scholarly journals Bioplastics advances and their role in the management of plastic pollution

2021 ◽  
pp. 229-240
Author(s):  
Nidhi Sharma ◽  
Salman Akhtar ◽  
Mohammad Kalim Ahmad Khan
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Corn Starch ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Reduction ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Enhanced Production ◽  
Degradation Properties

Bioplastics are a type of plastic which are natural and renewable. These are made from raw materials such as sugarcane, corn starch, wood, wastepaper, fats, bacteria, algae. Bioplastics are eco-friendly as they can decompose back into carbon dioxide. Reduction of greenhouse gases through reduced carbon footprint occurs by the usage of renewable resources. In contrast to petrochemical plastics, bioplastics production is around 80% which is less than carbon dioxide. Bioplastics have been used as attractive materials for biomedical applications due to their physicochemical, biological, and degradation properties. Due to the widespread use of bioplastics, they are essential materials. Biowaste products should be designed correctly for the benefit of the environment and the utilization of these products. In composting and an anaerobic digestion infrastructure, a part of biorefineries, technology is beneficial. Enhanced production of plastics across the globe has been added more waste pollution. Recycling plastic waste is one solution to the increased plastic pollution, but it alone is not the only one. Decreased usage of fossil-based plastics is vital in the aspect of sustainability. This study aims to review the recent advances of bioplastics and their possible implications for controlling and managing plastic pollution.

Optimizing Experimental Variables to Enhance the Biodegradability of Polylactic Acid

2014 ◽  
Vol 472 ◽  
pp. 815-819
Author(s):  
Shu Wen Wang ◽  
Te Li Su
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Taguchi Method ◽  
Polylactic Acid ◽  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Parameter Design ◽  
Hydrolysis Rate ◽  
Biodegradable Materials ◽  
Optimal Conditions ◽  
Control Factors

Polylactic acid (PLA), the biodegradable materials, mainly using biobase as raw materials, is the biodegradable polyester manufactured with fermentation and chemical synthesis, or polymerization of monomers from petrochemical products. The polymer usually made with the renewable resources, such as microorganism, plants and animals, will be decomposed into water and carbon dioxide if the natural landfill or compost environment has sufficient moisture, temperature, oxygen and suitable microorganism. Therefore, this paper aims to improve the hydrolysis rate of the PLA during the whole decomposition process and to increase the decomposition rate of PLA in the natural environment. In this paper, Taguchi method was used for the parameter design of PLA hydrolysis and focusing on choosing the conditions that would affect PLA hydrolysis as control factors, for example, temperature, bacteria, ventilation degree and nutrient. Meanwhile, the experiment was conducted with L8 orthogonal array and analysis of variance to find out the significant factor and the optimal conditions of PLA hydrolysis. We found the temperature and bacteria are signify factors by the variance. Lastly, confirmation experiments verified the reproducibility of this experiment. Confirmed by the experiments, results showed that the obtained SN ratios were greater than the rate of eight PLA hydrolysis experiments and this means the experiment is reliable.

Organic chemical devulcanization of rubber vulcanizates in supercritical carbon dioxide and associated less eco-unfriendly approaches: A review

2021 ◽  
pp. 0734242X2110085
Author(s):  
Jabulani I Gumede ◽  
Buyiswa G Hlangothi ◽  
Chris D Woolard ◽  
Shanganyane P Hlangothi
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Supercritical Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Chemical Components ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Waste Tyres ◽  
Supercritical Carbon

There is a growing need to recover raw materials from waste due to increasing environmental concerns and the widely adopted transition to circular economy. For waste tyres, it is necessary to continuously develop methods and processes that can devulcanize rubber vulcanizates into rubber products with qualities and properties that can closely match those of the virgin rubber. Currently, the most common, due to its efficiency and perceived eco-friendliness in recovering raw rubber from waste rubbers, such as tyres, is devulcanization in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) using commercial and typical devulcanizing agents. The scCO2 has been generally accepted as an attractive alternative to the traditional liquid-based devulcanization media because of the resultant devulcanized rubber has relatively better quality than other processes. For instance, when scCO2 is employed to recover rubber from waste tyres (e.g. truck tyres) and the recovered rubber is blended with virgin natural rubber (NR) in various compositions, the curing and mechanical properties of the blends closely match those of virgin NR. The atmospheric toxicity and cost of the commonly used devulcanization materials like chemical agents, oils and solvents have enabled a shift towards utilization of greener (mainly organic) and readily available devulcanization chemical components. This literature review paper discusses the approaches, which have less negative impact on the environment, in chemical devulcanization of rubber vulcanizates. A special focus has been on thermo-chemical devulcanization of waste tyres in scCO2 using common organic devulcanizing agents.

Fundamentals, On-Going Advances and Challenges of Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Reduction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zongkui Kou ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Tingting Wang ◽  
Yuanyuan Ma ◽  
Wenjie Zang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Reduction

scholarly journals Tenebrio molitor in the circular economy: a novel approach for plastic valorisation and PHA biological recovery

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Sangiorgio ◽  
Alessandra Verardi ◽  
Salvatore Dimatteo ◽  
Anna Spagnoletta ◽  
Stefania Moliterni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Tenebrio Molitor ◽  
World Population ◽  
Plastic Pollution ◽  
Biological Recovery ◽  
Great Opportunity ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The One

AbstractThe increase in the world population leads to rising demand and consumption of plastic raw materials; only a small percentage of plastics is recovered and recycled, increasing the quantity of waste released into the environment and losing its economic value. The plastics represent a great opportunity in the circular perspective of their reuse and recycling. Research is moving, on the one hand, to implement sustainable systems for plastic waste management and on the other to find new non-fossil-based plastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In this review, we focus our attention on Tenebrio molitor (TM) as a valuable solution for plastic biodegradation and biological recovery of new biopolymers (e.g. PHA) from plastic-producing microorganisms, exploiting its highly diversified gut microbiota. TM’s use for plastic pollution management is controversial. However, TM microbiota is recognised as a source of plastic-degrading microorganisms. TM-based plastic degradation is improved by co-feeding with food loss and waste as a dietary energy source, thus valorising these low-value substrates in a circular economy perspective. TM as a bioreactor is a valid alternative to traditional PHA recovery systems with the advantage of obtaining, in addition to highly pure PHA, protein biomass and rearing waste from which to produce fertilisers, chitin/chitosan, biochar and biodiesel. Finally, we describe the critical aspects of these TM-based approaches, mainly related to TM mass production, eventual food safety problems, possible release of microplastics and lack of dedicated legislation.

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