The world has produced more than eight billion metric tons of plastic since around 1950. And the vast majority of that – almost 80 percent of it – has ended up in landfills or out in the environment. In fact, millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean each year, and tiny pieces of plastic have been found in the stomachs or tissues of turtles, birds, fish, and whales.
Now, researchers from McGill University are turning this story upside down.
They’re using another ocean animal – the lobster – to make a new kind of environmentally-friendly plastic.
The process involves grinding discarded lobster shells into a powder and treating it with heat, humidity, and lye (sodium hydroxide).
The resulting material, known as chitosan, is already being used in such things as sutures that dissolve in a patient’s body. The McGill researchers have invented a process that doesn’t require as much solvent, which is expensive.
“We started to talk to companies that are making chitosan and they're really interested in our process,” said lead researcher Audrey Moores - an associate professor of applied chemistry at McGill. “Because they see that some of the things that cost a lot of money are linked to the use of solvent and we drastically reduce it because we can make this transformation simply by aging.”
The researchers mix the components in a dry phase and let them age under high humidity, Moores said.
“Then the magic happens; the chemistry takes place,” she said.
The reduction of the use of caustic water could save companies a lot of money in the production of the biodegradable plastic, Moores said.
The exact applications are unknown, but Moores said there could be many, including producing items that are now made of non-biodegradable materials.
“For instance, people are looking into chitosan for making clothing that would be anti-bacterial,” she said.
Web post by Liz Lerner and Elsa Partan.
