Swiss Researchers Develop Plastic from Organic Waste

Scientists have developed a new type of plastic made directly from organic plant waste.

The new material is easy to produce and could be used in everything from packaging and textiles to medicine and electronics.

The researchers in Switzerland have already used the technique to produce packaging films, fibres that can be spun into clothing or other textiles, and filaments for 3D printing.

Conventional plastic is so widely used because it combines low cost, heat stability, mechanical strength, processability, and versatility, according to the researchers.

Until now, only a few alternative plastics have managed to match conventional plastic in these respects, which is crucial for broader adoption.

To produce the plastic, the scientists «cooked» wood and other inedible plant materials in low-cost chemicals to create a plastic precursor.

The sugar structure is retained in the molecular structure of the plastic, making the chemistry far cheaper than other types of alternative plastics.

The researchers found that by adding an aldehyde chemical, they could stabilise parts of the plant material to prevent its degradation during extraction. Instead of formaldehyde, however, they now use glyoxylic acid, a solid organic compound that occurs in nature and is used in industry.

The team was able to simply attach «sticky» groups to both sides of the sugar molecules, allowing them to act as plastic building blocks.

Using this simple technique, they were able to convert up to a quarter of the weight of agricultural waste — or 95% of the purified sugar — into plastic.

«The plastic has very interesting properties, especially for applications such as food packaging«, said Professor Jeremy Luterbacher of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), who developed the plastic.

«What makes the plastic unique is the presence of an intact sugar structure. This makes its production incredibly simple, because you don't need to alter what nature gives you, and it is easy to break down because it can revert to a molecule that is already abundantly present in nature.«

The results were published in the journal Nature Chemistry .