The Leipzig-Halle Environmental Research Center in Germany recently announced that the center has developed a new plastics process that is environmentally friendly and biodegradable using biogas and bacteria.
According to reports, the bacteria used by this research center is a single methane strain. This bacteria can metabolize methane and produce fine-grained polymeric polyhydroxybutyric acid in its body, which can be extracted and made into plastic.
Polymeric polyhydroxybutyric acid is very similar in physical properties to petrochemical plastic products such as PE and PVC. But it is easily biodegradable, and the final product is only water and carbon dioxide, will not pollute the environment.
The center introduced that the raw material needed to produce this kind of plastic is biogas produced by the fermentation of organic waste, which contains 60% to 80% of methane. After the cultivated methane single bacteria have passed through the reactor for 24 hours, polyhydroxy butyric acid can be produced and the output can reach 0.02 g/L. Waste water, residues and heat generated can be recycled in the reaction and can be saved. cost.