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Tag: biodegradable plastic

Sustainable Mushroom Coffins – Human Compost

Posted on by dishanth
Sustainable Mushroom Coffins – Human Compost

Sustainable Mushroom Coffins

Mushroom coffins are made from mycelium, the vegetative part of fungi. The mycelium is grown around a mold of the desired shape and then dried, forming a sturdy, biodegradable material that can be used as an alternative to traditional coffins. These coffins are available in various shapes and sizes and can even be customized to suit individual preferences.

The coffin is designed to decompose quickly and enrich the soil. When buried, the mycelium in the coffin will break down organic matter, including human remains, into nutrients and minerals that nourish plants. It can also improve soil quality by breaking down toxic chemicals and pollutants in the soil, making it healthier for future growth.

 

Benefits Compared to Traditional Coffins

Reduced Carbon Emissions: Traditional coffins made of wood and metal are known to produce large amounts of carbon emissions during production and transportation. On the other hand, sustainable mushroom coffins are made of natural materials and require less energy to manufacture, resulting in lower carbon emissions.

Cost-effectiveness: Sustainable mushroom coffins are also more cost-effective than traditional coffins. While traditional coffins can be expensive due to the use of expensive materials and the cost of labour, mushroom coffins are much cheaper to produce, making them more affordable for families looking for sustainable alternatives.

Sustainable Use of Natural Resources: Sustainable mushroom coffins are also better for the environment because they utilize renewable natural resources and do not require harmful chemicals or pesticides to grow. Additionally, they help reduce the waste generated from traditional burial practices.

 

Composting Human Remains

Human compost is converting human remains, such as bones and tissue, into nutrient-rich soil using the same principles of composting used to fertilize gardens. It involves placing the body in a container filled with organic material like wood chips, straw, or sawdust. Oxygen and moisture encourage decomposition, resulting in nutrient-rich soil that nourishes plants.

Human compost is a more sustainable option than traditional burial and cremation practices. Traditional burial practices involve embalming fluids containing harmful chemicals that can seep into the soil and water supply. Conversely, cremation requires large amounts of energy to burn the body, which contributes to carbon emissions.

Human compost produces significantly less carbon emissions than traditional burial and cremation practices. Unlike cremation, human composting does not require high levels of energy use. Instead, the decomposition process occurs naturally, requiring only minimal energy input.

Human compost produces nutrient-rich soil that can be used to grow plants, trees, and other vegetation. This helps to replenish the soil and promote healthy plant growth.

The use of compost from human remains also helps prevent soil erosion. This is because compost has properties that help to retain moisture and reduce runoff, which can help prevent soil erosion.

If you are interested in using sustainable death practices like sustainable mushroom coffins and human compost, it is important to research and find a provider that offers these options in your jurisdiction. Discussing these options with your loved ones is also important so that your wishes can be honoured when the time comes.

While death is a reality for all of us, we can still make choices that positively impact the environment even after we are gone. By choosing sustainable death practices, we can make a more meaningful contribution to the planet, leaving behind a legacy of environmental consciousness and stewardship.

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

Eco-Friendly Crab Shell BioPlastic Wrap

Posted on by dishanth
Eco-Friendly Crab Shell BioPlastic Wrap

Recently, there has been a growing demand for eco-friendly alternatives to plastic. One promising option is a new type of crab shell bioplastic wrap made from waste grab shells and wood pulp. This new film is flexible, transparent, and can be used to wrap food like plastic wrap. It is also biodegradable and compostable, making it a more sustainable option for food packaging.

Crab Shell BioPlastic Wrap

The new crab shell bioplastic wrap is made by spraying alternating layers of chitin and cellulose fibres sourced from discarded crab shells and wood pulp, respectively, onto a polylactic acid (PLA) base. Chitin is a natural polymer that is found in the exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans. Cellulose is a natural polymer that is found in the cell walls of plants. PLA is a bio-based plastic that is made from renewable resources, such as corn starch.

The new plastic wrap has a number of advantages over traditional plastic wrap. It is made from renewable resources, is biodegradable and compostable, and does not release harmful toxins into the environment. It is also transparent, flexible, and odourless.

