Scientists investigating the lifespans of different materials in sea water have found a new bioplastic foam that degrades 15 times faster than traditional plastic equivalents.
The material, called cellulose diacetate (CDA) foam, is made from wood pulp modified by a process called ‘foaming’ which introduces tiny pores into the material.
The team from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts have spent years testing the degradation rates of different materials in a specially designed tank of continuously flowing seawater. Their results were published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering this week.
Environmental variables like light exposure and temperature were carefully monitored and microbes and nutrients were regularly replenished to replicate real ocean conditions as accurately as possible.
After nine months in the water, the CDA foams lost 65-70% of their original mass.
Traditional plastic styrofoams account for more than 40% of all plastic waste in some marine environments, and the researchers believe that adoption of bioplastics like CDA foams can dramatically reduce the environmental impact of these types of materials.
Many impressive research breakthroughs encounter problems with replicating results at scale. However, the WHOI team preempted this by partnering with material innovation company, Eastman, which is already producing foamed CDA products.
“One of the criteria when designing the new material was that it had to be a drop-in, turn-key replacement for Styrofoam goods, meaning that the companies that convert the raw CDA into the biodegradable foam don’t have to invest in new equipment,” explained study co-author Collin Ward.
