New Bacteria-Grown Bioplastic Stronger Than Steel While Remaining Biodegradable
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📰 The quick summary: Rice University researchers have developed a bacteria-produced biomaterial with aligned fibers that rivals the strength of some metals while remaining biodegradable, offering a promising alternative to petroleum-based plastics.
📈 One key stat: The new bioplastic achieves a tensile strength of 553 megapascals when enhanced with hexagonal boron nitride, making it stronger than low-carbon steel while being fully biodegradable.
💬 One key quote: “We envision these strong, multifunctional and eco-friendly bacterial cellulose sheets becoming ubiquitous, replacing plastics in various industries and helping mitigate environmental damage,” says Muhammad Maksud Rahman.
1️⃣ The big picture: Scientists at Rice University have engineered an innovative bioplastic by controlling how bacteria grow and produce cellulose fibers. By spinning the microbes in a bioreactor, they’ve created a material with aligned fibers that possesses remarkable strength. Their creation, called BCBN (bacterial cellulose-hexagonal boron nitride), transforms random bacterial cellulose into a structured material with mechanical properties rivaling some metals and traditional plastics. What makes this breakthrough especially significant is that the material remains biodegradable while offering superior performance characteristics, including enhanced heat dissipation when hexagonal boron nitride is added to the mix.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: This bacterial cellulose-based material represents a genuine alternative to petroleum-based plastics that doesn’t sacrifice performance for sustainability. The production process is relatively simple, requiring only a spinning chamber to align the cellulose fibers naturally produced by the bacteria. The resulting material not only matches but exceeds the tensile strength of low-carbon steel while remaining fully biodegradable. When enhanced with hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets, it gains improved thermal management capabilities, dissipating heat three times faster than regular bacterial cellulose. This versatility makes it suitable for applications ranging from electronics to energy storage systems, potentially reducing plastic pollution across multiple industries.
3️⃣ What’s next: Researchers will likely focus on scaling up production of the BCBN material to industrial levels. Various industries might begin testing the bioplastic as a replacement for petroleum-based alternatives in specific applications. Additional research could explore further customization of the material’s properties by integrating different nanoscale additives into the bacterial cellulose.
Read the full story here: Science Alert – This Incredible New Bioplastic Could Be The Supermaterial of Tomorrow
