B IOPLASTICS A PPLICATION IN A GRICULTURE Presented by : Global Biopolymers Co., Ltd. 194 Lard Proa 80 yak 14, Wangthonglang, Bangkok, THAILAND www. bioplasticpackages.com ; www.global biopolymers.com E-mail: info@bioplasticpackages.com; info@globalbiopolymers.com info@biodegrade-pack.com
F IRST EXPOSURE TO BIOPLASTIC Geotextiles used in soil Geotextiles PVD used for runway soil hardening hardening Prefabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) Construction of runways at Suvarnabhumi airport Use PVD made from non-woven and plastic core- not biodegradable Bioplastic PVD considered but not available
FIRST BIOPLASTIC APPLICATION IN AGRICULTURE Thailand implemented the diversification of rubber plantations to north and northeast provinces Rubbers are traditionally grown in south and eastern provinces Diversification project in north and northeast cover area of 1 million rais (160,000 hectares) 90 million new rubber trees are to be planted Rainfall, climate, knowledge are less favorable First attempt was a complete failure with more than 50% death rate Bioplastic planting bags were tested to reduce mortalities
F ACTS ABOUT T HAILAND ’ S N ATURAL R UBBER (NR) Thailand is the biggest natural rubber producer supplying 37% of world’s NR Thailand NR agriculture managed by Office of the Rubber Replanting Aid Fund (ORRAF) ORRAF is a state enterprise under Min. of Agriculture and Cooperatives 2 million families of rubber farmers,1200 cooperatives 1,500 million rubber trees grown in Thailand
BIOPLASTIC APPLICATIONS IN RUBBER DIVERSIFICATION PROJECT Young rubber trees are Planting rubber with planted in plastic nursery bioplastic bag bags Plastic bags are removed causing death from root damage North and northeast have irregular rainfall with dry intervals During dry intervals no plastic bags to keep water- high mortality Test planting without removing bag using bioplastic bags Reduce death rate, use less fertilizer Over 100 million nursery bags in use in Thailand
C OMPARING PE BAG AND B IOPLASTICS BAG IN R UBBER P LANTING PE Bag Bioplastics bag Have to cut open PE bag Bioplastics bag can be planted before planting- more manual with rubber tree without work cutting-save manual labor More rubber trees die from Bioplastics bag keep root root system damage system intact-more survival Difficult to find clay-like soil Bioplastics bags disintegrate in soil – no litters problem PE bags become litters in the plantation- cause Bioplastics bag prevent rain environment problem and water to wash out fertilizer prevent flow of water Bioplastics bag keep moisture Use more fertilizer due to during rain break rain water wash out Benefits outweigh higher cost
BIOPLASTIC APPLICATION - ROOT TRAINERS FOR RUBBER TREE Rubbers in root trainers Root trainer is used in place of nursery bag Root trainer directs the roots to grow vertically Rubbers grown from root trainers have longer live, higher latex Rubbers grown from root trainers stand against typhoon Root trainers reduce death rate during transport 18 million root trainers required per year
R OOT TRAINER IS NEW TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE LATEX YIELD AND EXTEND RUBBER TREE LIFE SPAN Left – roots grown from bag Roots grown in root Right- roots grown from root trainer(right) vertically trainer straight Roots grown from bag (left) crooked, weak PP root trainers damage the roots when pull out PP root trainers are waste problem after use Bioplastic root trainers can be planted with rubber EIRR of bioplastic root trainers :costs > 5:1
F IELD TESTING OF ROOT TRAINERS ’ BIODEGRADABILTY First day of planting 3 months after planting
BIOPLASTIC APPLICATION - MULCH FILM FOR WEEDS ERADICATION Mulch film used between rows of rubber trees to control weeds and fire Replace use of chemical weed killer Save weeds eradicating labor No toxicity to ecology No contaminated residue Ploughed mulch films make soil good for intercropping 3,000 tons mulch films/year
PLOUGHED BIOPLASTIC MULCH FILM HELP INTERCROPPING Pineapples intercropping in rubber plantation
