麻豆淫院

A team of biomaterial engineers, environmental resource specialists and industrial design researchers affiliated with a host of institutions across Japan has developed a biodegradable material that is clear and can hold boiling water鈥攁nd it degrades in less than a year after settling on the ocean floor. Their work is in the journal Science Advances.

Prior research has shown that millions of tons of plastics are piling up in the environment, including on the ocean floor. Because of this, scientists have been looking for better, biodegradable replacements. In this new effort, the research team has developed a paper-based, clear, biodegradable material that can stand up to liquids for several hours, even those that have been heated, allowing them to replace plastic cups, straws, and other everyday objects.

The research team made the material by starting with a standard cellulose hydrogel. After drying, the material was treated with an aqueous lithium bromide solution which forced the cellulose to solidify into desired shapes. The researchers note that end-products could be as thin as plastic cup walls, or as thick as desired. They describe the material as tPB, a transparent 3D material made solely of cellulose.

Testing of the material showed it worked as well as standard drinking straws, with no signs of the collapse seen in paper straws that are used for very long. They also noted that cups made using the material leaked just a little bit after three hours鈥攁dding a plant-based resin coating stopped them from leaking at all.

The research team also tested the biodegradability of the material in a marine environment. They made several sheets of the material and placed some in shallow water, and others in very deep places. Prior research has shown that due to the cold temperatures at great depths, materials take longer to degrade. They found their new material degraded completely in less than 12 months in the deepest parts of the ocean.

The final test involved how well the material could be recycled. The research team found it could be done easily enough, but that it became less transparent after being melted and reformed.

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