Plastic pollution is a global crisis that no one country can solve alone – with microplastics found in soils, rivers, the air and even organs throughout the human body.
Plastic pollution is a global crisis that no one country can solve alone – with microplastics found in soils, rivers, the air and even organs throughout the human body.
With rising risk to the environment and human health, the race for biodegradable plastics is gaining pace – with several projects under way at Flinders University in South Australia.
Published in Polymers, one of the latest experiments finds researchers combining calcium caseinate – a commercially available derivative of casein, the main protein in milk – with modified starch and bentonite nanoclay into a thin film, adding glycerol and polyvinyl alcohol to improve its strength and plasticity.
Biodegradability testing showed a consistent degradation trend, with full disintegration estimated to occur within 13 weeks in normal soil conditions.
Read More: Flinders University
Image: A sample of the new casein-starch polymeric film developed at Flinders University's Advanced Materials Lab at Tonsley. (Credit: Flinders University)
