Making plastic products from flax fibre has enormous potential
Open Mind Development Corporation

 

 

Many have seen its blue or violet flowers shimmering in the July prairie sun, and many have seen the fires in those same fields in late fall or early spring as the straw of flax is burned after harvest.

 

Jeremy Lang of Open Mind Developments Corporation thought the waste of a renewable resource like flax straw was a shame, and with funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada he is developing a new industry for Saskatchewan and the Prairies.

 

Lang was approved for funding under the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP), which in Saskatchewan is delivered by the Agriculture Council of Saskatchewan, for a technical and economic feasibility study, market study and business plan on producing an eco-friendly plastic product.

 

“Flax fibre straw has such great characteristics,” he says. “It’s strong, lightweight, and has shock absorbing properties. The properties that make it difficult to handle and manage in the field also make it good to add to plastic products to add strength.”

 

Lang’s research was successful, finding that plastic products can be produced in Saskatchewan. “With the CAAP funding,” he says, “we have developed a proprietary formula for eco-friendly bioplastic comprised of flax fibre and 100% biodegradable and petroleum free biopolymers.”

 

Using nonfood plant products to create plastic polymers, or biopolymers, is an emerging field, with most of the research being done on corn. However, corn does not have the strength or the shock absorbing properties of flax and remains brittle in its end uses such as plastic cutlery.

 

Lang worked with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Research Chair at the University of Saskatchewan to develop the proprietary formula, and is now using iPhone4® cases for a prototype to be produced using an injection molding process.

 

He chose the iPhone4® case because of the huge market and to emphasize how non eco-friendly plastic packaging has become. “Most people keep their cell phones about 16 months,” he says, “yet the case that protects it will last for hundreds or thousands of years.” About two grams of visible flax fibre go into each case, making these environmentally friendly products stand out when compared to plastic ones.

 

The benefits to producers and the agricultural industry are enormous. “About five percent of world oil production is used to manufacture plastics,” says Lang. “Now we can provide farmers with an additional market for their flax straw, decrease the amount of conventional plastic in our landfills, and provide local processing and manufacturing jobs.”

 

 

 

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