasing pressure on
landfill which is being progressively occupied by synthetics derived from
oil. These same drivers create strong opportunities for other natural biopolymers
with an established biological function as a material. Advanced applications
from wool keratin are emerging to capture this opportunity.