The main material that the new plastic wrap is compared to is PET or polyethylene terephthalate. It is one of the most common petroleum-based materials used in transparent packaging, such as vending machines and soft drink bottles. The material showed up to a 67 percent reduction in oxygen permeability compared to some forms of PET. This means that the new plastic wrap could, in theory, keep foods fresher for longer.

In addition to plastic film, PET plastic is used in a variety of applications, including:

  • Bottles: PET is the most common material used for beverage bottles, such as water, soda, and juice. It is also used for some food packaging, such as salad dressing and oil bottles.
  • Fibres: PET is used to make a variety of fibres, including polyester, which is used in clothing, carpets, and other textiles.
  • Films: PET makes various films, including food packaging, insulation, and tapes.
  • Other applications: PET is also used in various other applications, such as electronics, automotive parts, and construction materials.

The new plastic wrap is still in its early stages of development, but it can potentially be a major breakthrough in the fight against plastic pollution. As the technology continues to develop, it is likely to become more widely available and replace traditional plastic wrap in a number of applications.

 

Benefits of Using Crab Shell BioPlastic Wrap:

There are a number of benefits to using crab shell bioplastic wrap. These benefits include:

  • It is made from renewable resources: Eco-friendly plastic wrap is made from renewable resources, such as crab shells and wood pulp. This means that it does not contribute to the depletion of fossil fuels.
  • It is biodegradable and compostable: Eco-friendly plastic wrap is biodegradable and compostable. This means it will not harm the environment when disposed of.
  • It does not release harmful toxins into the environment: Eco-friendly plastic wrap does not release harmful toxins into the environment as it decomposes. This means that it is safe for people and animals.

 

Challenges of Using Crab Shell BioPlastic Wrap:

There are a few challenges to using crab shell bioplastic wrap. These include:

  • It is still in its early stages of development: Eco-friendly plastic wrap is still in its early stages of development. This means that it is not yet as widely available as traditional plastic wrap.
  • It can be more expensive than traditional plastic wrap: Eco-friendly plastic wrap can be more expensive than traditional plastic wrap. This is because it is made from renewable resources and is biodegradable.

Overall, eco-friendly plastic wrap is a promising alternative to traditional plastic wrap. It is made from renewable resources, is biodegradable and compostable, and does not release harmful toxins into the environment. As the technology continues to develop, it is likely to become more widely available and to replace traditional plastic wrap in a number of applications.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Superglue can be turned into a recyclable, cheap, oil-free plastic alternative

Posted on by dishanth
Superglue can be turned into a recyclable, cheap, oil-free plastic alternative

Our team used superglue as a starting material to develop a low-cost, recyclable and easily produced transparent plastic called polyethyl cyanoacrylate that has properties similar to those of plastics used for single-use products like cutlery, cups and packaging. Unlike most traditional plastics, this new plastic can be easily converted back to its starting materials, even when combined with unwashed municipal plastic waste.

To make a plastic from superglue, we first had to address the very issue that makes superglue so “super” – it sticks to just about everything. When superglue is used to stick something together, it is actually reacting with moisture in the air or on the surface of whatever is being glued together. This reaction forms molecular chains of repeating superglue units called polymers. The polymers made when gluing something together are short and don’t bind to each other well, which makes the glue brittle and easy to break.

While short polymers are good for glue, long polymers have more binding locations and result in stronger materials. Our team realized that if we could create longer versions of the same type of polymers made from superglue, we might be able to produce a strong plastic.

The way we make these plastics is relatively simple when compared with how other types of plastics are made – we simply mixed acetone and a little bit of an eco-friendly catalyst into store-bought superglue. Once this mixture dries, it produces a solid, glassy plastic made up of long polymer chains.

In our lab, we can easily produce up to 10 pounds of this material in a matter of days and turn it into usable products. By pouring the mixture into molds before it dries, we can make plastic objects in many shapes, like bowls and cutlery. We also discovered that heating up the plastic after it dries not only allowed us to shape the material into other products, but also strengthened the plastic.

