Turning Wood Into Plastic
Plastics are one of the world ’ s largest polluters , taking hundreds of years to degrade in nature . A research team , led by YSE professor Yuan Yao and Liangbing Hu from the University of Maryland , has created a high-quality bioplastic from wood byproducts that they hope can solve one of the world ’ s most pressing environmental issues .
Efforts to shift from petrochemical plastics to renewable and biodegradable plastics have proven tricky — the production process can require toxic chemicals and is expensive , and the mechanical strength and water stability is often insufficient . But researchers have made a breakthrough , using wood byproducts , that shows promise for producing more durable and sustainable bioplastics .
A study published in Nature Sustainability , co-authored by Yuan Yao , assistant professor of industrial ecology and sustainable systems at Yale School of the Environment ( YSE ), outlines the process of deconstructing the porous matrix of natural wood into a slurry . The researchers say the resulting material shows a high mechanical strength , stability when holding liquids , and UVlight resistance . It can also be recycled or safely biodegraded in the Cont ' d on P . 24
MARCH 2021