Starch and PBAT Loose Fill Compound

About This Product

This is a powder compound of starch with PBAT, a biodegradable copolyester, supplied for foaming into loose fill at the point of use. Unlike the polyolefin-matrix series, this system is fully biodegradable: the whole compound breaks down rather than only the starch fraction, because the polymer phase is itself biodegradable. Two grades are offered on the same chemistry, water-soluble and hydrophobic.

The two grades cover opposite conditions, and what separates them is how the foamed article behaves on contact with water. The water-soluble grade dissolves on contact with water, giving the recipient a disposal route requiring no separate collection — the part of the waste chain a packer has no control over once the parcel has left. The hydrophobic grade resists moisture, for packaging that will meet humidity or damp transit, where a soluble fill would slump and lose its cushioning before the parcel arrived. Beyond that the end of life is the same, proceeding by hydrolysis of the ester linkages and microbial attack on both phases, the starch going first and the copolyester more slowly. Both are supplied as powder for foaming on a loose fill line at the point of use, which is what makes loose fill economic: it is mostly air, and shipping it finished means paying to move air. Certified compostable options are available on request.

It is used in bio-based packaging, loose fill production, renewable material sourcing and biodegradable polymer systems.

Bio Green Oleo supplies the starch and PBAT loose fill compound as a raw material for processing on your own line, to specification on grade, powder form and certification requirement; we do not produce finished articles.