Why it matters

When manufacturers need to produce a stiff plastic object – like cutlery, disposable razors, CD cases or plastic models – they often turn to polystyrene. Polystyrene is one of the most widely produced and least recycled types of plastic.

Because our superglue plastic has properties similar to polystyrene – it is light, durable, cheap and easy to mass-produce – it could replace polystyrene in many products. But there are two distinct benefits of our superglue-based material: It isn’t made from oil and is easy to recycle.

When our material is heated to 410 degrees Fahrenheit (210 C), the long molecule chains made of repeating superglue units break apart into their small, individual superglue molecules. At this point, the superglue molecules turn into a vapor that is easy to separate out from a mixed waste stream of other plastics, paper, food residue, aluminum and other refuse commonly found in recycling waste streams. Once you collect the superglue vapor, you can cool it and turn it right back into our new plastic with over 90% efficiency.

What’s next?

Since superglue is inexpensive and already produced on an industrial scale, we imagine our method of creating superglue plastics should be easy to scale up. Finally, the machinery used to make superglue could also be used to recycle the superglue plastics and could be simply adapted into existing industrial processes.

Finding a replacement for polystyrene is a big step toward sustainable plastics, but polystyrene is only one of thousands of plastics used today. Our team is now designing superglue-based plastics with properties that resemble other kinds of commodity plastics, while still being easy to produce and recycle.

 

 

 

 

Source World Economic Forum

Packaging Solutions You Can Eat

Posted on by dishanth
Packaging Solutions You Can Eat

Tomorrow Machine has designed GoneShells, a biodegradable juice bottle made from potato starch.

Most of the packaging we use today is single-use, meaning it’s meant to serve one purpose and then discarded after. On top of that, a lot of the packaging cannot be recycled due to the assortment of materials used to make them. Globally, we produce about 400 million tons of plastic waste yearly and the plastic containers we throw away take up to 450 years to degrade. A Swedish product design studio specializing in package, product and food concepts may have a sustainable solution to our wasteful plastic consumption.

The designers have created GoneShells, a biodegradable juice bottle. The bottle is made from a potato-starch material and coated in a bio-based water-resistant barrier on both the inside and outside to preserve the liquid it contains. The packaging can be home-composted, eaten or dissolved in water. The bottle is designed to be peeled into a spiral formation, similar to peeling an orange. Doing so breaks the barrier and immediately begins the material’s decomposition process. As long as the decomposition process isn’t activated, the packaging works similarly to a traditional plastic bottle.

The product was designed to tackle landfill waste and address the lack of recycling and industrial compositing facilities in some parts of the world. The designers also wanted to create packaging that would last the same amount of time as the contents inside. The designers are also using existing equipment designed to process fossil fuel-based thermoplastics. These methods and inexpensive raw materials will help bring GoneShells to markets. The only other thing the designers are working on to make this packaging 100% sustainable is the foiling letters that appear on the bottles. They are working on a printing solution that will follow the bottle concept.

Tomorrow Machine is also known for its This Too Shall Pass line, where the packaging is made with the same short life span as the food they contain. Their olive oil packaging is made out of caramelized sugar coated with wax. To use the contents inside, you crack it open like an egg. Once it is open, the wax no longer protects, and sugar and the package will melt when it comes in contact with water. Their smoothie packaging is made of agar-agar seaweed gel, and water is designed for drinks with a short life and needs refrigeration. It can be opened like a juice box by picking the top. Like the GoneShells, their packaging for Basmati Rice is wrapped in beeswax and can be opened by peeling the packaging.

Tomorrow Machine has a very innovative way to reduce single-use waste. By introducing GoneShells to markets worldwide, we can reduce the raw materials used to produce plastic and drastically minimize the waste that ends up in the landfill every year.

 

 

 

 

Source Happy Eco News

 

Using Light to Convert Lignin into Sustainable Plastic

Posted on by dishanth
Using Light to Convert Lignin into Sustainable Plastic

Its biochemical cousin cellulose, a byproduct of the paper and wood milling industry, is well known to many people. But, according to industry analysts, the same procedures generate 50 million tons of lignin each year. 98% of the inky liquid is burnt to create electricity once it has been distilled.

