A research team including the RIKEN Institute has announced that they have developed a new plastic that decomposes and returns to its raw materials when immersed in salt water. It is said to be a technology that contributes to reducing the environmental impact. The research team, led by group director Takuzo Aida of the RIKEN Institute, published a paper in the American scientific journal Science. The research team was working to develop a material to replace fossil fuel-derived plastics, and as a raw material for this, they focused on a combination of two types of molecules that are used in food additives and agricultural applications. By utilizing the property of these molecules bonding strongly electrically to form three-dimensional structures, they have succeeded in developing a new plastic that is colorless and transparent, and has the same strength and heat resistance as polypropylene. Furthermore, when this plastic was placed in salt water, the bonds between its molecules broke and it returned to its two raw materials. According to the research team, the raw materials can be further broken down by microorganisms in seawater, and therefore the technology will contribute to reducing the environmental burden caused by “microplastics,” which are of concern due to their impact on marine ecosystems. Group Director Aida said, “This is a plastic that can be biologically metabolized and transformed into a form that can circulate in the environment, so it could be used for a wide range of purposes.” nhk news web November 22, 2024 5:21am.
>>2 An anti-war female teacher recommended the effectiveness of gargling with salt. By the way, the following year I was made to gargle with bancha tea.
If you’re an angler, you’re probably familiar with biodegradable plastic soft lures, right?
It’s still a mystery whether those really decompose I put some kinds of worms in the gaps between the filter media of the external filter of my aquarium, which is 4 or 5 years old and filtering perfectly fine, but even after 2 years it didn’t seem to have decomposed Does biodegradable plastic really decompose?
Before lignin-decomposing bacteria appeared on Earth, large amounts of lignin produced by trees accumulated. With the emergence of lignin-decomposing bacteria, wood began to decompose. Similarly, we will have to wait for the emergence of plastic-decomposing bacteria.
>>20 The most widely produced plastics are polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which have a structure called “alkane.” It is well known that linear polyethylene structures can be degraded by microorganisms. It is a bacterium of the genus Alcanivorax. vorax means “devourer,” and it is a microorganism that truly “devours alkanes.” It is famous for breaking down alkanes, which are the main components of petroleum. alcanivorax mainly feeds on oil spilled into temperate waters due to tanker accidents and other events, purifying the environment.
>>24 Paper is paper and it causes deforestation That’s why shopping bags are made of plastic in the first place Before that, they were paper bags This was around 1980.
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