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Bioplastic Innovations

        Why are landfills being overfilled with so much trash and plastics? Why is trash being diposed into the ocean?  Trash is polluting the Earth and ocean because plastics do not break down their chemicals quickly as natural materials do. Plastics are made from petroleum, which is not a natural material from the Earth. It does not particularly immediately dispose since it is not derived from natural resources but engineered with chemicals to last.  Burning plastics can release toxic chemicals like dioxins into the atmosphere. Recycling can be complicated because of the complicated organization that has to been done. A single plastic bag can take five hundred years to fully decompose and as a result landfills become overcrowded leading to disposing it in the ocean.  Today, so much plastic is being used for food packaging, shopping bags, and packing products. For instance, Great Britain alone uses about 8 million plastics per a year. Gigantic piles of trash are being disposed in the ocean to be laid to waste. Bioplastics serve as a substitute for plastics because  it is made from natural materials that can degrade. It is made from corn starch and other natural resources. Bioplastics can completely compose and does not harm the environment, thus making it completely beneficial.  Bioplastic innovations purpose is to eliminate trash that overfills landfills and help improve  environmental issues like dumping wastes into the ocean. (BI 1)

What is the Purpose for Bioplastic Innovations?

Bioplastic Innovators

Universities

At the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom, bioengineers have begun to extract chitin from shrimp shells to innovate nano composite bioplastics to make biodegradable shopping bags and food packaging for Egypt. The chitin is removed by acid to remove the backbone of the crustacean shell, which is calcium carbonated first and then alkali, to produce a long molecular chain that will make the bioplastic. (BU 1)

Scientists at the University of Bath, United Kingdom have developed a way to invent a sustainable bioplastic. The process includes pinene from pine needles that can be found on a pine tree. Pinene is to be turned into a rubber polymer that can replace carpolctone. Since most degradable bioplastics are made from crude oil, this one will not be. The pinene bioplastic will not only be used for food packaging and plastic bags but also be an alternative to petrochemicals.(BU 2)

Scientists

BI 3: Engineering students, Esbeydhy Oyuky Yescas and Marlen Hernández from Technological University of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca, has innovated bioplastic from oat starch from oat grains. The characteristics of this product is it physically, chemically, and has other properties that taste and smell like packaged goods. This product also contains antimicrobial molecules that prevents shelved foods from being perished. It is completely 100% biodegradable in just after four months. Yescas and Hernández won a national innovation contest, encouraging more developments of bioplastics and gained resources for funding. (BI 3)

BI 4:Amin Hataman, a 15 year old boy, that currently studies at Fountain International School at San Juan City, Manila, Philippines. He has conducted a research on functions and properties of plastics, in order to have invented biodegradable bags made of nata de coco. Hataman's innovation, his degradable bag denigrates after several days in exposure to elements. Amin not only won the science competition at school but his teacher was so impressed that she entered it in international contests, which made his invention internationally recognized twice. Amin won a gold medal in the International Young Inventors Olympiad and a bronze medal from International Sustainable World Energy, Engineering, and Environment Project for his invention on bioplastic bags. (BI 4)

BI 5: Lisa Davies, a 14 year old, that goes to school in Monmouth, United Kingdom, has invented Xorbit. Xorbit is a car dehumidifier that also serves as an air freshener that fits neatly in cup holders. Her invention is entirely eco-friendly because it is made of silica gel, PLA, a bioplastic and wood that has a pleasant fragrance on it which makes this compostable. Lisa defeated over 200 finalists from across the United Kingdom to win the title Junior Engineer of the Year at the Big Bang Fair that was located at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC). Daives left an impression on the judges even after the competition that they encouraged her to keep going. (BI 5)

Green Dot Bioplastics, a bioplastic company, innovated traditional plastic pots for planting made from 80 percent of reclaimed and biobased components, Terratek® BD2114. The Terratek® BD2114 reduces greenhouse water consumption by as much as 600 percent and retains moisture within the plant's soil.  This allows the plant not to be watered often since the invention does not absorb the water. This plant pot degrades once the plant is not living any longer, 18 months, it varies on the environment and part size too. The biodegradable planting pot is meant to be an alternative to a horticultural pot which is why it has similar effects to it but is much better for the environment. (BC 1)

