The purpose of this database is to help you identify commercially available biobased plastics that may suit your needs. You can search, sort, or filter the database by material type, properties, or composition.
We cannot guarantee the accuracy of data provided on this website, as manufacturers may change their product offerings over time. Therefore, we recommend that you independently verify your materials of interest with their manufacturers.
A brief description of materials properties listed in this database is given in the definitions section below.
*Note: Some materials have a range of values for these properties instead of one single value. In that case, the words "low" and "high" in the database refer to the lower and upper limits of the range. If there is no range, the "low" and "high" values will be the same.
Bioplastic Type: the chemistry of the polymer backbone (e.g. polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polysaccharide).
Melting Point (⁰C): the temperature at which a crystalline or semicrystalline polymer transitions from a solid to a liquid.
Glass Transition Point (⁰C): the temperature range where an amorphous polymer transitions from a rigid glassy material to a viscous material. Polymers are considered brittle below the glass transition point and rubbery/deformable above the glass transition point.
Density (g/cm3): the mass per unit volume of the polymer.
Ultimate Tensile Strength (MPa): the maximum stress (force per unit cross-sectional area) the polymer can withstand before catastrophic failure under tension.
Ultimate Tensile Strain (%): the amount of deformation (represented as an elongation percentage) of the polymer at its tensile strength.
Young’s Modulus (MPa): a measure of elasticity or stiffness of the polymer. Young’s Modulus is defined as the change in strain resulting from a change in applied stress in the linear elastic region of the material.
Flexural Modulus (MPa): a measure of the resistance of the polymer to bending. Also known as the “bending modulus”, it is defined as the ratio of stress to strain in flexural deformation.
Water Absorption Percentage (%): the amount of water absorbed by the polymer and is defined as the ratio of the weight of water absorbed to the weight of the dry material.
Biomass Base: the material that the polymer is produced from.