A research team from the Wood Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has discovered the fastest degrading bioplastic in seawater.
The finding can revolutionize plastic pollution in our oceans, as long as people shift from using normal plastics to biodegradable ones.
Most of these new bioplastics are made from cellulose diacetate (CDA), which comes from wood pulp. WHOI researchers found that by adding foaming or small pores to the material, you can increase the speed of its biodegradability by 15 times.
Commenting on the new findings, study senior author Collin Ward stated:
“What excites me most about this study is its translational nature. This study is the culmination of years of research focusing on understanding the fundamental controls on CDA biodegradation in the ocean. We translated the foundational knowledge into the design of a new material that simultaneously meets consumer needs and degrades in the ocean faster than any other plastic material we know of, even faster than paper. It’s a great success story in a field that often focuses on the negative aspects of plastic pollution rather than working towards solutions to the problem.”
While the study lead author, Bryan James, added:
“Using continuous flowing seawater tanks enables us to bring the dynamics of the microbially active ocean into the lab. The ocean is continually changing, and it was important that we replicated this environment by replenishing microbes and nutrients, making for a much more environmentally realistic experiment. As a materials scientist and engineer, it’s been exciting to demonstrate that foams can be materially efficient, meaning they achieve functionality using the least amount of material possible, reducing cost and many environmental impacts. In addition, when they are made from biodegradable plastics, they can be one of the least persistent forms of a material.”
You can find the original research here.
