Lausanne researchers produce plastic from corn cobs
Published: Monday, Mar 18th 2024, 10:50
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Plastic from corncobs: Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a new method for turning agricultural waste into plastic.
The plastic produced in this way has a CO2 footprint that is up to 75 percent lower than conventional plastics, the EPFL announced on Monday.
The research team led by Jeremy Luterbacher presented the method for producing so-called polyamides in the journal "Nature Sustainability". Polyamides are a class of plastics that includes nylon, for example. The main raw material for this is crude oil.
Sugar structure
The Lausanne researchers use the chemical sugar structure from agricultural waste such as wood or corn cobs as the main raw material. According to the EPFL, the process achieves an atomic efficiency of 97%, which means that almost all of the starting material is used in the end product.
The resulting plastic has properties that can compete with those of its fossil counterparts, the researchers wrote in the study. The researchers also estimate that the costs for producing the new bioplastic are similar to those for producing nylon 66, which is widely used today.
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