El surgimiento de los bioplásticos: un estudio de nichos tecnológicos

Abstract

La innovación hacia una economía sustentable no ha tenido los efectos deseados. Ante ello, desde las ciencias sociales, la Perspectiva Multinivel (MLP, por sus siglas en inglés) estudia los retos que innovaciones disruptivas enfrentan para transformar mercados consolidados. No obstante, en su enfoque global, el modelo ha sido criticado por la articulación insuficiente de conceptos en la dimensión micro. En respuesta a este llamado, el objetivo del artículo consiste en identificar los primeros nichos tecnológicos de bioplásticos para estudiar las alianzas entre agentes con la intención de penetrar el mercado, así como los elementos del contexto que las facilitaron. Mediante una investigación bibliográfica y de patentes, se identificó a los primeros inventores, empresas, marcas, aplicaciones y circunstancias del contexto que dificultaron o facilitaron el desarrollo de los nichos. Nuevas aplicaciones son señaladas. Los hallazgos proporcionaron una retroalimentación a posteriori entre nichos de funciones societales diferentes, lo cual condujo a proponer el concepto de latencia tecnológica entre nichos.

Production of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-Co-3-Hydroxyvalerate) by <em>Bacillus megaterium</em> LVN01 Using Biogas Digestate

“…Industrial development has brought great benefits to humanity, but many of its processes and products have also negatively impacted natural ecosystems, affecting human health and all other forms of life. One of the critical cases is the production and use of conventional plastics, because they not only represent one of the causes of the depletion of fossil material, a non-renewable resource, but they are also one of the main sources of environmental pollution, due to their resistance to degradation, which causes large accumulations of these contaminants in different ecosystems [1].…”

“…Faced with this environmental crisis, the production of bioplastics, or green polymers of the future, is becoming established as an alternative to replace petroplastics [6]. These polyesters are classified into three types [1]: polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (SPB) and Disclaimer/Publisher's Note: The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products referred to in the content.…”

Are bioplastics the solution to the plastic pollution problem?

“…The first uses of these materials were in medical applications but they are currently used in different products in the agricultural, packaging or textile sectors, to mention a few. Some bioplastics are limited in terms of their mechanical and thermal properties; the main differences to petroleum-derived plastics are their mechanical strength, durability and resistance to high temperatures, as well as their sometimes higher cost [ 3 ].…”