Bioplastics - Science topic

I'm interested in the development of starch-based bioplastics.

Hello everyone,

I took 1% PLA and dissolved it in 200mL DCM to prepare a 200mL PLA solution. I took 100mL PLA solution and dissolved 1% antimicrobial material into it. I allowed the solution to stir for several hours to ensure complete miscibility. After this, I poured the solution onto a glass petri dish, covered it immediately with aluminium foil and allowed it to dry overnight for 2 days under the fume hood. Then I stored the sample in a desiccator for some time before analysis. I took out the sample from the desiccator and as soon as I tried to separate it from the glass petri dish, some of the film tore, some got stuck strongly to the glass petri dish and some came out separately. What might be the reason for this and how can I get rid of this issue? Please help urgently. Thanks

Dear Researchers, Scientists, Friends,

The problem of plastic waste is becoming one of the biggest environmental challenges. Bioplastics made from plants offer a biodegradable alternative, but require resources for their production. In turn, the development of reusable systems is based on changing consumption patterns and waste management. Research shows that bioplastics produced from plant-based agricultural products have greater waste reduction potential than reusable and recyclable systems. Therefore, the use of bioplastics can significantly reduce waste, especially in single-use sectors such as packaging and tableware. However, their production requires agricultural resources, which can compete with food production. Reusable and recyclable systems may be more sustainable, but they require a change in consumer habits and investment in infrastructure. An interdisciplinary approach to this issue should consider environmental, social and economic aspects in order to find an optimal solution.

I have described the key issues concerning the green transformation of the economy in the following article:

In the following article, I have summarised the results of my research on the relationship between sustainability issues, the origin and significance of the Sustainable Development Goals, the essence of sustainability in the context of social, normative, economic, environmental, climate and human rights aspects, etc. The research also addressed the issue of key determinants of human existential security as an element of the concept of sustainable development.

And what is your opinion on this topic?

Please reply,

I invite everyone to the discussion,

Thank you very much,

Best regards,

I invite you to scientific cooperation,

Dariusz Prokopowicz

I am very interested in the processing and use of starch-based bioplastics.

does bioplastic has potential to turns to biofuel like after being use? And is it a normal or casual idea in the industy? Just want to make sure for my research idea

Hello Dear Fellows,

Hope you all are fine, if anyone is working on PHA (Bioplastic) synthesis, i want to ask what are the main differential techniques by which we can distinguish b/w lipid and PHA, from screening to characterization. Researchers working on the topic specifically can give a convincing answer.

Thanks

It was bioplastic data, i want to know about the heat resistance of my bioplastic

my Scholar working on bioplastic, from agriwaste like paddy straw, Rubber seed cover , can you please provide the protocol to extract starch from it and bioplastic protocol

Hi! I want to discuss about is there the bioplastic standard value for its mechanical properties like tensile, modulus and elongation. I dont mean that the standart test like ASTM D638, but the mechanical value that gonna be the standard value. Other than SNI please, I need to search in ASTM, ISO, EN, or other. Your help is appreciate.

I am interested in doing experiments at home related to PHA production.

First, I want to try if I may use a low-cost microscope alongside using the serial dilution technique to find out whether a soil sample contains microbes that can produce PHA.

But is it really possible if I only have the budget to buy a microscope with the following specification? It costs around $400.

40X-2500X, Trinocular Compound Lab Microscope with Double Layer Mechanical Stage, Siedentopf Head, Wide-Field 10X/25X Eyepieces

As the first step of my exploration, I am hoping I may use such a microscope to locate bacteria cells containing granules that look similar to PHA granules. My goal is to explore if I may develop a curriculum for K-12 to learn about bioplastics using low-cost equipments.

The steps for making of bioplastic from AD fibre?

Welcome everybody!

I've made PLA thin films from previously prepared granules of PLA. 8 types of thin films were obtained.

LT - pure PLA, LT2 - PLA with 0,2% Natamycin, LT6 - PLA with 0,6% Natamycin, LT10 - PLA with 1% Natamycin.