Researchers have been looking for more effective and sustainable methods to turn this naturally occurring polymer into a cleaner and greener building block for use in developing next-generation materials.

According to a new study published in the journal ACS Central Science, scientists at Boston College have created a method for turning lignin into eco-friendly plastics using light.

The scientists then transformed the oligomers into eco-friendly plastics by reacting with crosslinkers, a molecular glue, according to the study. The oligomers produced by the catalyst have distinct chemical structures, allowing the plastics produced in this way to be chemically broken down back into the oligomers and reformed from the oligomers and the crosslinker.

The research advances a viable strategy for the circular plastic economy, a system of waste-free polymer production and reuse, according to the study co-author Dunwei Wang, the Margaret A. and Thomas A. Vanderslice Chair in Chemistry at Boston College.

Wang and Niu, both interested in creating sustainable materials, chose the project based on Wang’s experience in utilizing photocatalysis to induce chemical transformations and Niu’s work of creating recyclable polymers.

Wang added, “The pleasant surprise was the level of controls we were able to exert in decomposing lignin, which is a biopolymer that is notorious for its difficulty to break down. Such a level of control paves the way for downstream applications.”

The study team wants to improve the novel technique for turning lignin into environmentally sustainable plastics that are easy to recycle chemically.

Graduate students Gavin Giardino and Hongyang Wang, along with former post-doctoral researchers Rong Chen and Cangjie Yang, are also co-authors of the study with Niu and Wang.

 

 

 

 

Source AZoMaterial

Plastic pollution: This tiny worm can dissolve plastic bags with its drool

Posted on by dishanth
Plastic pollution: This tiny worm can dissolve plastic bags with its drool

A tiny wax worm can dissolve plastic pollution with its saliva, new research has found.

Plastic can take up to 1000 years to decompose, clogging up landfill and polluting the ocean.

But climate campaigners have recruited an unlikely new ally in their fight to reduce this waste – wax worms, the moth larvae that infest beehives.

The worm’s saliva contains two enzymes that can degrade polyethylene, a tough material used in plastic bags and bottles.

According to Spanish researchers, one hour’s exposure to the worm’s saliva degrades the material as much as years of weathering.

The impetus for the study came in 2017 when a scientist – and amateur beekeeper – was cleaning out an infested hive.

The larvae had started eating holes in a plastic refuse bag.

“To the best of our knowledge, these enzymes (in the saliva) are the first animal enzymes with this capability, opening the way to potential solutions for plastic waste management through bio-recycling/up-cycling,” the research report – published in Nature this month – reads.

 

Scientists have discovered that enzymes in wax worm saliva dissolve plastic

 

How bad is plastic for the planet?

Humans have littered the entire planet with damaging plastic debris.

The hardy material takes millions of years to decompose. Of the 10 billion tonnes of plastic that have ever been created, a whopping 6 billion sits in landfill sites or pollute the environment.

This has a devastating impact on wildlife – more than 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their guts.

Recycling can help mitigate some of the worst effects of plastics. Yet a 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that just 9 per cent of plastic is successfully recycled.

This is where the wax worms come in. They can help dissolve polyethylene, which accounts for roughly 30 per cent of plastic production worldwide.

Wax worms aren’t the only solution that scientists have come up with to combat our ever-growing plastic problem.

 

Plastic-munching superworms

From eating less meat to buying local ingredients, there are lots of ways to make environmentally friendly food choices. And according to a 2022 Australian study, certain types of worms can adopt an eco-diet too – but not in the way you might think.

Queensland scientists have discovered that the Zophobas morio – a type of beetle larvae commonly known as a superworm – can survive on polystyrene alone.

Over three weeks, the research team fed three groups of superworms different diets.

The worms on the plastic diet acted like “mini recycling plants,” lead author Dr Chris Rinke explains, destroying the plastic with their unique gut enzymes.

They even put on weight in the process.

“[The superworms] shred the polystyrene with their mouths and then fed it to the bacteria in their gut,” says Dr Rinke.

