Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024 - 8

FAKUMA 2024
8 * Plastics News, October 17, 2024
Biolive material can
be used on its own
or combined with
conventional resins
such as polypropylene.
BIOLIVE BIYOLOJIK VE
KIMYASAL TEKNOLOJILER
SAN TIC A.S.
ÜO-03
Biolive making
plastics from pits
By Jim Johnson
Plastics News Staff
What started out as a university
exercise in an entrepreneurship
class has turned into a full-fl edged
business fi nding a creative use for
olive pits: plastics.
In just seven years, a trio that
met at Istanbul Technical University
has created a commercial-scale
operation that recycles olive pits,
which are actually seeds, into a
bioplastic can be used in a variety
of products.
Ahmet Ayas is sales manager
and co-founder of Biolive Biyolojik
ve kimyasal teknolojiler san tic
a.s., the Istanbul-based company
formed to bring olive pit-based
plastics to market.
What started out as a just an
idea during class in 2017 eventually
grew to lab scale and then a
pilot project before becoming a
commercial operation about 18
months ago.
The company has a current capacity
to handle about 800 metric
tons, or 880 short tons, of pits
each month. Current production
is around 250 tonnes, so there is
room for the company to grow
into the facility, Ayas said.
That's a lot of olive pits to collect
and process, but Ayas said
the company's location in the
Mediterranean places it in the
heart of olive production as Turkey
is one of the world's largest
olive producers.
Biolive has developed relationships
with olive processors,
reclaiming large amounts of pits
that would otherwise be burned
for fuel or buried as waste and using
them as a raw material.
A specialized process using
temperature and pressure transforms
the pits into a material
that can then be used to make
bioplastics, which can then be
used on their own or in conjunction
with other traditional plastics
to increase sustainability, the
co-founder said.
Ayas does not want to discuss
the company's process in great detail,
fearing the information could
invite competition. But this is what
he had to say about the technology:
" We have some pressure- and
temperature-based reactors. At
fi rst, we destroy pits, pits parts,
and we are making [a] kind of
new material. ... What is the result
of this? It's kind of mostly cellulose-based
materials but not cellulose
because materials are very
suitable for other plastics. "
He readily
admits
his company's
efforts with olive pits is
unique and surprising to many
who hear about the work.
" Everybody is asking, 'Do you
have enough olive pits?' I can easily
say, yes we have, " Ayas said.
" Turkey is one of the biggest producers
of olives. "
In Turkey alone, Biolive estimates
there are 500,000 tonnes
of olive pits produced each year.
Around the world, that number
jumps to 6 million tonnes. So Biolive,
with its 800-tonne monthly
capacity, has access to plenty of
raw material for the company's
needs and has room to grow.
Biolive's products are typically
used with polypropylene these
Ahmet Ayas is sales
manager and cofounder
of Biolive,
an Istanbul-based
startup converting
waste olive pits into
bioplastics.
Plastics News photos
by Caroline Seidel
days but also they are fi nding
applications with other resins including
ABS and polyethylene.
Biolive also is currently working
to introduce its products to
other applications, including
polycarbonate and polycarbonate
and ABS combinations.
" We are working with almost
all kinds of materials, but mostly
working on injection molding
production methods, " Ayas said
during an interview at the Fakuma
trade show in Friedrichshafen,
Germany.
Along with creating a sustainability
story by reusing olive
pits to replace petroleum-based
plastics, Biolive points to energy
savings that can be achieved by
introducing its material. That's
because processing temperatures
can be about 25-30 degrees cooler
than typical. This then lowers the
carbon footprint of production.
" We provide same production,
same machinery, same mold and
almost same parameters, just
reduction of the production temperature.
The rest of them is the
same, " said Ayas, who counts
both Emin Oz and Duygu Yilmaz
as co-founders. The company,
since its start, has grown to attract
a stable of 20 investors.
Ayas said there is a slight
price premium for using Biolive
compared with just using traditional
resins.
Plastics News - Show Daily - October 17, 2024

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