先说个反常识的：很多人以为，叫“可降解”的塑料铺进地里，到日子自然就化了。真相是——相当一部分所谓降解地膜，扒出来还是碎塑料片，只是变小了，专业上叫“微塑料”，根本没真降解。PBAT这行当，正牌贵、农户嫌成本高，于是“降解地膜”里掺碳酸钙、掺PE的事年年有。副牌那一档，要是连料都认不清，你铺下去的不是环保，是给土地埋雷。
PBAT，是为“烂进土里”生的
PBAT是己二酸丁二醇酯和对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯的共聚物，属于脂肪族-芳香族共聚酯。它柔韧、成膜性好、可完全生物降解，做降解地膜、购物袋、包装膜特别合适——铺在田里，到了收获季能在土壤微生物作用下慢慢分解，不用人工捡膜。它常跟PLA共混，PLA提刚性、PBAT给柔韧性。问题是：真PBAT不便宜，假“降解”又太多，副牌怎么选，直接决定你这膜是真环保还是摆样子。
PBAT副牌，先把真假拆开
PBAT副牌的来历，和其他品类一脉相承：同一厂家、同一牌号的原生共聚酯粒子里，出厂检验没完全达正牌标的那一档，来源还是开停车头尾料、换牌号过渡料、工艺波动致个别指标（熔指、拉伸、爽滑）小幅超标的批次、副线尾料。它是原生料。但PBAT最常见的坑不是副牌本身，是拿掺了大量填充或回料的东西冒充副牌——所以边界必须划死：
| 类型 | 来源 | 品质 | 典型用途 |
|---|
| 正牌 | 原厂达标批次 | 全指标达标、批次稳定 | 高要求制品、认证件 |
| 副牌 | 原厂未达标批次 | 个别指标小幅偏离，基材与正牌一致 | 内件、配色件、一般结构件 |
| 回料/水口料 | 制品加工边角料再造粒 | 已受过一次热历史 | 低要求制品 |
| 再生料 | 废旧塑料回收造粒 | 性能波动大 | 低端制品、填充 |
国外这三家，是降解聚酯的老底子
按产能份额口径，国外PBAT的头部比较清晰。巴斯夫BASF（德国，ecoflex/ecovio）是把PBAT商业化的老牌玩家，德国Schwarzheide基地约7.4万吨产能，品质是行业标杆；诺瓦蒙特Novamont（意大利，Mater-Bi）是淀粉-生物降解聚酯的开创者，PBAT产能约10万吨量级；第三梯队是日本三菱化学等。国内金发、蓝晶、万华这些是大陆厂商，按本系列口径不在此列。需要说明，近年大陆PBAT产能爆发式增长，把全球成本往下压了不少，国外厂更多守在高品质、认证级这块。
巴斯夫ecoflex：品质的标尺
巴斯夫的ecoflex，1998年就商业化了，吹膜性能、热封宽度、降解周期的一致性，在欧盟EN 13432认证体系里是参照级的存在。它的副牌，常见偏差在熔指或薄膜爽滑性上——做一般包装膜、做非认证农用地膜的厂，用这种副牌下料，成膜性和韧性底子还在，成本下来一截。要上欧盟认证、要出口的可堆肥制品，还是正牌稳妥。
诺瓦蒙特Mater-Bi：淀粉共混的祖师爷
意大利Novamont的Mater-Bi，是生物降解聚酯里的老牌子，走淀粉与聚酯共混的路子。它的副牌，多落在色泽或某批拉伸强度上。做垃圾袋、做农业覆盖膜、做纸涂层的厂，拿这种副牌试料，降解认证的底子仍在，价格却温柔得多。
三菱化学：日系的配套牌号
三菱化学在PBAT上量不大，多是配合自家可降解体系做配套牌号，副牌流出更碎。碰到这种料，照样先核对原厂、牌号、偏差项——PBAT地膜直接进土，真假不辨，埋下去的责任是农户担。
铺进地里之前，先做三个分辨
避坑要点：一、看熔指和拉伸强度，成膜好不好、铺上去韧不韧全在这；二、要降解认证的膜用正牌，一般农用地膜再谈副牌；三、做真假分辨——真PBAT密度低、捏起来柔韧不脆、燃烧无明显滴落硬块，掺了大量填充的会发灰发涩；四、批次留样，地膜一季一铺，别混投。包装照旧，认化验单不认袋。
科隆仓库现货｜PBAT出厂
主推品牌：巴斯夫BASF（ecoflex/ecovio）、诺瓦蒙特Novamont（Mater-Bi）、三菱化学。
主要牌号：ecoflex、ecovio、Mater-Bi系列。
包装规格：大包装、小包装都有，小包装试机打样，大包装、吨包料量产摊薄。
仓库现货：PBAT副牌仓库现货通常在2000-5000吨，常年备货不断档。
其中小包副牌备货300-600吨、箱装副牌备货150-300吨、大包料/吨包料备货1500-4100吨，按订单配比灵活出。
供应保障：批次留样可溯，进厂可逐批核对。
选型口诀，地膜进土不能含糊
一、认证出口膜用正牌，一般农用地膜再谈副牌；二、熔指、拉伸强度，两项决定膜韧不韧；三、密度、手感、燃烧法，三步辨真假；四、认巴斯夫、诺瓦蒙特这几家货源。
写在最后。济宁有家做农用地膜的客户，之前为了压成本进了批低价“降解PBAT”，铺下去两个月迎光面就碎裂、拔秧时缠在犁上扯都扯不断，秋后扒地满地塑料碎片，被农户找上门索赔。后来按熔指和拉伸强度重新配了巴斯夫ecoflex同牌号副牌做普通农用地膜、正牌做认证出口膜，铺两月不脆、秋后能降解，客诉直接清零。这就是PBAT副牌的分寸——它能省，但省的是钱，不是降解的本分。宁波市科隆新材料有限公司做进口可降解料副牌多年，地膜选材这种案子处理过不少，说白了就是帮你把“真降解”落到土里。
Let's start with something counterintuitive: many people think that if you lay 'degradable' plastic into the soil, it will naturally break down over time. The truth is that a significant portion of so-called degradable mulch film, when dug up, is still fragments of plastic, just smaller in size; professionally, this is called 'microplastics,' and it hasn't truly degraded at all. In the PBAT industry, the official brands are expensive, and farmers dislike the high costs, so mixing calcium carbonate or PE into 'degradable mulch film' happens every year. As for the sub-brands, if you can't even recognize the materials, what you are laying down is not environmentally friendly—it's like planting land mines in your soil.
