{"id":92436,"date":"2021-07-14T07:32:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=92436"},"modified":"2021-07-09T14:24:25","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T12:24:25","slug":"researchers-create-new-polymer-film-from-plant-protein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/researchers-create-new-polymer-film-from-plant-protein\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers create new polymer film from plant protein"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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In an article published<\/a> on 10 June in Nature Communications<\/em>, researchers at the University of Cambridge Knowles Lab describe how they are able to create a polymer film from plant protein that is sustainable, scalable and 100 percent natural.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Made entirely from plant protein which can be sourced as a by-product of the agriculture industry, the resulting material can be consumed in nature after use like any natural waste, leaving no pollutants behind. The material\u2019s functionality is consistent with conventional plastic, but it requires no chemical cross-linking used in bio-polymers to give them the strength and flexibility of plastic. The chemicals used in cross-linking are often unsustainable and can even leave toxic pollutants behind once disposed of.

The research shows how the scientists are able to naturally assemble plant proteins so the final structure is very similar to spider silk. The breakthrough is the first time these structures have been shown in a material that derives from plant protein. Through a process involving acetic acid and water, ultrasonication and heat, the plant proteins are transformed in an energy-efficient way using easily obtainable, sustainable ingredients.

Xampla, the Cambridge University spin-out commercialising the technology, is developing its applications to replace single-use plastics including flexible packaging films, sachets, microcapsules found in home and personal care products, and carrier bags.

The paper is the culmination of more than 10 years\u2019 research into understanding how nature generates materials from proteins.

The scientists were inspired by spiders\u2019 silk which is weight-for-weight stronger than steel but has weak molecular bonds, meaning it can break down easily. They sought to understand the building blocks of this natural phenomenon, with the aim to create a material with the same molecular properties.

Professor Tuomas Knowles who led the research said: \u201cOne of the key breakthroughs is that we can supply this product on a large scale, and it can replace plastic in very specific applications. We have proved it\u2019s possible to solve the single-use plastics problem.\u201d

Dr Marc Rodriguez Garcia, co-author of the paper and Xampla\u2019s Head of Research said: \u201cIt\u2019s amazing to realise that a discovery you make in a lab can have a big impact on solving a global problem. That\u2019s essentially why we are doing this \u2013 we really love the science, but we also wanted to do something meaningful about solving the overwhelming problem of plastic waste.\u201d

Sian Sutherland, Co-Founder of international campaign group A Plastic Planet said: \u201cThis is a huge breakthrough for all the naysayers who want to back the status quo and still tout recycling as the answer to the plastic crisis.

\u201cWe have to be forward-looking. We have to get excited about new technologies and materials because these are the innovations that will break our addiction to plastic. This is what the future must be about \u2013 no greenwashing, no fossil fuel reliance and new, scalable technologies that put the planet first.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an article published on 10 June in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Cambridge Knowles Lab describe how they are able to create a polymer film from plant protein that is sustainable, scalable and 100 percent natural. Made entirely from plant protein which can be sourced as a by-product of the agriculture industry, […]<\/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":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"New paper is the culmination of more than 10 years\u2019 research into understanding how nature generates materials from proteins","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[5838,5847,7105,12417],"supplier":[14258,1311,18756],"class_list":["post-92436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-bioeconomy","tag-bioplastics","tag-packaging","tag-proteins","supplier-a-plastic-planet","supplier-university-of-cambridge-uk","supplier-xampla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92436","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=92436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92436\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92436"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=92436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}