The dual pressures of sustainable development and environmental protection have increased the demand for completely biodegradable materials. Some domestic companies have also made active efforts in the research and development of ecological plastics.
People usually say that plastics are produced using petroleum-based raw materials and chemical synthesis methods. As the supply of petroleum resources in the world is getting more and more intense, and plastics have caused more and more attention due to the long-term inability to self-decompose and cause “white pollutionâ€, ecological plastics using plants as raw materials have emerged.
Eco-plastic is a renewable resource that uses sunlight and carbon dioxide as its energy source and carbon source, such as starch and cellulose, which are converted into polymers by biotechnology. After the burning of traditional plastics with oil as raw material, the carbon dioxide originally stored in oil will be released, which will lead to global warming. However, ecological plastics use plants that grow by absorbing carbon dioxide in the existing atmosphere. Even after burning, the total amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will not change. After the eco-plastics are used up, they can decompose spontaneously in nature, that is, they can achieve bio-degradation without causing pollution to the environment. This ecological plastic called "green material" was born with the development of genetic engineering technology. Biologists in the United States placed two foreign genes into mustard plants and crossed these plants with the offspring carrying the two genes, resulting in a plastic material that could be decomposed in the leaves of mustard plants. Hydrocarbyl butyric acid. Swiss scientists use biotechnology to grow bacteria in the laboratory that produce plastics. This bacteria has a plastic sphere in the body. After separating the sphere and irradiating it with an electron beam, a rubber-like substance can be obtained. Its performance does not change within the temperature range of -20°C to 170°C. Today, research on the transfer of carbon from sugar beet, sugar cane, potatoes, and many other crops has come to fruition and produced polyhydrocarbyl butyric acid. Ecological plastics have entered the practical stage from the experimental stage and have begun to be applied in surgical operations and food packaging. Japan's Toyota Corp. has tried its own eco-plastics on automotive materials. The 2000 Sydney Olympic Games used a lot of ecological plastics. The research and production of ecological plastics at home and abroad is in the ascendant. Only the most recent professional conference of this material was held. Among the 10 foreign companies and 3 domestic companies participating in the meeting, the largest annual production capacity has reached 140,000 tons, while the smaller ones There are 1,000 tons.
A new material cannot come out perfect. There are still many problems with ecological plastics. Compared with traditional plastics, its production costs are high. From the perspective of automotive eco-plastics developed by Toyota, it is still relatively poor in terms of heat resistance and impact resistance, and there are many unsolvable problems in processing, such as injectable molding. Toyota also took measures to improve this, such as in the production of spare tire cover ecological plastic, mixed with a plant called kenaf to improve its heat resistance and impact resistance.
The development of ecological plastic in our country has experienced a tortuous path. The initial eco-plastic product was a blend of starch and polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc. They were only partially biodegradable, and due to the higher cost than traditional plastics, it was not easy to promote and apply. The dual pressure of sustainable development and environmental protection has increased the demand for completely biodegradable materials. Some domestic companies have also made active efforts in the research and development of ecological plastics. Relevant experts believe that the use of ecological plastics in the 2000 Sydney Olympics has promoted the industrialization of ecological materials. China's oil shortage and environmental pollution are relatively serious. If we can use the opportunity of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to vigorously develop and apply ecological plastics, it will play a positive role in promoting the formation of a recyclable economy, saving resources, and protecting the environment.