U.S. launches new plastic production process

Recently, scientists from the Hawaiian Islands in the United States have invented a new process that uses food waste to produce polymers.
The plastic made from food waste introduced by the Hawaiian Institute of Natural Energy in the United States can be decomposed in nature and can be used to produce clean bags, disposable plastic appliances and even pharmaceutical capsules. According to reports, scientists will dilute and crush the food waste into water and store it in a high-temperature sealed container. After a certain period of time, the anaerobic microorganisms in the pulp will multiply, decompose the organic substances in the container, and release large amounts of organic substances. acid. The scientists separated the organic acids from the slurry and placed them in special containers. Special containers allow organic acids to escape and the compounds remain in containers with microorganisms. Microorganisms digest the resulting compounds and synthesize them into larger polymer molecules.
Scientists pointed out that the obtained polymer (poly-β-hydroxybutyrate) is mainly composed of bacterial cultures and can acquire 20-25 kg of polymer per 100 kg of organic slurry. The properties of the polymer obtained are related to the material of the container. When siloxane is used in place of a resin having a different acid permeability, a hard polymer is produced by the bacterium.