Introduction and Motivation
In light of the massive surge for environmental accountability in this day and age, one of the major sources of pollution is that of plastics. Since the 1950's it can be estimated that over 1 Billion tons of plastic have been placed into landfills, and current estimates state that it will take hundreds or thousands of years to completely degrade [1]. There has been a great response in people recycling much of their plastic waste, but if the plastic could simply be composted, or designed to degrade in a quick, environmentally friendly way much of the waste could be eliminated from the landfills, and the hassle of recycling would become moot. This page will therefore look at the production of biodegradable plastics, how widespread the implementation is and can be, and attempt to find ways to make the process more energy or materials efficient. As well,the actual process will be evaluated to see if it is actually better for the environment in the long run. Such breakthroughs will hopefully further drive the plastics industry to develop the processes needed to produce this plastic, and help the environment.
Overview of Plastic Production
W are the basic building blocks of today's society. Over the last 60 years[2], the development of plastics has been developed and perfected to such a degree that almost anything can be made of plastic and it's many W.
Bioplastic Production/Processing Methods Used today
PHA production: production of plastic directly within bacterial and plant cells
PLA production: Manipulation of sugars and starch into polylactides
Developements in Bioplastic processing
Energy,Cost and Waste comparison
References
- ↑ Alan Weisman, "The World Without Us," St. Martin's Press, NY, 2007.
- ↑ Michel Vert, "Biopolymers and Artificial Biopolymers in Biomedical Applications, an Overview", Biomedical polymers: sustainable polymer science and technology, eds. Chiellini, Emo.Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York:2001. pp.63