Biodegradable plastic made from bamboo is strong and easy to recycle

Bamboo plants are a fast-growing renewable resource.

James Freeman / Alami

Hard plastic made from bamboo is as strong and durable as regular plastics used in appliances and car interiors, for example, but is also recyclable and easily biodegradable. in the soil.

Plastics derived from biological matter or bioplasticare becoming increasingly popular, but they still only make up about half a percent of the more than 400 million tons of plastic produced each year. This is partly because bioplastics lack the mechanical strength of many petroleum-based plastics and are not easy to use in conventional manufacturing processes.

Now, Dawei Zhao from Shenyang University of Chemical Technology in China and colleagues have developed a method for producing plastic from bamboo-derived cellulose that can match or exceed the properties of many commonly used plastics.

“Bamboo's rapid growth makes it a highly renewable resource, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional wood sources, but its current applications are still largely limited to more traditional woven products,” says Zhao.

Zhao and his team first treated the bamboo by adding zinc chloride and a simple acid, which breaks strong chemical bonds and creates a soup of smaller cellulose molecules. They then added ethanol, which causes the cellulose molecules to rearrange themselves into a strong, hardened plastic.

The plastic's strength is comparable to commonly used engineering plastics – durable plastics used in vehicles, appliances and construction, he says. Andrew Dove from the University of Birmingham, UK, who was not involved in the study.

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Bamboo plastic sheet

Dawei Zhao

However, its rigidity also means that its potential applications are not the widest. “This is not something that will challenge the use of the main plastics that we use in packaging, such as polyethylene and polypropylene,” says Dove. “But while the company is targeting a smaller set of engineering plastics, it could still help alleviate some of the supplier challenges that exist for a traditional company. [plastics] in this area.”

Although it is not as cheap as some of the most commonly used plastics, Zhao and his team found that it can be fully recycled while retaining 90 percent of its original strength, which could make it more economically attractive. They also report that it biodegrades within 50 days, although this claim has not stood up to scrutiny. other biodegradable plastics.

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