{"id":62540,"date":"2019-04-24T07:38:20","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T05:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=62540"},"modified":"2019-04-18T16:05:09","modified_gmt":"2019-04-18T14:05:09","slug":"study-shows-potential-for-earth-friendly-plastic-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/study-shows-potential-for-earth-friendly-plastic-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"Study shows potential for Earth-friendly plastic replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"

The quest to keep plastic out of landfills and simultaneously satisfy the needs of the food industry is filled with obstacles.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A biodegradable replacement for petroleum-based products has to meet all sorts of standards and, so far, attempts at viable replacements from renewable sources have faced limited success due to processing and economic constraints. Among the obstacles, products to date have been too brittle for food packaging.<\/p>\n

But new research from The Ohio State University has shown that combining natural rubber with bioplastic in a novel way results in a much stronger replacement for plastic, one that is already capturing the interest of companies looking to shrink their environmental footprints.<\/p>\n

Almost all plastics \u2013 about 90 percent \u2013 are petroleum-based and are not biodegradable, a major environmental concern.<\/p>\n

\"500_grace-253igro-200x300-178849\"
Xiaoying Zhao<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a new study published in the journal Polymers<\/em><\/a>, the research team reports success with a rubber-toughened product derived from microbial fermentation that they say could perform like conventional plastic. This new study highlights the greatest success in this area so far, according to the scientists.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrevious attempts at this combination were unsuccessful because the softness of the rubber meant the product lost a lot of strength in the process,\u201d said lead author Xiaoying Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher in Ohio State\u2019s Department of Food Science and Technology.<\/p>\n

The new study involved melting rubber into a plant-based thermoplastic called PHBV along with organic peroxide and another additive called trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA).<\/p>\n

\"500_biodegradation-312743\"
The new bioplastic and rubber blend devised by Ohio State researchers proved much more durable than the bioplastic on its own<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The end product was 75 percent tougher and 100 percent more flexible than PHBV on its own \u2013 meaning it is far easier to shape into food packaging.<\/p>\n

\"500_yael-vodovotz0223-pp-1o4jgr8-240x300-604828\"
Yael Vodovotz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other research teams have combined rubber and PHBV, but the products have been too weak to withstand all the demands of a food package \u2013 from processing, to shipping, to handling in stores and homes, especially containers that are used for freezing and then microwaving, said the study\u2019s senior author, Yael Vodovotz<\/a>, a professor of food science and technology at Ohio State.<\/p>\n

Increased flexibility, without a significant loss of strength, is particularly important when it comes to plastic films commonly used to package everything from fresh produce to frozen foods, she said.<\/p>\n

While other attempts at making this type of rubber-enhanced bioplastic have reduced the strength of the PHBV by as much as 80 percent, only 30 percent of the strength was lost in this study \u2013 a much more manageable amount, Zhao said.<\/p>\n

Toughness, which was improved, is different from strength, explained study co-author Katrina Cornish<\/a>, an expert in natural rubber and professor of horticulture and crop science at Ohio State.<\/p>\n

\"500_2015-katrinacornishosu01v22-880302\"
Katrina Cornish<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cImagine trying to pull a block of concrete apart with your hands. That\u2019s testing its strength. But karate chopping it with your hand or foot is testing its toughness \u2013 how easily it breaks,\u201d Cornish said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can never pull it apart, but if you\u2019re strong enough you can break it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the researchers\u2019 current focus is on the potential use of various biodegradable \u2013 and otherwise environmentally conscious \u2013 materials they might use as fillers to further strengthen the mix. They\u2019ve discussed using the \u201ccake\u201d left behind after a fellow researcher extracts oil from spent coffee grounds. Tomato skins are under consideration, as are eggshells.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want something that would otherwise go to waste that is sustainable and also relatively cheap,\u201d Vodovotz said.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re even looking at the potential to attack two environmental problems at once, by seeing how invasive grasses that environmentalists are yanking out of waterways might play with the rubber-infused mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could dry them, grind them up and potentially use these grasses as a fibrous filler,\u201d Vodovotz said.<\/p>\n

Beyond packaged foods, a bioplastic could potentially be used in other food-related applications such as utensils and cutting boards.<\/p>\n

And the researchers are looking to collaborate with colleagues outside of food science to consider other applications for their product, such as to create building materials, gloves for those working in food service, or parts for cars and airplanes.<\/p>\n

As the team works to move its technology out of the lab and into the food industry, there will be many details to work out depending on a company\u2019s individual priorities and concerns, Vodovotz said, and that may mean tinkering with the mix.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we get closer and closer to working with food manufacturers, there are specific questions our potential partners are asking,\u201d Vodovotz said. \u201cWe have to be very careful about what we use in this process in order to meet their needs, and they have very specific parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Center for Advanced Processing and Packaging Studies provided funding for the study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The quest to keep plastic out of landfills and simultaneously satisfy the needs of the food industry is filled with obstacles. A biodegradable replacement for petroleum-based products has to meet all sorts of standards and, so far, attempts at viable replacements from renewable sources have faced limited success due to processing and economic constraints. Among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[11270,5847,12615,7105],"supplier":[420],"class_list":["post-62540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biodegradability","tag-bioplastics","tag-microbes","tag-packaging","supplier-ohio-state-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62540"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62540\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62540"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=62540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}