LT-PEG, LT2-PEG, LT6-PEG and LT10-PEG. PLA samples were plasticized with 5% (weight%) PEG1500.

DSC results are shown in table, and graphs.

Questions:

why there is no cold crystalization peak, when PEG is added?

can natamycyn act as plasticizing agent? (Tg is decreased with natamycin% is rising)

degree of crystallinity is rising in both cases, why?

Thank you in advance, PG.

although glyerol have more OH group

What's the difference between these two plasticizers?

while increasing the amount of TIO2 in bioplastic the thickness become increases even the plasticizer was added in a little amount

if titanium added in gelatin-based bioplastic so why the elongation is less.. Its value decreased just bECAUSE OF TIO2 or plasticizer?

Recently I started to measure bioplastics in sewage sludge using TG-FTIR from PerkinElmer. One measurment of pure PLA turned out pretty good with nice peaks. All of the others had quite a lot intenference and i´m trying to find out if it is possible to use this data. Do you know some method I could use to evaluate these data or do I need to do all the measurments again, maybe with different parameters?

Thank you for any advice.

Paramets were: TG: 35-600 °C with 10 °C/min

FTIR: 600 - 4000 cm-1; resolution: 4cm-1; accumulation 10 scans.

i am going to make plastic from gelatin so can I use any other polymer or any salt to make bioplastic whose tensile strength and flexibility is good.

if we want to make bioplastic from any fruit peels then by extracting peels how can we say that it contains cellulose however it has many other nutrients such as protein, ash, moisture, fiber, and hemicellulose. Is cellulose essential or any other things which are present in fruit peels are also important for bioplastic production?

whats the reason for using titanium dioxide in bioplastic if it is costly? is there any reason to justify it ???

what are the reasons for adding plasticizers such as glycerol and PEG in bioplastic?

after pouring and drying when i am going to take out my sample then its harder whats the reason?

i want to make bioplastic from gelatin and it creates a difficulty for me to set the ratios

i am going to make bioplastic from gelatin with glycerol?

i was going to make a bioplastic directly through fruit peels.. but I found that the final look of bioplastic through orange peels was stiff and destroy easily and through pea peals, bioplastic were also very hard.

i have also made plastic by extracting starch from potatoes but the ratios are not set :( and facing difficulty cz the final look is not good enough.

I wonder if exists a protocol, or any project, focused on bioplastics production using avocado, reaching that goal by a genetic transformation with plasmids (binary or not), which might include genes involved in bioplastics synthesis (for example, including genes for polylactic acid-PLA production). Thanks.

Hello everyone. I want to learn about combining chitosan and casein to make bioplastics and using glycerol as a binder. However, apart from increasing the plasticity of the finished plastic, I do not understand the chemical effects of glycerol on these two substances? Anyone who knows can show me.

Thanks for your help.

This is to help me understand how milk-based bioplastic forms and how I can prepare a simplified instructional plan for younger students making sure the correct chemical principles are maintained.

I am carrying an experiment on which I chronically feed PLA particles to ascidians to check if they accumulate the material or are capable of digesting it. I am also trying with common PP and PET micro particles.

The common tissue digestion methods I've read and tried end up dissolving the bioplastic, so I cannot start my experiment until I find a protocol that digest tissue and not PLA.

I've tried KOH, NaCL, H2O2, HCl and HNO3...all with the same results. PLA literally vanishes.

Formic acid and sodium citrate work for digesting spiculae, and PLA resists the digestion. But this doesn't work with tissue.

Haven't tried yet sonicating or using proteases.

Any suggestions?

I have been working on bioplastic biodegradation under the soil. So after a certain period of incubation in the compost, due to the action of microbes and soil physicochemical parameters, the plastic degrades and breaks down. The products formed as a result of biodegradation are lost in the soil. For example, if there is a kind of additive that persists in the soil for durations longer than usual post degradation, like carbon black, which may pose a threat to the environment. How am I supposed to retrieve them or are there any techniques or soil analysis methods to find out the products of biodegradation in the soil?

