2024-04-13 06:30:41
A new type of bioplastic made from algae, fungi and crab shells could be the material of the future: for example for degradable garbage bags, cosmetics or the coating of circuit boards and baking paper. The substance was discovered at the University of Giessen – purely by chance.
By Rebekka Dieckmann and Gabi Delingat
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Video 05:00 min. | 04/10/24, 7:30 p.m. |hessenschau
“Hessen researches” – a new type of bioplastic from Giessen
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At first, Elisabeth Pohlon was annoyed: Everything always stops and lies in the laboratory, the animal ecologist thought to herself when she wanted to clean and put away a used Petri dish in the biology department. But then she noticed something at the bottom of the bowl: a dried biofilm. Pohlon was immediately blown away when she realized: the material feels like plastic – as if she had a plastic plate in her hand.
Five years later, she knows that what immediately popped into her head at the time probably has much larger dimensions than she initially assumed. The material discovered purely by chance at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen could be groundbreaking. In Pohlon’s opinion, it actually has the potential to revolutionize the plastics industry.
And all because a pot with algae and crustacean residue was left standing after a study project.
Miracle substance chitin
The initial recipe in a student’s original experiment was actually intended as a food substitute for aquatic organisms. It contained only organic material: algae, fungi, but above all one thing: chitin.
This biomolecule is found in the shell of crustaceans such as lobsters and shrimps, millions of tonnes of which are produced as waste products in the global fishing industry. Chitin is also contained in insect shells. Due to its extremely versatile properties, chitin has increasingly become the focus of research in recent years.
Five years of experiments
The chance discovery is now the basis of all experiments that Pohlon has carried out together with her colleague Susanne Vesper over the past five years. The two have now developed around 30 different bioplastics with different properties on this basis. Some are hard and robust, others are stretchy and yet tear-resistant.
What is new is that the bioplastics are made entirely from waste and by-products from the food industry and agriculture, explains Pohlon. To date, bioplastics have often been made from raw materials that would also be suitable as food, such as corn starch or sugar cane.
“But we take what is waste for others as a resource,” says the scientist. The researchers have now experimented with a wide variety of organic waste, even banana peels, citrus fruit peels and straw.
Wide field of application
The most important thing was that the material didn’t get moldy. Because they wanted to do this without adding ethanol or fungicides, i.e. additives that kill fungi or their spores. “That was a really big problem – it probably took us a year and a half until we found the perfect solution,” says Pohlon.
The two are now convinced that the new materials could be used in many industrial areas, such as for the production of bags, floor coverings, wallpaper or for interior design in the automotive industry. Bioplastic could also be used as a replacement for silicone, for example in cosmetics or as a coating on circuit boards or in medical syringes.
Because chitin can be heated up to 600 degrees, they think it might even be possible to use it to coat baking paper – or to create a complete replacement for baking paper.
Bioplastic rots quickly
What’s special: The material is not only 100 percent bio-based, but also completely biodegradable. It decomposes within a few weeks, as the biological-technical assistant Vesper explains. The researchers tested this in the laboratory with woodlice.
“It was very exciting to see whether the woodlice would actually accept the material as food or whether they might be harmed by it,” says Vesper. The animals literally pounced on the material, willingly ate it and tolerated it well.
Further information
Difference: bio-based and biodegradable
Bio-based plastics are made entirely or partially from organic material, such as corn or sugar cane. They can, but do not have to be, compostable. For example, dishes made from bamboo plastic often contain melamine-formaldehyde as a binding agent – a classic plastic. In most cases, bio-based plastic therefore belongs in the black or yellow bin. The ecological balance is also controversial.
Biodegradable plastics on the other hand, they decompose completely. However, depending on the material, this can take weeks, months or even years. They can also contain chemical additives or even small amounts of petroleum-based polymers. (Source: Federal Environment Agency)
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Giessen district: Material promising
The promising new material is attracting interest from the Giessen district, for example. In the Rabenau composting plant, all organic waste from the city and the district is processed into high-quality compost – 40,000 tons every year.
The problem: The common organic waste bags from retailers rot too slowly. So far they have been sorted out in the Rabenau composting plant and burned as residual waste, just like in many other composting plants. Quarks.de has examined the problem surrounding previously common organic waste bags in detail.
Environmental department head Christian Zuckermann from the Giessen district is confident that the new material could solve the problem. “If the bags are actually tear-resistant and rot in a short time, that would be great,” he says.
Inquiries from companies
The researchers have now applied for two European patents and developed various prototypes for products. The next step is to get out of the laboratory. The researchers have already received several inquiries from companies, for example from the biotechnology sector.
Elisabeth Pohlon is optimistic that the development is marketable. But she wasn’t always in such good spirits, she emphasizes. The past few years have been tough and full of ups and downs. The researchers almost gave up at one point. “We didn’t get any useful results for months – something kept cracking, breaking or molding.”
In her opinion, the perseverance was worth it. She has also learned something else in the past few years: sometimes it’s a good thing if you don’t clean up straight away.
Further information
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