And in the latest encouraging blow against single - exercise food promotional material specifically – the largest sourceof humanity’s6.3 billion metric tonand grow aggregation of shaping waste material – researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a flexile cinema that could soon replace the convenient yet unrecyclable , non - decaying environmental curse that is plastic wrapper .
The novel product is made by spray alternating layers of chitin and cellulose fibers , sourced from discarded crabmeat shells and woodwind pulp , severally , onto a polylactic window pane ( PLA ) foundation .
Chitin , the basal component of arthropod exoskeleton and fungal cell walls , and cellulose , the molecule that give plants and single - celled alga their body structure , are the most abundant organic polymers on the planet , whereas PLA is bring forth from starchy plants such as corn or cassava .
The squad ’s study , put out in the journalACS Sustainable Chemistry , shows that the film is not only comparable to formative clingstone film , it execute many of the same project better .
" The main benchmark that we equate it to is PET , or polythene terephthalate , one of the most common petroleum - based material in the transparent packaging you see in vending machines and soft drink bottle , " conduce author J. Carson Meredith say in astatement . " Our cloth establish up to a 67 percent reduction in O permeability over some forms of PET , which means it could in hypothesis keep foods fresher longer . "
According to Professor Meredith , the team had been studying chitin for a separate task when they realise the fibre ’s molecular properties could make it well suited for packaging .
" We recognized that because the chitin nanofibers are positively send , and the cellulose nanocrystals are negatively point , they might work well as tack layer in coatings because they would organize a skillful interface between them , " Meredith said , explain that food - preserving film must block gases .
" It ’s difficult for a gas molecule to penetrate a solid lechatelierite , because it has to cut off the crystal structure , " Meredith said . " Something like PET on the other manus has a significant amount of unstructured or non - limpid subject , so there are more path easier for a small gasoline corpuscle to find its fashion through . "
Unfortunately , the film still lets too much water vapor through for it to be commercially viable as of now , but the authors are optimistic that pinch in the production unconscious process and/or formula will remedy this .
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the constitutional material is that no additional chitinous creature or trees would need to be harvested to supply the raw fiber ; the seafood and newspaper industries already likely produce enough fresh byproduct .