Plastic materials originated from petrochemicals cause serious environmental problems due to their non-degradable nature. Bioplastics or plastics produced by the microorganism is a promising replacement for the conventional synthetic plastics. Bioplastics are secondary metabolites produced by the various microbes present in nature. What is the best microorganism (Specifically in micro-algae) for bioplastics production?

Hello! I've been searching endlessly for a related journal that combines pectin and lignin (from two different plant sources) into a composite material. I do wish to apply it to my research but I want to know how plausible such a material is. If not, what may I change in the research? The most common I found is starch-lignin but I rather not have my research be a replicate of another. Thank you!

I have to present advanced materials used in agriculture. Thank you

Are there any current blown film grades of PHA commercially available? Any feedback regarding quality is more than welcome! Most of my online research shows some grades for cast sheet extrusion or injection molding, but no blown film.

Potentials of microbial biodegradation of plastics and bioplastics

Most of the literature suggest that primary diols have high potential for the chemical industries. What would be the strength and applicability of polymer obtained from diol containing one primary and a secondary alcoholic group?

I have seen studies leaving the bioplastic mixture onto a surface (e.g. aluminum foil) and lets it cool down for a week. I am wondering if there would be any changes in the bioplastic if i used oven to speed it up.

Now, we are to find the most suitable biopolymer matrix which are among starch biopolymer alternatives i.e rice starch, potato starch, wheat potato, corn starch etc. Therefore, we have identified 19 selection criteria. We really appreciate your feedback in assigning a weight of importance out of 7  score on  1 -  7 scale (1 being the "Not at all important", and 7 being "Extremely important") for each criterion in evaluating starch alternatives. 

Please click the link below to participate in the Experts' Survey: https://goo.gl/forms/K5bVs1Hq7KIgk0V72 All data collected will be used ONLY for this research. 

We hope to gather feedback from all experts by 9th of January 2019. Your feedback is very valuable and all your cooperation are highly appreciated.

I have problems when filler was added which expected that the mechanical strenght supposedly be improved but the results show different observation. The filller is usually organic substances that is usually is chemically treated

I have seen a study using Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as binder but the bioplastic samples dissolved in water because PVA is water-soluble.

algae have been used in wide range of industries from being as food nutrient to bio-plastic. What is the most practical uses (commercially) of algae?

Green plastics are the focus of an emerging industry focused on making convenient living consistent with environmental stability. One reason to make a shift toward the use of green plastics is the availability of raw materials. Green plastics can be made using polymers that come from agricultural and marine feedstocks. These are abundant natural resources that are constantly being replenished. This, in turn could revitalize rural economy, both agricultural and marine, by providing additional demand for currently underutilized land or low-valued biomass commodities. Another favorable property of green plastics is their biodegradability, making them a natural material for use in such applications as compostable collection bags, such as for food or yard waste. But bioplastics have to possess adequate physical properties. Their properties have to be managed and controlled with technological means through the development of adequate formulations and plastics processing. The commercial ventures already under way in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan indicate that there is confidence technological advances are possible. The key to solving technical problems often simply knows what the problems are. Bioplastics also have to be cost-competitive. Commercially available biopolymers are typically more expensive than synthetic polymers, often significantly so. Currently only starch competes with synthetic polymers in terms of cost.

Interest in the development of bioplastics will grow largely to the extent that there is real interest in and concern over the environment. Societal concern over the environment is already being reflected in governmental restrictive legislation on the use of plastics, particularly aimed at plastic packaging. Legislation has begun at the local, state, federal, and international levels, and legislation will undoubtedly increase in the future. New legislation will likely contain restrictions aimed at materials that are neither recyclable nor biodegradable. Labeling legislation may lead to an "ecolabel," based on a product's raw material usage, energy consumption, emissions from manufacture and use, and waste disposal impact. Most of all, what is needed is a paradigm shift.

