Objectives/Goals This project was designed to determine how varying the amount of a specific ingredient that constitute a bioplastic mixture can affect tensile strength. I hypothesized that if more glycerin is added to a mixture of cornstarch, water, vinegar, and glycerin, then a bioplastic with increased tensile strength and flexibility will be produced. Methods/Materials Mold, 40 bioplastics ...

Conventional petroleum-derived plastics are recalcitrant to biodegradation and can be problematic as they accumulate in the environment. In contrast, it may be possible to add novel, biodegradable bioplastics to anaerobic digesters at municipal water resource recovery facilities along with primary sludge to produce more biomethane. In this study, thermal and chemical bioplastic pretreatments we...

The innovative study was carried out to produce nano-cellulose based bioplastic biomaterials for vehicle use coming after bioprocess technology. The data show that nano-cellulose particle size was 20 nm and negligible water absorption was 0.03% in the bioplastic. Moreover, burning test, size and shape characterizations, spray coating dye, energy test and firmness of bioplastic have been explore...

Conventional disposable cups, made of fossil-based plastic or paper with inner lining of fossil-based plastic, are typically associated with an unnecessary use of scarce resources and a superfluous production of waste. An alternative has become available in disposable cups from bio-based and biodegradable materials, so-called biocups, made from bioplastic or paper with inner lining of bioplasti...

We report the draft genome sequence of Halomonas sp. strain KM-1, which was isolated in Ikeda City, Osaka, Japan, and which produces the bioplastic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate). The total length of the assembled genome is 4,992,811 bp, and 4,220 coding sequences were predicted within the genome. Genes encoding proteins that are involved in the production and depolymerization of poly(3-hydroxybutyrat...

Plastic prepared from formulations of cornstarch and poly(b-hydroxybutyrate-co-b-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) biodegraded in tropical coastal waters. Biodegradation was monitored for 1 year. Starch—PHBV bioplastic appeared to lose weight in two overlapping phases until both biopolymers were entirely consumed. To examine the underlying degradation of starch and PHBV from biphasic weight-loss profiles...

Each year over 140 million tons of petroleum-based polymers are produced worldwide and used in the production of such plasticsaspolyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyurethane, and others. Mostly using oil, coal, and natural gas as raw materials for their manufacturing, these plastics are common in every facet of our lives from the pharmaceutical industry to household use. Approxima...