PBAT is made to 'rot into the soil'
PBAT is a copolymer of adipic acid butanediol ester and terephthalic acid butanediol ester, belonging to aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters. It is flexible, has good film-forming properties, and is fully biodegradable, making it particularly suitable for biodegradable mulch films, shopping bags, and packaging films—when spread in the field, it can gradually decompose under the action of soil microorganisms by harvest time, without needing manual collection. It is often blended with PLA, with PLA providing rigidity and PBAT providing flexibility. The problem is: real PBAT is not cheap, and there are too many fake 'biodegradable' products. How you choose the secondary brand directly determines whether your film is truly environmentally friendly or just for show.
PBAT sub-label, first separate the real from the fake
The origin of PBAT sub-brands follows the same pattern as other categories: within the same manufacturer and the same grade of virgin copolyester pellets, those batches that fail to fully meet the standards of the main brand during factory inspections, usually come from start-stop offcuts, transitional materials for grade changes, batches with slight deviations in certain indicators (melt index, tensile, smoothness) due to process fluctuations, or residual materials from secondary lines. They are virgin materials. But the most common pitfall with PBAT is not the sub-brand itself, it's trying to pass off materials heavily mixed with fillers or recycled materials as sub-brands — so the boundary must be clearly defined:
| Type | Source | Quality | Typical uses |
|---|
| Genuine brand | Original factory standard batch | All indicators meet the standards, batch stability | High-demand products, certified components |
| Side deck | Original factory substandard batch | Individual indicators slightly deviate, but the base material is consistent with the genuine brand | Internal parts, color-matched parts, general structural parts |
| Recycled material / Sprue material | Regranulation of processing scraps | Has undergone one heat history | Low-demand products |
| Recycled material | Recycled Plastic Pelletizing | Performance fluctuates greatly | Low-end products, fillers |
These three foreign companies are the old players in degradable polyester.
