Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
2007: Metabolix inc. market tests its first 100% biodegradable plastic called Mirel, made from corn sugar fermentation and genetically engineered bacteria. (Digregorio 2009) [ 100 ] 2012: A bioplastic is developed from seaweed proving to be one of the most environmentally friendly bioplastics based on research published in the journal of ...
Furthermore, active research is being carried out for the biotransformation "upcycling" of plastic waste (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate and polyurethane) into PHA using Pseudomonas putida bacteria. [17] A PHA copolymer called PHBV (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)) is less stiff and tougher, and it may be used as packaging material.
Polymer engineering is generally an engineering field that designs, analyses, and modifies polymer materials. Polymer engineering covers aspects of the petrochemical industry, polymerization, structure and characterization of polymers, properties of polymers, compounding and processing of polymers and description of major polymers, structure property relations and applications.
A plastic is considered a bioplastic if it was produced partly or wholly with biologically sourced polymers. A plastic is considered biodegradable if it can degrade into water, carbon dioxide, and biomass in a given time frame (dependent on different standards). Thus, the terms are not synonymous. Not all bioplastics are biodegradable. [44]
The monomer is typically made from fermented plant starch such as from corn, cassava, sugarcane or sugar beet pulp. Several industrial routes afford usable (i.e. high molecular weight) PLA. Two main monomers are used: lactic acid, and the cyclic di-ester, lactide.
Biopolymers (also called renewable polymers) are produced from biomass for use in the packaging industry. Biomass comes from crops such as sugar beet, potatoes, or wheat: when used to produce biopolymers, these are classified as non food crops. These can be converted in the following pathways: Sugar beet > Glyconic acid > Polyglyconic acid
To customize the properties of a plastic, different molecular groups called side chains hang from this backbone; they are usually attached to the monomers before the monomers themselves are linked together to form the polymer chain. The structure of these side chains influences the properties of the polymer.
Other monomer units, such as formaldehyde hydrates or simple aldehydes, are able to polymerize themselves at quite low temperatures (ca. −80 °C) to form trimers; [3] molecules consisting of 3 monomer units, which can cyclize to form ring cyclic structures, or undergo further reactions to form tetramers, [3] or 4 monomer-unit compounds.