Dead flies to make biodegradable plastic? This is the useful finding of American researchers from Texas A&M University, presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
“For 20 years, our team has developed ways to transform natural products, such as glucose, into degradable and digestible polymers, which would not remain in nature. But the products we use were obtained from resources used as food or fuel, ”he explains to the guardian Karen Wooley, at the origin of the discovery.
Then a colleague suggested that he investigate black soldier flies, whose larvae contain protein and nutrients. He later realizes that the body of these insects is made of chitin, a natural polymer that strengthens their exoskeleton. This molecule, found in crustaceans in particular, is increasingly used in medicine and science.
Plastic pollution on the visor
Using chitin from black soldier flies, Karen Wooley and her team were able to develop a hydrogel, a water-insoluble gel that absorbed 47 times its weight in water in just one minute. This discovery could be used in agriculture to capture water during floods and slowly release it during dry spells.
“In Texas, we are constantly under water or without water. So I tried to create a super absorbent gel to solve this situation,” he said.
Scientists now hope they can create biodegradable plastic derived not from petrochemicals but from black soldier flies. A way to solve, in the long term, the problem of plastic pollution.
Source: BFM TV
