• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Friday, August 22, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

Turning plastic into foam to combat pollution

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
June 29, 2021
in Science News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Researchers develop a method to reuse previously nonrecyclable plastic

IMAGE

Credit: Heon Park

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2021 — Biodegradable plastics are supposed to be good for the environment. But because they are specifically made to degrade quickly, they cannot be recycled.

In Physics of Fluids, by AIP Publishing, researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand have developed a method to turn biodegradable plastic knives, spoons, and forks into a foam that can be used as insulation in walls or in flotation devices.

The investigators placed the cutlery, which was previously thought to be “nonfoamable” plastic, into a chamber filled with carbon dioxide. As pressure increased, the gas dissolved into the plastic.

When they suddenly released the pressure in the chamber, the carbon dioxide expanded within the plastic, creating foaming. Author Heon Park said the process is like opening a can of soda and releasing the carbonation.

“Tweaking temperature and pressure, there is a window where we can make good foams,” said Park. “It’s not that every temperature or every pressure works. We found what temperature or what pressure is the best to make those nonfoamable plastics into foams.”

Each time plastic is recycled, it loses a bit of its strength. Foams are an ideal new material, because they are not required to be strong in many applications.

“Whenever we recycle, each time, we degrade the plastics,” said Park. “Let’s say we have a biodegradable spoon. We use it once, and we recycle it back into another spoon. It may break in your mouth.”

The ideal structure of a foam depends on its final use. Bulky foams, which have large or plentiful air pockets, are good for buoys. The researchers found, contrary to what was previously thought, lower chamber pressures led to bulky foams.

Making biodegradable plastics recyclable could alleviate some of the global pollution problem. While biodegradable material eventually breaks down in nature, it is even better for the environment if plastics can be repurposed.

Biodegradable and recyclable plastics can be used more than once but are also less of an environmental threat if they end up in oceans or landfills. The team believes this process could be implemented on a large scale.

“We can expand foaming applications to a lot of plastics, not just this plastic,” said Park.

###

The article “Recycling and rheology of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to make foams using supercritical fluid” is authored by Heon E. Park, Lilian Lin, and Young Lee. The article will appear in Physics of Fluids on June 29, 2021 (DOI: 10.1063/5.0050649). After that date, it can be accessed at https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0050649.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Physics of Fluids is devoted to the publication of original theoretical, computational, and experimental contributions to the dynamics of gases, liquids, and complex fluids. See https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf.

Media Contact
Larry Frum
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0050649

Tags: Biomechanics/BiophysicsChemistry/Physics/Materials SciencesClimate ChangeHydrology/Water ResourcesMarine/Freshwater BiologyPolymer Chemistry
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Metabolic Modeling Reveals Yeast Diversity for Enhanced Industrial Biotechnology

Metabolic Modeling Reveals Yeast Diversity for Enhanced Industrial Biotechnology

August 22, 2025
Protein Landscape Reveals Host Response in Emergency Patients

Protein Landscape Reveals Host Response in Emergency Patients

August 22, 2025

Deep Learning Framework Unveils the Evolution of Nanoscience Characterization Techniques

August 22, 2025

Revolutionizing Hydrogen Production with Enhanced Modified Ilmenite Oxygen Carriers

August 22, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    141 shares
    Share 56 Tweet 35
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    114 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20
  • Modified DASH Diet Reduces Blood Sugar Levels in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes, Clinical Trial Finds

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
v>

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Metabolic Modeling Reveals Yeast Diversity for Enhanced Industrial Biotechnology

Protein Landscape Reveals Host Response in Emergency Patients

Deep Learning Framework Unveils the Evolution of Nanoscience Characterization Techniques

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.