Biodegradable plastics based on elephant grass

2001/03/07 Astobiza, Amaia

• Garraioak
• Birziklatzea

In Europe, today, more than ten million vehicles are discarded each year. However, although many are taking to the scrap, there are also many vehicles that are abandoned anywhere. And as soon as they are abandoned, vehicles become waste, waste of difficult disposal. To address this problem, researchers are using the herb elephant (miscanthus) to make biodegradable parts of plastic for vehicles.

Researchers Nick Tucker and Mark Johnson of the Warwick Manufacturing Group at Warwick University and Bical farmers collaborate on this project. The company Bical (Biomas Industrial Crops Limited) is a group of farmers from western countries that aims to exploit the potential of the miscanthus plant, which has already become a multinational.

Miscanthus is a very perennial plant and its reeds in the form of bamboo can reach 3 meters long. In fact, the name of elephant grass refers to another plant, the Pennisetum purpurpureum. However, due to its size, the same name was used for the miscanthus plant. The production of the plant is clean, as it hardly needs pesticides or fertilizers and, to the south of Brittany, 15 tons per hectare are are collected. Today, elephant grass is used by farmers as a source for livestock and straw roofs, even as fuel, for energy.

Studies to date have shown that the miscanthus plant can be used as a biodegradable filling of the structure of plastic parts of vehicles. In fact, the herb elephant is used to stiffen a biodegradable plastic that is otherwise too weak. However, although no one can think otherwise, plastic parts made of elephant herbs do not degrade throughout the life of the vehicle, so it is essential that, when you choose not to use the vehicle any more, they compost.

In addition to the plastic parts of the vehicles, researchers are working on the development of new products with the miscanthus plant and developing the necessary techniques for it. Among the projects is the use of the plant to produce wood products, paper paste, soap and washbasins.