Bioplastics anyone?

[truckeeboater]

This is a question better suited to those of you who are closely involved in the production of PE boats...
A buddy just turned me onto the burgeoning field of bioplastics (basically a hard, rigid plastic made from vegetable polymers rather than petroleum) and I found it really interesting. It got me thinking: is it possible to create a bioplastic strong enough to be used in the production of whitewater boats? Given that conventional plastic is probably among the most toxic to our environment (both the mass production of and subsequent breakdown) of any widely used material, is it conceivable to think that we may see some forward-thinking boat manufacturers experimenting with bioplastics in the future?

[Sir Adam]

A great idea - how brittle is it? It seems to me that may be one of the major drawbacks of something that is perhaps "harder" than what we are used to.

[truckeeboater]

i'm unsure of the physical properties of bioplastics vs. conventional plastic (density, moldablity, etc.) but i know that there are some folks making disposable cups, plates, and flatware out of this stuff. i guess that since it's vegetable based you could recycle it, or just toss it in your compost pile !

curious if anyone else out there has experience with this stuff...

[TheKrikkitWars]

Back when I was working on electroluminescent polymers for OLED's we used to share an office with a group doing research in the biopolymer field (our two labs took up the rest of the fifth floor)... not all are bio-degradable (which is a plus for canoes) but none have the physical properties to match HDPE or PP yet... and they're *expensive*

The most likely approach suitable to canoes would be using refined or modified vegitable oils as a feedstock for more conventional polymerisation processes... but given that its from things like soybean oil, which are also food comodities, its likely to be moot until the supply of petroleum based feedstock becomes much more limited.

[woro90]

Or wood and birchbark or canvas

[truckeeboater]

thanks for the insight Krikkit!!

[TheKrikkitWars]

Or wood

You jest, but something like an open canoe could be made from postformed plywood, which if done correctly would be increadibly tough for its weight... Getting so many tight radii in one product would be something of a challenge, but it's possible, with a little ingenuity.

[woro90]

You jest, but something like an open canoe could be made from postformed plywood, which if done correctly would be increadibly tough for its weight... Getting so many tight radii in one product would be something of a challenge, but it's possible, with a little ingenuity.

It has been done. I don't know why they quit producing them but few of these survive here in Czech Republic. According to people lucky enough to have used one they were great but I don't know anyone who knows where the boats came from. Apparently they were not homebuilt as the technology needed is not usually found in people's basements. They appeared in the fifties and were soon replaced by composite boats.