Making it a reality Ignoring nature's way of building strong materials, we have, for many applications, over-engineered our plastics for stability, with little consideration of their recyclability or ultimate fate, and ended up transforming irreplaceable resources into mountains of waste. There is another way. We can take nature's building materials and use them for our purposes, without taking them out of nature's cycles. We can be borrowers, not consumers, so that the process can continue indefinitely. If society is indeed, becoming more and more committed to resource conservation, environmental preservation and sustainable technologies, bioplastics will find their place in this Age of Plastics. The widespread use of these new plastics will depend on developing technologies that can be successful in the marketplace. That in turn will partly depend on how strongly society is committed to the concepts of resource conservation, environmental preservation, and sustainable technologies. There are growing signs that people indeed want to live in greater harmony with nature and leave future generations a healthy planet. If so, bioplastics will find a place in the current Age of Plastics.

Plastics Plastics are a class of material that has one or more polymers as its primary ingredient, that is shaped by flow when it is processed (usually using heat), and that is solid in its final form. Plastics can be made up of many different kinds of polymer, and can be processed in many different ways, but as long as they satisfy these three conditions, they are bona fide plastics.

Plastics are acting as a threat to urban drainage system and biodiversity. Different bio degradable plastics are already developed (Bio plastics and plastics with biodegradable additives).

Do you think these can be effectively used to replace presently used non - bio degradable plastics ? In which area of use it can be done ? Up to what extent ? What are the problems in their widespread use ?

from vegetable waste

I am experimenting with algae and want to extract cellulose and starch to make bioplastics.

Plasticizer are used to enhance the potential of the bioplastics. only chemical plasticizer such as glycerol, urea, sorbitol are used.water is also used as a plasticizer. But there are some drawbacks for every one mentioned here. So let me know that any other chemical plasticizer are used in bioplastic production.And also I would like to know about the natural plasticizer used in bioplastic production.

Interested to study the mecahnical properties of composites prepared from natural fibers. While doing literary search came across plants which we can commonly notice like Cocos nucifera, Corchorus trilocularis, Ipomoea staphylina etc., for which enough works has been already done. Can anyone please suggest me a plant with which i can exlpore the same. I am new to such topics.

Is there any application for both hyaluronic acid and bioplastics(PHA/PHB) that join them together ?

See above.

Having synthesized PHA , I see that the retention time of PHA during a HPLC run cannot be compared to that of PHBV standard as due to obvious diifference in the molecular weight and hydrophobicity the retention varies. 

I also converted the bioplastic to crotonic acid and had run the samples, but I see that conversion and elution of crotonic acid sample of both PHA and PHBV had not much of difference. ( as both are converted to crotonic acid , which doesnt impart a difference in the elution)

What can be fixed as a standard when fermentatively synthesized PHA is to be run in a reverse phase column ? Is it necessary to fix a standard if the sample is to be run in a reverse phase column apart from using an organic acid column ( after being converted to crotonic acid)?

i want to produce microbial bioplastic and i am looking for the best species. also i want to know best cyanobacter species for this purpose.

I already prepared of polyester (bioplastic) from palmitic acid.

How we know the predict application of polymer?

I want to blend PLA with another material in casting method. I dissolved these two materials in chloroform/methanol(4:1) separately and both are well dissolved. After that, I mixed two solution and poured into glass plate. Since the solvent contains chloroform and solvent evaporation step is conducted in fume hood, the plates are covered to prevent too fast solvent evaporation. However, after few hours, the solution in plate seems separated. So I let the mixed solution stand for a night and find that the solution separates into two phase on the next morning...Would it help the situation if I add compatibilizer or plasticizer? If so, can you suggest the agent?

If we cannot cross-link two pre-cross-linked layers, how can I prepare a multilayer of alginate and chitosan?

Hi all, I want to do an electrospun blend of PCL/PLLA..i want more information to answer the question WHY i would use these materials together?( i will seed some AF cells later on to test its compatibility and cellular behavior).

DCM and DMF and other solvent like THF are toxic to human body but these are used as solvent of PLA and which is used in food application.

Where can I find good readings on production of PHAs from Gram positive bacteria?specially actinomycetes

We established a kind of academic company in Iran to accept your novel ideas (buy or partnership) in any areas, specially in developing cheep bioplastic and blood or bloodless glucose meter devices. is there anyone to help us?

