New material from natural substitute plastics

At a research institute in Brindisi, eastern Italy, people are cooking a special thing in a large saucepan, not a traditional pasta but an organic plasticizer.

In this way, EU-Project scientists hope to create new materials from nature instead of conventional plastics.

Andrea Ferrari, co-ordinator of Woody Project D'Appolonia SaP, explained: "In the cooking pot is natural cotton and natural resin, its product is pure organic plastic. We will also soon replace greasy materials with pure natural materials. Next, we can produce plastic made from sugar. This road is of course not produced in the food industry. "

Before organic plastics are marketed, it must be tested, evaluated for hardness, durability, elasticity and comparable to conventional plastics.

Andrea Salomi, engineer at the Italian research institute CETMA, says: "In terms of mechanical properties, this natural material is weaker than conventional plastics. It is more prone to bending and is not really durable. But that does not mean they are less useful. The final product on the market will determine its applicability. "

The idea of using the product from natural plastics is no less - it can be used to make car equipment, instrument details, as well as building materials.

At present, people are trying to improve the quality of this material. Hopefully next year, it will become a high quality product at a reasonable price. Natural products cost between 20 and 25 percent more than conventional plastics, meaning 30 to 40 cents per kilogram.