Plastic from plants? University of Florida researchers have found an inexpensive way to make plastic from discarded plant material, such as yard waste, and thus avoid using food or fuel to make this popular alternative to paper. Previous efforts to make bio-plastics from plant material failed because they didn't produce enough lactic acid to form the requisite long chains of molecules. UF researchers found that adding calcium carbonate to the process solved that problem, and the result is a biodegradable, recyclable and affordable plastic. They said using straw as a raw material is 13 times less expensive than sugar and five times less expensive than corn or wheat.
"If we can save some of our oil and turn our plants into our plastic cups and packaging, then we can increase our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil," Mark Ou, a UF biological scientist and the study's lead author, said in announcing the findings.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2011/05/bioplastic-made-from-plant-yard-waste/1
No comments:
Post a Comment