The danger posed plastics It’s getting clearer for the ocean. Therefore, ways are being sought to prevent, reuse and recycle them. The first group includes not only the use of bamboo or paper as substitutes for plastic. It also involves research into new biodegradable and compostable plastics. One of the most widely used biodegradable plastics is polylactic acid. The boat quickly fulfills what it promises, but not in any condition. In fact, according to a study just published, when it is released into the sea, it may not be biodegradable plastic.
This is something that should be explored in more depth as there is little benefit in being biodegradable in some environments, but not in one of those most affected by plastic pollution.
If no solution is found, its use should be reduced, at least in certain contexts. This is a groundbreaking study as it is the first case of decomposition biodegradable plastic right into the sea. Even so, he still has a long way to go.
What is the difference between biodegradable and compostable plastic?
Biodegradable plastics are plastics that can be broken down into their constituent chemicals by the action of biological agentssuch as microorganisms natural conditions. This group includes plastics. compostablewhich, moreover, upon degradation become pass.
All of this allows biodegradable plastics to degrade much faster than plastics made from petroleum. According to Ecoembes, if a regular plastic bag takes 300 to 500 yearsbiodegradable can be taken from a few months to 6 yearsdepending on the type of plastic used.
What about polylactic acid?
Polylactic acid is defined as biodegradable and compostable plasticconsisting of a polymer of lactic acid, which is obtained fermentation of some sugars.
It has been observed to rapidly revert back to lactic acid when in compost heap. They are at a very high temperature, which promotes the decomposition reaction. But what about sea water, much colder than those batteries?
To answer this question, the authors of the study, which has just been published in PLOS One they took various samples of plastics, cellulose-based compounds, petroleum, a mixture of both, or polylactic acid. After that, they placed them in a cage and, in turn, immersed the cage in the water of the river. coast of La Jolla, California.
Each week, samples were taken from the water, checked for signs of degradation, and returned to the sea. Thus, scientists were able to make sure that biodegradable plastic cellulose based they decomposed very quickly, in less than a month. They noticed that the decomposition took place not by mechanical, but by biological methods, since carbon dioxide was released.
It is logical to assume that plastics derived from oil and mixtures did not decompose during the time that the study continued. But so is polylactic acid. fourteen months laterremained intact.
What should we do?
The conclusion of the study is that for the use of polylactic acid-based plastics as biodegradable plastic, must be pre-treated in rooms equipped for this. If not, then we may think we are protecting marine ecosystems, but we won’t do that at all.
Such studies are very necessary, because sometimes it is necessary to see how the materials behave in reality before they can be considered completely reliable. Decomposing plastic in the lab is not the same as straight into the sea. It’s there, right where it hurts, where we should try.
Source: Hiper Textual
