Scientists have found a way to convert common agricultural materials into bioplastics that can be 'infinitely recyclable'.
According to interesting engineering, the US National Science Foundation has granted a research and development group $ 7 million to design the bioplastic producing enzymes. These enzymes encourage rapid chemical reactions and change biomaterials into biodegradable plastic by breaking it down in a few units.
The research team includes experts from Purdue University, the University of California in San Francisco and Berkeley, Stanford University and Biotech Company Twist Bioscience.
The new bioplastics are called polyhydroxyalkanoates and can be made using common agricultural materials such as sugar, corn and agricultural waste. These biomaterials are immediately available in large quantities in the US. Currently, the most plastic is made with the help of imported oils and gases, so the use of domestic materials would lower the production costs of the plastic and strengthen the economy of the country.
The university teacher agricultural and organic engineering at Purdue University, Karthik Sankaranarayananan, explained that polyhydroxyalkanoates maintain mechanical strength while they are “infinitely recyclable”.
Although this technology is promising, it still requires some refinement before it can be adopted on a large scale. Polyhydroxyalkanoates have been around for a while, but the bioplastics are too vulnerable at high temperatures. The research team is planning to improve their properties, so that they can be used in a wide range of plastic products, including medical devices and product packaging.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, more than 507 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually. Two 2022 reports from the last beach clearance and further than Plastic and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory discovered that only 5% of the plastics is being recycled. About 85% ends in landfills and 10% is burned. In both cases they contribute to pollution and polluting water, soil and air.
Traditional plastic products also create microplastics, which are small particles that can harm ecosystems and damage human health. These end in the oceans, air, drinking water, sedulated soil and even human organs. Bioplastics can reduce microplastics and help create a cleaner, cooler future for everyone.
In addition, because these materials produced in their own country can lower the costs of making plastic products, many items for consumers would be cheaper. And mining for oil and gas, which deteriorates pollution, would not be necessary. These experts who work together can cause a revolution in the plastic industry.
Emily Leprost, CEO and co-founder of Twist Biosciences, was quoted by Interesting Engineering, saying: “Working with Purdue Clarified Real-World applications of complex sequencies, making Twist our ability to promote difficult and ever-consideration on scale”
The plan is that the Purdue team develops algorithms that select the correct enzymes and then analyze reaction speeds and structures. University of California, Berkeley researchers investigate how they can scale up the production of bioplastics, making them possible to prepare for commercialization.
But all partners involved contribute to the promising enzyme process design and hope to see it implement in practical products soon.
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