Researchers from Colorado State University (CSU) are known to have set their sights on molecules extracted from biomass compounds in order to find plastics that are both fully recyclable and degradable. The U.S. Department of Energy, for its part, had listed the substance as one of the 12 most suitable items to replace petrochemicals. Early scientific literature has defined butyrolactone (GBL) as a molecule with great potential as an advanced plastic building block. However, because the substance possesses thermal stability, it is unable to undergo polymerization reactions.


       Chemically, GBL is the same as the commercial bioplastic P4HB, but because the latter is based on bacterial production, it is more expensive and the process is more complex, the team said. The team hopes that their findings will lead to lower-cost, simpler processes for the industry for recyclable, degradable plastics.


       While some plastics can be recycled and made into useful items through constant accumulation, most waste plastics end up in landfills or the ocean. Recently, chemists have found a polymer that can allegedly be synthesized into a useful material that can then be reborn by breaking down into its original structural form.


       While plastics such as PLA can be degraded under certain circumstances, they do have some drawbacks. While recycling can be a way to extend the life cycle of a material, it cannot break it down to its original molecular state without producing other harmful substances. 

       So, CSU chemistry professor Eugene Chen and colleague Miao Hong collaborated on research, and they eventually discovered a fabrication process that not only generates polymers from GBL, but also allows such polymers to form different shapes, such as threads and rings. The process involves both metallic and non-metallic catalysts, which are heated to 220 degrees Celsius (for linear polymers) or 300 degrees Celsius (for cyclic polymers) for one hour and then the GBL is allowed to revert to its original molecular state.
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