Madrid. Scientists at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a new plastic similar to PET, which is easily made from the inedible parts of plants.
It is tough, heat resistant and a good barrier against gases such as oxygen, making it a promising candidate for food packaging, and also because of its structure it can be chemically recycled and degraded to harmless sugars in the environment. ambient.
The technique consists of adding an organic compound (aldehyde) in the production process that allows “stabilizing certain fractions of plant material and preventing its destruction during extraction,” as explained in a statement.
“Using this simple technique, we can convert up to 25 percent of the weight of agricultural waste, or 95 percent of purified sugar, into plastic,” says one of the study’s authors, Lorenz Manker.
Jeremy Luterbacher, from EPFL’s School of Basic Sciences, who led the research, stresses that it is a “unique” plastic because it keeps the sugar structure intact.
Video #1 from our new PET story @JLuterbacher: The synthesis of the polymer, towards the end of the reaction. Credit: Lorenz Manker.
full-story: https://t.co/CJJeWWIUWJ pic.twitter.com/ElN71qJWls
— EPFL Basic Sciences (@epflSB) June 27, 2022
Lignocellulosic biomass
According to the authors, it is becoming increasingly clear that moving away from fossil fuels and avoiding the accumulation of plastics in the environment is essential to meet the challenge of climate change. In this sense, considerable efforts are made to develop degradable or recyclable polymers from non-edible plant material, called “lignocellulosic biomass”.
They point out that producing competitive plastics based on biomass is not easy. Conventional plastics are widespread because they combine low cost, thermal stability, mechanical strength, processability and compatibility, characteristics that any alternative substitute must match or exceed, so the task has been a challenge until now.
“Basically, we just have to ‘cook’ wood or other inedible plant material, such as agricultural waste, into cheap chemicals to produce the plastic precursor in one step. By keeping the sugar structure intact within the plastic molecule, the chemistry is much simpler than current alternatives,” Luterbacher explained.
Video #2 from our new PET story @JLuterbacher: Processing of the plastic by extrusion to make fibers for 3D-printing. Credit: Maxime Hedou
full-story: https://t.co/CJJeWWIUWJ pic.twitter.com/khnoFCQFxP
— EPFL Basic Sciences (@epflSB) June 27, 2022
The technique builds on a discovery that Luterbacher and colleagues published in 2016, in which the addition of an aldehyde could stabilize certain fractions of plant material and prevent its destruction during extraction. By reusing this chemistry, the researchers were able to reconstruct a new bio-based chemical useful as a precursor to plastic.
“Using a different aldehyde – glyoxylic acid instead of formaldehyde – we were able to simply attach ‘sticky’ groups to both sides of the sugar molecules, allowing them to act as plastic building blocks,” added Manker.
The comprehensive properties of these plastics could allow their use in applications ranging from packaging and textiles to medicine and electronics. Researchers have already made films for packaging, fibers that could be spun into clothing or other fabrics, and filaments for 3D printing.
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