Turning Wood Waste into High Quality Bioplastic
News- A research team, led by Yuan Yao, assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems at Yale School of the Environment and Liangbing Hu from the University of Maryland, has created a high-quality bioplastic from wood byproducts that they hope can solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental issues
The results of this study have been published in Nature Sustainability journal. In this regard, the researchers used a wood powder — a processing residue usually discarded as waste in lumber mills — and deconstructed the porous structure of the powder with a biodegradable and recyclable solvent to produce a slurry suitable for bioplastic
The researchers say the resulting bioplastic shows a high mechanical strength, stability when holding liquids, and UV-light resistance
Yao then led a comprehensive life cycle assessment to test the environmental impacts of the bioplastic against commons plastics. Sheets of the bioplastic were buried in soil, fracturing after two weeks and completely degrading after three months; additionally, researchers say the bioplastic can be broken back down into the slurry by mechanical stirring
One area the research team continues to investigate is the potential impact on forests if the manufacturing of this bioplastic is scaled up. So, the research team has already begun working with a forest ecologist to create forest simulation models
29.03.2021
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00702-w
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