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    Home > Chemicals Industry > New Chemical Materials > Germany uses waste grease to make new plastics that can be degraded within one year, suitable for industries such as automobiles

    Germany uses waste grease to make new plastics that can be degraded within one year, suitable for industries such as automobiles

    • Last Update: 2022-03-25
    • Source: Internet
    • Author: User
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    According to foreign media reports, the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK (Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology IPK) and partners have developed a new process and mass-produced an innovative material
    .
    This material is a new type of plastic made from recycled waste that can be degraded within a year
    .
    This material is called polyhydroxybutyrate, and it will soon be able to produce and decompose disposable products in an environmentally friendly way
    .
    ? Plastic occupies an important position in packaging and consumer products, and it is also an indispensable material in industrial applications such as automobiles and medical
    .
    Recycling and reusing plastics from fossil resources is not a common practice, and the degradation of plastics made by such methods is very slow and will pollute the environment for a long time
    .
    Considering this situation, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Equipment and Design Technology, the Institute of Bioprocessing Technology at the Technical University of Berlin, regional industrial partners and international partners in Malaysia, Colombia and the United States Research partners cooperated and launched the Bio?konomie International (international bioeconomy) research project
    .
    These researchers are developing a way to make polymers without using high-quality resources such as minerals, palm oil and rapeseed oil, because the production of such high-quality resources is harmful to the environment
    .
    ? This new process converts industrial residues containing a large amount of mineral residues, such as waste grease, into polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)
    .
    Microorganisms can be used to metabolize such residues in a special fermentation process, allowing them to deposit PHB in the cells to store energy
    .
    The researchers said: "Once the plastic is dissolved from the cell, it still cannot be used for industrial purposes immediately, because the hardening process takes a long time
    .
    " Therefore, in the later downstream stages of production, such raw materials must be mixed with chemical additives
    .
    For example, the research team adjusted plasticization and processing parameters to adjust the crystallization time of raw materials to adapt to industrial processing time
    .
    The properties of the resulting polymer are similar to polypropylene (PP), but unlike PP, the plastic can be completely degraded within 6 to 12 months
    .
    In the process of producing this kind of plastic, researchers use microorganisms to synthesize the entire polymer through biotechnology
    .
    The researcher said: “In order to achieve the goal, we will convert biological residues such as waste grease into polyester for technical purposes
    .
    ” The research team selected microorganisms genetically modified using molecules as biocatalysts in chemical purification processes and optimized materials.
    With the help of the company, a brand-new material was finally developed to meet the needs of industrial plastics
    .
    ? This new process not only does not require petroleum synthetic ingredients at all, but can also become a green plastic substitute
    .
    Naturally occurring microorganisms can decompose such newly developed plastics, so there is no need to withstand the special conditions of degrading substances in industrial composting plants
    .
    In addition, the process provides an alternative method of producing and degrading disposable products
    .
    ? At the same time, the process also helps to produce high-quality plastic parts for specific technical applications
    .
    Such products have high specification requirements, and may require clear geometric tolerances and surface quality or high-precision reproducibility.
    The highly professional reproducible processes developed by researchers can meet these requirements
    .
    This article is an English version of an article which is originally in the Chinese language on echemi.com and is provided for information purposes only. This website makes no representation or warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness ownership or reliability of the article or any translations thereof. If you have any concerns or complaints relating to the article, please send an email, providing a detailed description of the concern or complaint, to service@echemi.com. A staff member will contact you within 5 working days. Once verified, infringing content will be removed immediately.

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