Total Corbion PLA, a Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) company has formally announced it will soon be producing and manufacturing PLA (bioplastic polymer) from their polymerization plants. PLA is a biobased and bioplastic polymer made from renewed sources. The polymerization plant has the capability of growing 750,000 tons of PLA that is to have functional properties like gloss, stiffness, and transparency. The PLA is biodegradable which can decompose limiting the toxic wastes on earth. Corbion wants to supply their customers with a innovative product that acquires value and will benefit to the environment. (BC 2)

Japan Bioplastic Association, founded in 1989 as Biodegradable Plastics Society, and is a private organization that promotes  biomass-based and biodegradable plastic also new technologies relevant to bioplastics. It has innovated many Green PLA and Biomass PLA products. Green PLA has chitosan, cellulose, and starch compound as its main properties,which results to biodegradable plastic. Some of their products that is manufactured with Green PLA is their biodegradable bags, garden pots, and Eco-Envelopes. When the product is done being used they are recycled into nature as water and carbon dioxide. Biomass PlA are composed of materials which contains renewable organic materials, like  natural organic polymers, that is not chemically modified. For instance, some products already innovated and that contains biomass PLA is markers, seaweed, and stationary items. When these products are no longer at use they slowly begin to compose by themselves. Japan Bioplastic Association aims to solve environmental issues such as global warming by promoting their bioplastic innovations. (BO 1)

European Bioplastic Association, a organization in Europe, with many partners, has innovated plastic micro particles (microbeads) for cosmetic products like lip gloss, creams, and shampoos to solve litter problems in marines and pollution on Earth. The inventor is an Italian developer at Bio-On S.p.A, who is apart of this association. The plastic micro particles innovation is called Minerv PHA Bio Cosmetic (type C1) and is designed to be completely bio-based and biodegradable. This products has the capability of binding active molecules and antioxidants,,like vitamins, proteins, and Coenzyme 10 ,transporting them to where cosmetics are usually applied. Minverv PHA (type C1) is produced from agricultural wastes, molasses, sugar canes, and sugar beet syrups. It can break down chemically in water as well as on land, which does not harm sea creatures or the environment. (BO 2)

Companies

Organizations

BI 1: A chemist and professor, Mark MacLachan, from University of British Columbia, has developed a process to make bioplastic from not only shrimp shells but also crab and  lobster shells to reduce waste. The chemistry needed to transform the shells into bioplastic is not complicated. Crustacean shells are first processed to remove minerals and proteins which then results into chitin. Afterwards, the chitin is used to form bioplastic because it is a highly abundant polymer that has the potential to make durable bioplastic. He also discovered when chitin is heated in a nitrogen atmosphere at 900 Celuis it can create a nitogen-doped carbon that is used to make electrodes for batteries  The resulting bioplastic materials and products are biodegradable. (BI 1.1)  (BI 1.2)

Scientists from Standford University have developed a method to make bioplastic from carbon dioxide derived from inedible plants to replace petroleum (PET) products called Polyethylene Furandicarboxylic (PEF). PEF is composed of ethylene glycol and 2-5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). In order for it to be cheaper and available for more plastics industry, one method is to convert the fructose from corn syrup to FDCA.This innovation that is a solution to CO2 requiring hazardous chemicals which are not only expensive to make but also requires tremendous energy, was created by a graduate student from Standford, Aanindeeta Banerjee. Once combining carbonate with CO2 and furoic acid, afterwards heating the mixture at 290 Fahrenheit, forming molten salt eventually after five hours the salt then becomes FDCA. By incineration, it can be converted back into the atmosphere or recycled. (BU 3)

BI 2: Eugene Chen, a chemistry professor and his fellow Miao Hong from Colorado State University, developed a bioplastic polymer made of a small molecule called Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL). GBL is a colorless liquid and common chemical reagent from a top 12 biomass compound that has a high capability to replace petrochemicals, according to the Department of Energy. Originally, this molecule was opposed to the idea that it can be made into a polymer because it has too many different states and conditions for it to be polymerize. Chen and Miao also discovered how to get the polymers to take different shapes by experimenting with it in metal-based and metal-free catalysts to produce a  polymer named poly(GBL) which is similar to poly(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P4HB). P4HB is more complicate to form than other plastics since it is made from bacteria and can be pricey. GBL serves as alternative to P4HB and also a biorenewable and recyclable polymer. (BI 2)

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