SCIENTISTS from two departments of the North Dakota State University-Fargo (NDSU-Fargo) have developed a biomass-based plastic that can be broken down into molecules using light and can be recycled for eternity.
This pioneering work compares to the study undertaken by a US firm that uses biomimesis on fungi to produce biodegradable plastic. Biomimesis is the study of the structure and function of biological systems as models for the design and engineering of materials and machines, the Wikipedia says.
Under Philippine conditions, the research could help transform hundreds of thousands of metric tons of farm waste, fruit peelings, felled trees and other waste produce into biomass that may be transformed into plastic products.
The disposition of farm waste has been a serious problem in many areas, along with plastic products and other nonbiodegradable materials that have hampered the flow of irrigation water and caused mudslides and landslides in the process.
Thus far, studies undertaken by Filipino academics centered on using cellulose, algae and other farm waste as biofertilizers or as biofuels, according to research data culled from the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca).
In a report in the Science Daily on November 25, the team said their findings could possibly help in reducing pesky plastic products that always end up permanently in dumps, or float for keeps in the oceans. Originally published in the scientific journal Angewandte Chemie, the proof of concept experiment outlines the work of researchers in the Center for Sustainable Materials Science at NDSU-Fargo. The multidisciplinary team includes researchers from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, led by Prof. Mukund Sibi, Sivaguru Jayaraman, Prof. James A. Meier, postdoctoral fellow Saravana Rajendran, graduate student Ramya Raghunathan, postdoctoral fellow Retheesh Krishnan and staff scientist Angel Ugrinov.
Prof. Dean Webster, chairman of the Department of Coatings and Polymeric Materials and postdoctoral fellow Ivan Hevus, also worked on the project. The team focused on biomass and used oilseed, agricultural crops, cellulose, lignin and sucrose to generate building blocks of molecules that are then transformed into polymers to create plastics.
Creating these molecules out of biomass also eliminates dependency on fossil fuels, from which the traditional plastic polymers are sourced.
NDSU, in association with the North Dakota Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR), established the Center for Sustainable Materials Science to develop a program for the preparation of polymers and composites using biomass.
“Real sustainability involves breaking it back into the building blocks. We have shown that we can break it down into the building blocks and remake the polymer,” Sibi said.
In their proof-of-concept experiment, the group used fructose, found commonly in fruit, to create a solution of molecules, which was then converted to plastic.
By exposing the plastic to ultraviolet (UV) light at 350 nanometers for three hours, researchers degraded the plastic and reduced it back to the soluble building block molecules.
The experiment proved that plastics could eventually become a farm product and not the byproduct of fossil fuels that normally do not decay for centuries and pose a solid waste problem that leach chemicals into the environment, or create toxins in the air when burned.
“This cradle-to-cradle approach to create a plastic, which can be degraded, easily offers scientific potential for eventual products that could lessen dependence on fossil fuels and decrease the amount of raw materials needed,” Webster said.
“Our strategy has the potential to build novel materials from biomass that are degradable with light after usage, mitigating the stress of unwanted chemicals in our environment. Studies to address these aspects are currently under way in our laboratories,” Dr. Sivaguru Jayaraman added. Sibi’s lab makes monomers and biobased triggers, while Siva’s group specializes in photochemical sciences and photo degradation.
Webster’s team works on polymer chemistry. “It is the teamwork, which allows us to do this kind of work. We need everyone’s expertise to solve this issue,” Sibi said.
The researchers admitted further study is needed to evaluate the durability and strength of potential plastics derived from biomass before potential product commercialization could occur. “What is the best trigger to use to break them down? What is the best monomer to use? What is the best polymer we can make?” Sibi asked. In the next two years, the group will examine how their process might work with plastics used in cars and electronics, as well as in other items. The research was also supported by the US National Science Foundation.