Scientists make plastic from sugar and carbon dioxide

[rangerrebew]

Scientists make plastic from sugar and carbon dioxide
June 13, 2017 by Vicky Just
 

Some biodegradable plastics could in the future be made using sugar and carbon dioxide, replacing unsustainable plastics made from crude oil, following research by scientists from the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies (CSCT) at the University of Bath.

Safer form of polycarbonate plastic

Polycarbonate is used to make drinks bottles, lenses for glasses and in scratch-resistant coatings for phones, CDs and DVDs

Current manufacture processes for polycarbonate use BPA (banned from use in baby bottles) and highly toxic phosgene, used as a chemical weapon in World War One


Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-06-scientists-plastic-sugar-carbon-dioxide.html#jCp

[Joe Wooten]

The article did not say it, but I would bet it is a LOT more expensive and a lot less "sustainable" way of making plastics that the current methods using crude oil.

[Elderberry]

The article did not say it, but I would bet it is a LOT more expensive and a lot less "sustainable" way of making plastics that the current methods using crude oil.

"Current manufacture processes for polycarbonate use BPA (banned from use in baby bottles) and highly toxic phosgene, used as a chemical weapon in World War One

Bath scientists have made alternative polycarbonates from sugars and carbon dioxide in a new process that also uses low pressures and room temperature, making it cheaper and safer to produce

This new type of polycarbonate can be biodegraded back into carbon dioxide and sugar using enzymes from soil bacteria"

[Joe Wooten]

"Current manufacture processes for polycarbonate use BPA (banned from use in baby bottles) and highly toxic phosgene, used as a chemical weapon in World War One

Bath scientists have made alternative polycarbonates from sugars and carbon dioxide in a new process that also uses low pressures and room temperature, making it cheaper and safer to produce

This new type of polycarbonate can be biodegraded back into carbon dioxide and sugar using enzymes from soil bacteria"

We'll see. Over the last 40 years I've seen too much of this kind of stuff with great promise in the lab that turns out to be a commercial bust because scaling up from lab processes proves impossibly expensive  to not be skeptical