Microplastics coming to an end? - Scientists create plastic material from algae.
Scientists could have created plastic goods that disintegrate fully, not creating microplastics that linger in our oceans and surroundings for thousands of years.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (USA) and the materials company Algenesis claim they've discovered a process to generate plastic containing polyurethane that can be fully composted and disintegrated.
Skip Pomeroy, one of the study's authors, and his team set out to establish that their substances don't create microplastics over time since they're actually deteriorated by microbes in the environment.
"We discovered a strain of bacteria in the compost that could survive solely on the plastics created from polyurethane," Michael Burkart, another author, informed ABC News.
▹ Polyurethane is a "bio-based" substance that disintegrates and breaks down naturally compared to standard petroleum-based plastics.
"We originally believed that we might need several different microbes working cooperatively to degrade these materials," Burkart said. "But no, we found a single strain of bacteria that could live on these things. That implies these materials are truly fully biodegradable."
Utilizing algae in the fight against microplastics
▹ The research reveals that plastic biodegrades in less than seven months. The analysis of compost samples after 90 days showed a 68% decrease in the amount of particles. After 200 days, it was 97%.
Microplastics are microscopic fragments of plastic that are less than one-seventieth the size of a human hair. It might take hundreds or thousands of years for microplastics in our environment to completely deteriorate.
However, the cost is currently a factor in widespread implementation, the scientists said. Although petroleum can be quickly extracted from the ground, an extensive infrastructure for algae farming would be needed for plastics made from the bio-based polymer to be extensively utilized.
Read also:
- What audacity!
- BVB fights against misperceptions of potential relegation.
- Schultz discusses the chaos in Cologne.
- My mom is approaching her final days, yet I long to hit the gym.
Source: symclub.org
