Xinhua Agency, Melbourne, October 10 (Reporter Xu Haijing) Monash University in Australia recently issued a statement saying that a study by the school successfully converted sugar in food waste into natural polymers, which is expected to replace plastic packaging based on petroleum products in the future and provide biodegradable plastic alternatives for food and agricultural uses.

Researchers at Monash University published a paper in the network science journal Microbial Cell Factory, saying that sugar in food waste can be converted into polyhydroxyfatty acid ester (PHA) biopolymer, thus gradually replacing plastic packaging and helping to solve the current environmental problems caused by the global annual production of 400 million tons of plastic.

The researchers fed the two bacteria that live in the soil, the ¡°real-growth bacteria¡± and the ¡°bad smell¡± bacteria, a well-balanced sugar ¡°diet¡± that properly blends sugar, salt, nutrients and micronutrients. Once the microorganism ¡°grew fat¡± and the cells produce ¡°natural plastics¡±, the researchers extracted these ¡°plastics¡± and cast them into an ultra-thin film about 20 microns thick to test their stretching, strength and melting properties. This ¡°plastic¡± can also be made into other shapes, especially suitable for manufacturing high-temperature sensitivity packaging, medical thin film and other products.

The researchers say the study demonstrates how to turn food waste into ultra-thin films with adjustable, sustainable, biodegradable properties.PHA¡¯s versatility means that we can redesign the plastic materials we rely on every day without generating the environmental costs of traditional plastics.