Cinthia Alcazar Hernandez
Vania Urbina Guerra
Cinthia Itzel Saenz Chavez
Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM)
Lilia Patricia López
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Conventional plastic products tend to pretend to be green and help the environment but at the same time they are removing a source of food, scarce in certain parts of the world, to be produced. Scott Munguia (BIOFASE CEO) discovered that the biopolymer of avocado was very similar to the one that existed in the corn and with this theory, he went to the laboratory to experiment and make tests.
BIOFASE has managed to generate and patent a technology to make bioplastic from the avocado seed. It is a very important agroindustrial waste in Mexico. This waste is so abundant that it can satisfy up to eight times the national demand for bioplastics.
It does not need any additional machinery, no additional process, the only thing that is required as in any change of resin, is to change the operating parameters, that means, temperature profiles, torques, etc., but that is the common procedure for any resin.
This company emerges to solve a major problem: more than 80% of bioplastics worldwide are made from food sources such as corn or potatoes and the question is: should we make bioplastic from our crops when there are still people dying of hunger? Big companies know this problem and in the last five years have invested 25.3 million dollars to generate a technology like the one that Biofase patented.
It is expected that despite the rapid increase in demand, bioplastics will represent still less than 1% of the total plastic resin market in 2022, according to a market study by the consultancy, Reportbuyer. In fact, the analysis indicates that ultimately the success of bioplastics will depend on the price and performance they offer.
The products have different properties, in general terms they replace polystyrene, polypropylene and polyethylene. Depending on the use given, it can decompose in about 240 days.
The company leads the production of biopolymers in Latin America, exporting its products to more than 11 countries and it has been recognized with five national awards and two international awards. BIOFASE has been invited to present its technology in places like Madrid, Bilbao, Chicago, and Sweden.
The company has two types of products: the first product is called Biocom Hybrid, it is a resin that has up to 60% of vegetable matter and that significantly reduces the carbon footprint in the environmental impact. The second product is called Biocom Compostable, it is a 100% biodegradable resin that also its compostability nature allows, when discarded, to reintegrate into the environment in the form of nutrients to generate a life cycle in these products.
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Before the creation of BIOFASE, all biodegradable plastic products had to be imported from other countries into Mexico. BIOFASE, through its patented technology, became the only biopolymer production company in Mexico.