Manufacturing environmentally friendly plastic

Each year, more than 30 billion bottles of water are filled in US landfills, causing a huge environmental problem. However, if the Missouri University of Science and Technology study succeeds, future plastic bottles may actually disappear within 4 months when discarded.

The Missouri University of Science and Technology research team is creating new resins that can be biodegradable and bioavailable with an effort to reduce tons of plastic waste from national landfills. every year. Bioavailable plastics contain substances that can be absorbed by living systems in their normal physiological functions.

By combining and modifying a biologically based and oil-based natural polymer resin , the team will find a way to create optimal mixtures that can be used to make shallow coatings. industries, bottles, medicine and biomedical devices, and others.

New resins that can be biodegradable and have bioavailability are being built in an effort to reduce tons of plastic waste from national landfills each year.(Photo: iStockphoto / Martin Bowker)

Under the direction of Dr. KB Lee - Professor of Chemical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, the team is working to improve the properties of resins that can be degraded. for products outside reality. That is why the research team is examining how bio-based inert materials - such as starch and fiber - can be included in cost reduction within commercial production applications. trade.

The team is also very interested in combining Glycerin - a key product of biodiesel - into new plastics.

Some of the team's new plastics combine with renewable fuel sources like polylactic acid, which is made by fermenting starch. The team also pays great attention to renewable fuel sources because of their research and manufacturing efforts that also focus on the development of efficient ethanol and biodiesel production processes. and cost effective.

Mahin Shahlari - a student studying chemical engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology - said: ' Biological and chemical mechanisms are responsible for the breakdown of polymer resins . For example, everyone knows that polylactic acid will decompose within 45 to 60 days if composted at 122-140 degrees Fahrenheit. "

When polylactic acid decomposes, it reacts with water to dissociate into small molecules, which are then mineralized into water and carbon dioxide.

Shahlari explains ' In summary, the main ingredients of the breakdown of polymer resins are water and CO2. Polylatic acid has the potential to replace conventional water bottles, and we expect that our research can also be incorporated into that field. '

'We not only molded biodegradable resins available on the commercial scale, but also combined with nanotechnology, ultra-liquid fluid technology and polymerization polymerization. . Most of the things listed above are developed and developed by us. "