Researchers Develop Eco-Friendly, Recyclable Plastic That Is Not Made From Crude Oil

Every area of human life has been contaminated by plastic, including medical devices, educational materials, and, arguably, every occupation and way of life on the world.

The packaging for daily-use products is not even imaginable without plastic wrapping. An environmental crisis has been brought on by years of excessive use and a rise in single-use, disposable plastics.

Researchers, developers, and scientists have been attempting to create new eco-friendly and simple processes for producing plastic. In the quest for solutions, recent research has achieved a breakthrough.

A new type of plastic has just been created by researchers at Boise State University in the US that, unlike other plastics, is not made from crude oil and its byproducts.

According to the New Scientist, Allison Christy and Scott Phillips at Boise State University in Idaho used ethyl cyanoacrylate-the main ingredient in super glue-to create a plastic that could replace polystyrene, which is commonly used in yoghurt pots, disposable cups, and cutlery and accounts for 6 percent of plastic waste.

The scientists explained the process, saying ethyl cyanoacrylate can be made from formaldehyde, which in turn can be made from carbon dioxide. When super glue is exposed to moisture, ethyl cyanoacrylate molecules bond to form polymer chains, but the reaction is so fast that you only get short chains.

The researchers created a way to slow that process down in order to form longer polymer chains and therefore a stronger material, known as poly(ethyl cyanoacrylate), or PECA.

According to the United Nations, up to 12 million tonnes of plastic are being swept into the oceans annually, and gyres, or so-called ‘islands of plastic’, are blossoming.

While most plastics are expected to remain intact for decades or centuries after use, those that do erode end up as micro-plastics, which are consumed by fish and other marine wildlife and quickly make their way into the global food chain. Indeed, micro-plastics have been found everywhere, from the Arctic to the Swiss mountains, in tap water, and in human faeces.