While petroleum-based plastic products are currently stronger and more flexible than bioplastics, scientists in Japan are working to fix that problem.
A team from the Japan Advanced Institute of Science & Technology and the University of Tokyo have created a plastic with the highest heat resistance ever reported while using natural materials as their building blocks. This biomass-derived plastic promises more outstanding performance and paves the way toward greener production for the omnipresent material.
The most common plastics in circulation today are synthetic and derived from gas, coal, and crude oil. There are eco-friendly bioplastic alternatives, which are made from a significant range of organic matter such as fatty waste, dairy waste, used coffee grounds, sugar cane waste, starch and cellulose, seafood shell waste, algae, fish waste, banana waste, cotton waste, cactus juice, and walnuts.
In this case, the Japanese scientists made bioplastic from biomass such as eggshells, plants, by-products of tequila, and chicken feathers. This method of producing plastic reduces our reliance on fossil fuels (which involves refining in an energy-intensive process) and results in materials that do not harm the environment. Once these bioplastics serve their use, decomposing of the material is a fraction of the time.
The team focused on creating bioplastic with features that include stability at high temperatures. First, they acquired ingredients from the Kraft pulping process that turns wood into pulp, deriving two aromatic molecules known as ABA and AHBA.
These molecules are then mixed with recombinant microorganisms and other chemicals to produce polymers, which are processed into a thermo-resistant film. The final result is a lightweight organic plastic created without heavy inorganic fillers and the highest heat resistance of any plastic ever recorded, enduring more than 1,364°F (740°C).
The team believes that eventually, the technique could be applied to other plastic types to improve their quality and performance.
The scientists concluded:
This innovative macromolecular design increases thermo-resistance and can be widely applied to well‐processable plastics for the production of lightweight materials and is expected to contribute to the development of a more sustainable society.
The findings were published on October 13 in Advanced Sustainable Systems.
