Cooking food involves effort and time but before that huge amounts of capital, water, and energy are put into food system to produce it. Despite that, 30% to 40% of produced food ends up in landfills in the US. To tackle this researchers are finding a way and creating biodegradable bioplastics from food waste.
Researchers in Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences of Virginia Tech are experimenting with methods to develop biodegradable bioplastics from food waste. They aim to develop new materials from food waste that can be used in everyday life.
Lead researcher and Associate professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Zhiwu “Drew” Wang said, “By creating cost-effective bioplastics that naturally decompose, we can reduce plastic pollution on land and in oceans and address significant issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and economic losses associated with food waste.”
In another experiment UCPH researchers have created 100% Biodegradable Barley Plastic.
The project not only tackles the pollution on land but also ocean plastic pollution by making such a material that quickly degrades in water. This first-of-its-kind project aims to develop and demonstrate a bioprocessing system that is modular and affordable. Researchers will harness microorganisms from food waste and then convert the waste into fats. They will then process it into bioplastic.
Do you know: According to the World Wildlife Fund, microplastics are affecting nearly 88% of all marine species.
According to the researchers, they are preferring 2 primary methods for creating biodegradable bioplastics from food waste. First, to use more recycling and recyclable material. Second, to use biodegradable material.
The process, more or less similar to fermentation in microbreweries, ensures the bioplastics are easy to compost. Their focus is on the purification of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and creation of high-value bioplastics. Through this project, researchers aim to demonstrate the scalability and feasibility of bioprocessing systems on national and global levels.
Source: Virginia Tech researchers work to create biodegradable bioplastics from food waste