In terms of production capacity share, the leading foreign PBAT producers are quite clear. BASF (Germany, ecoflex/ecovio) is a veteran player in commercializing PBAT, with about 74,000 tons of capacity at its Schwarzheide site in Germany, and its quality is an industry benchmark; Novamont (Italy, Mater-Bi) is a pioneer in starch-biodegradable polyester, with PBAT capacity at around 100,000 tons; the third tier includes companies such as Mitsubishi Chemical from Japan. Domestic manufacturers like Kingfa, Bluestar, and Wanhua are mainland Chinese producers, but according to this series' criteria, they are not included here. It should be noted that in recent years, PBAT capacity in mainland China has grown explosively, pushing down global costs significantly, while foreign manufacturers mainly focus on high-quality, certified-grade products.
BASF ecoflex: A Benchmark of Quality
BASF's Ecoflex was commercialized as early as 1998. Its blown film performance, heat-seal width, and consistency in degradation cycles serve as a benchmark in the EU EN 13432 certification system. Its sub-brand typically shows deviations in melt index or film slipperiness—manufacturers making general packaging films or non-certified agricultural films can use this sub-brand; the film-forming ability and toughness remain, and costs are reduced. For EU certification or exportable compostable products, the main brand is still the safest choice.
Novamont Mater-Bi: The Pioneer of Starch Blends
Mater-Bi from Italy's Novamont is a well-established brand in biodegradable polyesters, following the approach of blending starch with polyester. Its sub-brands often differ in color or the tensile strength of certain batches. Factories that make garbage bags, agricultural films, or paper coatings use these sub-brands for testing materials; the foundation for degradation certification is still there, but the price is much more affordable.
Mitsubishi Chemical: Japanese Supporting Grades
Mitsubishi Chemical doesn't produce a large quantity of PBAT; mostly it is used in conjunction with its own degradable systems to create supporting grades, and the secondary grades are even more mixed. When encountering this kind of material, you should still first check the manufacturer, grade, and deviation items—the PBAT mulch goes directly into the soil, and if it’s fake or real, the responsibility once buried falls on the farmers.
Before spreading it into the field, first make three distinctions
Key points to avoid pitfalls: 1. Check the melt index and tensile strength; whether the film forms well and is tough when laid out depends entirely on this. 2. For biodegradable certified films, use the official brand; for general agricultural films, you can discuss alternative brands. 3. To distinguish real from fake—genuine PBAT has low density, feels flexible and not brittle when pinched, burns without noticeable dripping of hard chunks; films with a lot of fillers will look gray and rough. 4. Keep samples from each batch; lay agricultural film once per season, don’t mix batches. Packaging remains the same, rely on the inspection report, not the bag.
Cologne Warehouse Spot | PBAT Factory Price
Main promoted brands: BASF (ecoflex/ecovio), Novamont (Mater-Bi), Mitsubishi Chemical.
Main brands: ecoflex, ecovio, Mater-Bi series.
Packaging specifications: Both large and small packages are available. Small packages are for trial runs and sampling, while large packages and ton bags are for mass production and cost dilution.
Warehouse stock: PBAT secondary brand warehouse stock is usually 2,000-5,000 tons, with continuous year-round supply.
Among them, small packaged secondary brand stock is 300-600 tons, boxed secondary brand stock is 150-300 tons, and large package/ton bag stock is 1500-4100 tons, flexibly distributed according to the order ratio.
Supply Assurance: Batch samples can be traced, and incoming materials can be checked batch by batch.
Selection mnemonic: The mulch entering the soil cannot be sloppy
1. Use certified export film as the main brand, and discuss secondary brands for general agricultural film; 2. Melt flow index and tensile strength, these two determine the toughness of the film; 3. Density, hand feel, and burn test, three steps to distinguish real from fake; 4. Recognize sources from companies like BASF and Novamont.
A final note. There is a customer in Jining who produces agricultural mulch films. Previously, to cut costs, they purchased a batch of low-priced 'degradable PBAT.' After laying it out for two months, the side facing the sun cracked, and when transplanting seedlings, it got tangled on the plow and couldn't be torn off. After autumn, the field was full of plastic fragments, and farmers came to demand compensation. Later, the company reformulated using BASF Ecoflex, using the same grade for regular agricultural mulch and the official grade for certified export film. After two months, it didn’t become brittle, and it could degrade after autumn, eliminating customer complaints entirely. This illustrates the proper usage of PBAT sub-brands—they can save money, but what is saved is money, not the essence of degradability. Ningbo Kolon New Materials Co., Ltd. has been producing imported degradable sub-brand materials for many years and has handled many cases like this in mulch film material selection. Simply put, they help you ensure that 'true degradability' actually happens in the soil.
