Are Bottles Made From Sugar A Sweet Solution to the Plastic Crisis? Maybe.

green queen by Jill Ettinger | January 28, 2022

In the effort to curb plastic waste, scientists from the U.K.’s University of Birmingham and Duke University say they’ve succeeded in turning elements found in sugar alcohols into what they claim is degradable and recyclable bioplastic.

The researchers created two new types of polymers from the sugar bases, iodide and isomannide. Isomannide can be developed into a material that stretches like rubber, and the iodide base performs like hard plastic. Both of the compounds contain ring-like structures made of the same atoms. According to the researchers, the arrangement of the atoms changes the properties. While other sugar-based bioplastics exist, the researchers say these materials have the potential to outperform conventional plastic.

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