Under the “dual carbon” goal, the market demand for thermoplastic starch (TPS) continues to rise

Thermoplastic starch (TPS), also known as unstructured starch, uses a certain method to disorder the starch structure and make it thermoplastic. Thermoplastic starch appears as white or light yellow powder with a slightly sweet aroma. It has the characteristics of low production cost, environmental protection, high melting temperature and good fluidity. It is widely used in biodegradable plastics, adhesives and other fields.

The main preparation technologies for thermoplastic starch include grafting technology, co-extrusion technology, molding technology, etc. Co-extrusion technology uses corn starch as the main raw material. After drying, it is mixed with glycerin, and then put into a twin-screw extruder for co-extrusion operation, and finally thermoplastic starch is produced. Thermoplastic starch has shortcomings such as strong water absorption and poor mechanical properties. Adding plasticizers during the preparation process can effectively improve its properties. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) plasticizers and natural fiber plasticizers have excellent strengthening effects. . In recent years, my country’s thermoplastic starch preparation technology has continued to make innovative breakthroughs, providing impetus for the development of the industry.

The main raw material of thermoplastic starch is corn starch. my country is a large agricultural country with a large planting area of ​​corn and other crops. Against this background, my country’s corn starch production continues to grow. According to statistics from the China Starch Industry Association, my country’s corn starch production will reach 39.18 million tons in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 21.2%. Sufficient supply of raw materials and continuous breakthroughs in preparation technology have laid the foundation for the development of my country’s thermoplastic starch industry.

According to the “2022-2027 China Thermoplastic Starch (TPS) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center It shows that, driven by the “double carbon” goal, biodegradable plastics, as a substitute for traditional plastics, have broad market prospects due to their advantages of being non-polluting, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, and being easy to recycle. The main raw material of biodegradable plastics is polylactic acid (PLA). Adding thermoplastic starch to PLA can greatly improve product production efficiency. In 2021, my country’s effective annual production capacity of polylactic acid will reach 225,000 tons. Driven by market demand, the development scale of my country’s thermoplastic starch industry continues to expand.

The world’s leading thermoplastic starch companies include Schuett-Biotec of Germany, Warner-Lambert of the United States, and Paper Foam of the Netherlands. The main thermoplastic starch manufacturers in my country include Shenzhen Hongcai New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd., Suzhou Hanfeng New Materials Co., Ltd., etc. At present, my country’s thermoplastic starch market penetration rate is low, and the industry still has huge room for development.

Industry analysts said that as the thermoplastic starch preparation technology continues to be optimized, its application fields will be further expanded and the market penetration rate will increase. promote. Benefiting from the gradual implementation of national environmental protection policies, thermoplastic starch is an important additive material for biodegradable plastics and has an increasingly strong market demand. Driven by positive factors such as the continuous improvement of independent research and development capabilities of local enterprises, the development trend of my country’s thermoplastic starch industry will continue to improve.