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Bioplastics called drop-in bioplastics are chemically identical to their fossil-fuel counterparts but made from renewable resources. Examples include bio-PE , bio-PET , bio-propylene , bio-PP , [ 20 ] and biobased nylons.
There is also much debate about the total carbon, fossil fuel and water usage in manufacturing biodegradable bioplastics from natural materials and whether they are a negative impact to human food supply. To make 1 kg (2.2 lb) of polylactic acid, the most common commercially available compostable plastic, 2.65 kg (5.8 lb) of corn is required. [57]
The plant- and fossil-fuel-based versions are chemically indistinguishable—the only way to tell the difference is through radiocarbon dating (carbon molecules extracted from fossil fuels are ...
While most plastics are produced from petrochemicals, bioplastics are made substantially from renewable plant materials like cellulose and starch. [27] Due both to the finite limits of fossil fuel reserves and to rising levels of greenhouse gases caused primarily by the burning of those fuels, the development of bioplastics is a growing field.
Whether a material is biodegradable is determined by its chemical structure, not the origin of the material from which it is made. [14] Indeed, the sustainability benefits of drop-in biobased plastics occur at the beginning of the material life cycle, but still, when manufactured, their structure is identical to their fossil-based counterparts ...
A PHA copolymer called PHBV (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)) is less stiff and tougher, and it may be used as packaging material. In June 2005, US company Metabolix , Inc. received the US Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (small business category) for their development and commercialisation of a cost-effective method ...
Scientists have found the U.K.’s largest dinosaur footprint site ever. The tracks were discovered in a quarry in Oxfordshire — about 60 miles northwest of London — by quarry employee Gary ...
Accelerated soil burial tests are used to record the degradation process of the plastic in the ground by replicating the conditions of a landfill, a typical disposal site for plastics. These tests are used after the service life of the material has been depleted, and the next step for the material is disposal.