New PET-like plastic made from inedible plant parts

Swiss researchers at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland claim: a created plastic Developed with inedible parts of plants. The innovation used in its composition polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET, which is widely used in beverage bottles.

EPFL professor Jeremy Luterbacher and a team of researchers discovered a plant-based method of producing plastics. They also found that Not only does the innovation have the same advantages as traditional plastic, it is also naturally recyclable.

According to scientists, new Plastic produced from inedible parts of plants can be used in the textile industry, electronics and even medicine.. They used the plastics to make filaments for food packaging and 3D printing.

What makes plastic unique is the presence of intact sugar structure. This makes the process incredibly easy because you don’t have to change what nature has given you, and it’s easy to spoil the material because it can go back to the way it was. “The molecule that is already abundant in nature,” Luterbacher said in a statement.

Less toxic plastics

The research began in 2016, but recently Luterbacher and his team found that adding glyoxylic acid to plant material can form tiny plastic blocks. Thus, the study succeeded in converting 25% of agricultural waste into plastic.

According to information from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), approximately one and a half million plastic bottles are purchased every minute. Estimates show that 36% of all plastic is used to make food packaging, and 98% of single-use plastic products are produced with fossil fuels that produce greenhouse gases – plus data shows humanity uses five trillion plastic bags each year.