B IOPLASTIC APPLICATION AS GEOTEXTILES TO STOP SOIL EROSION NR plantation on slope has soil erosion problem Traditional method is to make ladders plantation Ladders plantation is labor intensive with little mechanization Bioplastics non-woven sheet stop soil erosion with much less labor Non-woven sheet disintegrate after rubber trees grow More than 2,000 tons/year
R UBBER PLANTATIONS ON SLOPE HILL Planting rubbers on slope hill earth ladders to prevent soil corrosion – high labor cost
B IOPLASTICS GEOTEXTILE STOP SOIL EROSION Non-woven bioplastic Geotextiles stop soil erosion before planting geotextile can stop soil erosion Rubbers can be planted on bioplastic geotextile When rubbers grown their roots hold the soil- erosion stop Bioplastic geotextile can be ploughed with soil
B IOPLASTIC S APPLICATION - BUDDING TAPE TO REPLACE PE TAPE Rubber trees are propagated by bud grafting from high yielding clone PE tapes are used to protect grafted buds from disease PE tapes are cut to allow bud to penetrate Wrong cutting causes buds death Annually 16 millon out of 200 million buds die from wrong cutting Bioplastic tapes allow bud to penetrate without cutting Saving high priced buds and labor 200 million tapes used per year
B IOPLASTIC LATEX COLLECTION CUPS Rubber latex is now collected in plastic/ceramic cups Each year 300 million bowls are replaced Plastic/ceramic cups are uncompostable garbages Bioplastic cups can replace plastic/ceramic bowls Bioplastic cups and leaves composted as organic fertilizer Reduction of carbon footprint in plantations a merit for GHG and FSC
C ERAMIC / P LASTIC / C OCONUT SHELL / B IOPLASTICS Ceramic/Plastic Coconut shell – compostable but limited not compostable
B IOPLASTICS LATEX COLLECTION CUPS Made from compound of bioplastic + natural rubber Lighter, easy cleaning, not broken Compostable with leaves after use Use as organic fertilizer
B IOPLASTICS WRAPPERS FOR RUBBER BLOCKS Rubber blocks are now white painted or wrapped in PE wrappers to prevent mold growth PE wrappers are removed as waste before processing Bioplastic wrappers can replace PE wrappers Higher cost of bioplastic is a fraction of the rubber blocks. 75 million wrappers are used annually
I MPLEMENT BIOPLASTICS APPLICATION WITH FARMERS GLOBAL STRATEGIC BIOPOLYMERS PARTNERS DEVELOP PRODUCTS EDUCATE FARMERS FILED TESTING 1200 FARMER GLOBAL COOPERATIVES BIOPOLYMERS 2 MILLION FARMERS IMPLEMENTING APPLICATIONS MONITOR RESULTS GET ACCEPTANCE APPLICATIONS NO YES SATISFACTORY? FIND APPLICATION PROBLEM GET MIN. OF FARMER CORRECT PROBLEM AGRICULTURE’S FUND ING GET FARMERS SUGGESSION REDESIGN PRODUCTS
B IOPLASTIC OPPORTUNITIES IN OTHER AGRICULTURES Rice : Seedling trays, consumer packages Oil palm : seedling bags, plantation plastics, consumer bottles Eucalyptus : seedling tubes, seedling trays Fruit orchards : seedling trays, nursery pots, consumer packages Flowers : orchid pots, seedling trays, flower pots, wrappers Aqua cultures : Spawn bags,farm nets, pond linings, consumer packages Agriculture chemicals : vitamin bottles, plant medicine packages, nutrient packages, fishery food packages Reforestation : packages for aerial dropped seeds
B ENEFITS OF BIOPLASTIC IN AGRICULTURE Reduce plastic wastes in plantations Reduce planting labors Reduce mortality rates Reduce use of fertilizers , weed killers, insecticides Better plantation management Better merits for GHG and FSC Better social and economics impact on farmer communities Economic Internal Rate of Return (EIRR) outweighs the additional material costs
B IOPLASTICS L EARNING C ENTER Bioplastics is non traditional - Little experience Establish a knowledge center for bioplastics Provide facilities for users to learn about bioplastics To be an incubator for developing bioplastics applications Provide technical supports and extension services to bioplastics users Center for cross fertilization of bioplastics applications
T HAILAND ’ S BIOPLASTICS IN AGRICULTURE From Cocoon to Butterfly
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