If scientists can work out how to grow the gut enzyme in a lab, they could use it to dissolve plastics on a mass scale, forming these byproducts into bioplastics.

“We can then look into how we can upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant,” said Co-author of the research, PhD candidate Jiarui Sun.

Given that polystyrene accounts for around one-tenth of all non-fibrous plastics, this would be a significant breakthrough.

 

 

Source euronews.green

 

 

Turning wood Into recyclable, biodegradable plastic

Posted on by dishanth
Turning wood Into recyclable, biodegradable plastic

Efforts to shift from petrochemical plastics to renewable and biodegradable plastics have proven tricky — the production process can require toxic chemicals and is expensive, and the mechanical strength and water stability is often insufficient. But researchers have made a breakthrough, using wood byproducts, that shows promise for producing more durable and sustainable bioplastics.

A study published in Nature Sustainability, co-authored by Yuan Yao, assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems at Yale School of the Environment (YSE), outlines the process of deconstructing the porous matrix of natural wood into a slurry. The researchers say the resulting material shows a high mechanical strength, stability when holding liquids, and UV-light resistance. It can also be recycled or safely biodegraded in the natural environment, and has a lower life-cycle environmental impact when compared with petroleum-based plastics and other biodegradable plastics.

“There are many people who have tried to develop these kinds of polymers in plastic, but the mechanical strands are not good enough to replace the plastics we currently use, which are made mostly from fossil fuels,” says Yao. “We’ve developed a straightforward and simple manufacturing process that generates biomass-based plastics from wood, but also plastic that delivers good mechanical properties as well.”

To create the slurry mixture, the researchers used a wood powder — a processing residue usually discarded as waste in lumber mills — and deconstructed the loose, porous structure of the powder with a biodegradable and recyclable deep eutectic solvent (DES). The resulting mixture, which features nanoscale entanglement and hydrogen bonding between the regenerated lignin and cellulose micro/nanofibrils, has a high solid content and high viscosity, which can be casted and rolled without breaking.

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, which also allows for the DES to be recovered and reused.

 

“We’ve developed a straightforward and simple manufacturing process that generates biomass-based plastics from wood, but also plastic that delivers good mechanical properties as well.” — Yuan Yao, assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems

 

“That, to me, is what really makes this plastic good: It can all be recycled or biodegraded,” says Yao. “We’ve minimized all of the materials and the waste going into nature.”

The bioplastic has numerous applications, says Liangbing Hu, a professor at the Center for Materials Innovation at the University of Maryland and co-author of the paper. It can be molded into a film that can be used in plastic bags and packaging — one of the major uses of plastic and causes of waste production. Hu also says that because the bioplastic can be molded into different shapes, it has potential for use in automobile manufacturing, as well.

One area the research team continues to investigate is the potential impact on forests if the manufacturing of this bioplastic is scaled up. While the process currently uses wood byproducts in manufacturing, the researchers say they are keenly aware that large-scale production could require usage of massive amounts of wood, which could have far-reaching implications on forests, land management, ecosystems and climate change, to name a few.

Yao says the research team has already begun working with a forest ecologist to create forest simulation models, linking the growth cycle of forests with the manufacturing process. She also sees an opportunity to collaborate with people who work in forest-related fields at YSE — an uncommon convenience.

“It’s not often an engineer can walk down the hall and talk to a forester,” says Yao.

Yao, an emerging scholar in the field of industrial ecology, joined the YSE faculty last year. Her research examines the environmental and economic impacts of emerging technologies and industrial processes., integrating interdisciplinary approaches from the fields of industrial ecology, sustainable engineering, and systems modeling to develop techniques that promote more sustainable engineering approaches and policies.

Reference: “A strong, biodegradable and recyclable lignocellulosic bioplastic” by Qinqin Xia, Chaoji Chen, Yonggang Yao, Jianguo Li, Shuaiming He, Yubing Zhou, Teng Li, Xuejun Pan, Yuan Yao and Liangbing Hu, 25 March 2021, Nature Sustainability.
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-021-00702-w

 

 

By YALE SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Source SciTech Daily