Can anyone help me with the process of staining glycogen in bacterial culture with anilin blue? What fluorecsence and filters are required for excitation of anilin stained glycogen?

Dear Investigators

Which type of gums have synergistic influence with Konjac gum in PCF manufacturing?

Br.

I am going to have my PLA thin films tested for tensile strenght. I know that i should use accepted standarts like as ASTM D882. However i don't have the document of that. If anybody who is experienced in these mechanical analysis help me , i would be appriceated.

Regards  

 I would like to transform the crystalline structure of cellulose to an amorphous one so that it would be suitable for plastic making. The solvent I am looking for will enable the transformation and will only need a simple process, such as washing with water, for it to be removed from the cellulose after the transformation. Me and my partner are not allowed to use TFA and formic acid because both are expensive.

Hi. I have tried to prepare PLA-Chitosan film. I've used 1%acetic acid as chitosan solvent and have tried 1,4 dioxane and chloroform as PLA solvent.It works only if small % of chitosan solution is used unless it didn't work. I'm trying to used DMSO as PLA solvent but it has been 7days of constant stirring at 50 dgree celcius,but the PLA is still not dissolve. So if anyone have tried to prepare PLA-Chitosan film composite by using solution casting what solvent did you used for PLA and how do you prepare it? thank you in advance

a) Crotonic acid, or

b) PHB from sigma?

Standard reference graph for estimation of PHB.

I have started working  on Bioplastic production in economical way, bioplastics produced usually are intracellular nature, it is time consuming that everytime need to centrifuge, so are there any alternate and simple methods to extract the bioplastic in economical way 

Good Day!

We are conducting a research about Myxobacteria and its property for degrading bioplastic but, we need any possible media for cultivating a particular myxobacterium. Any suggestion would be helpful!

How the amylose content of starch influences the ultimate properties of composites made from starch nanocrystals?

I have tried to increase molecular weight of poly lactic acid of lower molecular weight by chain extension with di dissociates . It give me weight average molecular weight of 200000 Da. I would like to know does there is any other method to get ultra high molecular weight PLA.

When I try extracting the PHA from biomass using chloroform, I follow the procedure as it has been described in a journal paper. I had to centrifuge the biomass and then the pellet obtained was washed with acetone, methanol and water. After sodium hypochlorite destruction of cells, I had added chloroform and water where in the cell debris goes to the top aqueous layer and the chloroform contains the PHA dissolved in it. It is that when the two phases are let in boiling water bath and after letting it cool to room temperature I see that there is a sticky material, looks like fat that is in the interphase between the water and chloroform layer . Is it PHA or some cell debris? How can I confirm that all the PHA from the biomass is dissolved in the chloroform.

PHB is generally estimated using GC

I am trying to produce films from poly lactic acid with solvent casting method in Petri dishes.

My protocol was measured between 1 to 7 grams of PLA (it depends on the thickness that I want to obtain) and dissolve it in 30 mL of DCM. Then I wait the solvent evaporate at room temperature until the solution reaches 20 mL and put it in a Petri dish covered with Teflon, and finally wait the solvent evaporation at room temperature, too.

This method worked perfectly a couple of months ago, but now I just obtained films as you can see in these pictures.

So, I would like to know if anyone can figure out a possible solution, or maybe tell me a better protocol to follow.

Application for PHA water bottle life cycle and infrastructure that reuses PHA.

I want to produce a film from poly lactic acid with solvent casting method in the petri dishes. Its solvent is acetone and the chloroform ratio of this mixture to PLA is 20:1.

Looking for a chemical extraction and determination procedure for GC or HPLC for composition of starch based or bioplastics.

many thanks

Hi everybody, do any of you know how to find out bioplastic composition from final material?

Hi there;

I hope to try growing bioplastic bricks from mushrooms this year as an experiment...

I've spoken with mushroom growers, who've informed me that finding out the mushroom type will be important: for example an artist called Phillip Ross made some structures using Ganoderma Lucidum; I don't know as yet however what the people at www.ecovativedesign.com are using....

If anyone has any suggestions for types to try I'd really appreciate it!