Yesterday 12:49 AM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1110174
INTRO: Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve our microplastic problem. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society they report a new type of plastic made from plant cellulose, the world’s most abundant organic compound. The new plastic is strong, flexible, and capable of rapid decomposition in natural environments, setting it apart from other plastics marketed as biodegradable.
Microplastics are a global contaminant found in nearly every ecosystem, from the soil and the ocean to the animals and plants that live there. They have even been found in human tissue and the bloodstream where they likely have adverse effects. While biodegradable plastics and even cellulose-derived plastics are not new, most plastics labeled “biodegradable” do not degrade in marine environments or they take a very long time to degrade, leaving microplastics behind in the meantime.
Last year, Aida and his team developed a plastic that could quickly degrade in salt water within several hours, without leaving any microplastics behind. That plastic was a supramolecular plastic made from two polymers held together by reversible interactions. In the presence of salt water, the bonds holding the two polymers together came apart and the plastic decomposed. But this plastic wasn’t as practical as it could be for real-world manufacture.
The new plant-based plastic is similar, except that one of the two polymers is a commercially available, FDA approved, biodegradable wood-pulp derivative called carboxymethyl cellulose.... (MORE - details, no ads)
INTRO: Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve our microplastic problem. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society they report a new type of plastic made from plant cellulose, the world’s most abundant organic compound. The new plastic is strong, flexible, and capable of rapid decomposition in natural environments, setting it apart from other plastics marketed as biodegradable.
Microplastics are a global contaminant found in nearly every ecosystem, from the soil and the ocean to the animals and plants that live there. They have even been found in human tissue and the bloodstream where they likely have adverse effects. While biodegradable plastics and even cellulose-derived plastics are not new, most plastics labeled “biodegradable” do not degrade in marine environments or they take a very long time to degrade, leaving microplastics behind in the meantime.
Last year, Aida and his team developed a plastic that could quickly degrade in salt water within several hours, without leaving any microplastics behind. That plastic was a supramolecular plastic made from two polymers held together by reversible interactions. In the presence of salt water, the bonds holding the two polymers together came apart and the plastic decomposed. But this plastic wasn’t as practical as it could be for real-world manufacture.
The new plant-based plastic is similar, except that one of the two polymers is a commercially available, FDA approved, biodegradable wood-pulp derivative called carboxymethyl cellulose.... (MORE - details, no ads)