Bamboo is transformed into high-strength, water-resistant and biodegradable plastic
Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, August 25 (reporter Ma Aiping) Reporter 25 from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration bamboo Research and development center (hereinafter referred to as the "Bamboo center") learned that the center to bamboo plastic innovation team using bamboo cell wall directional activation and molding technology, Successfully processed bamboo directly into high strength, water resistance and degradable all bamboo thermosetting plastic shaped products. The relevant research results were recently published in the international journal "American Chemical Society Nano".
Bamboo is seen as a potential alternative to petroleum-based plastics due to its fast growth, renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly properties. However, bamboo is weak in its own ability to bond and often needs to be combined with adhesives or other materials, which can pose a risk of air pollution. In addition, compared with petroleum-based plastics, bamboo has poor natural plasticity and needs to rely on hydrothermal treatment for softening and setting during the molding process, which limits its application scope to some extent.
"This study uses an innovative strategy to achieve the effective removal of some lignin from bamboo by combining the selective action of sodium chlorite and acetic acid. At the same time, the sugar unit was treated with sodium periodate by directional aldeylation, and the structure and components of bamboo cell wall were reconstructed successfully. This process not only significantly enhanced the reactivity of bamboo cell units, but also greatly improved their plasticity." Guo Dengkang, the first author of the paper and an assistant researcher at the Bamboo Center, told Science and Technology Daily that on this basis, the team successfully converted the treated bamboo directly into thermosetting plastic products through the hot pressing densification process. The new all-bamboo thermosetting plastic shows excellent mechanical properties comparable to hard plastics such as polystyrene, phenolic resin and polyvinyl chloride.