Plastic will be replaced by a symbiosis of wood and cobwebs

Active and ubiquitous use of plasticalready leads to a real danger to the environment. Around the world, there is a search for materials that can replace plastic polluting the planet’s ecology. In Finland, a team from Aalto University (Helsinki) and the Center for Technical Research (VTT) are working on creating an unusual substance based on natural organic materials. At the heart of a fundamentally new material that can withstand severe mechanical stress and has good ductility, scientists used cobweb protein and wood fiber.

The main advantage of the resultingThe experiment of plastic material is the possibility of rapid biological decomposition into components that are harmless to nature. The basis or framework of the future material was made of birch wood fibers, previously specially treated.

Gives the material elasticity to the second component,created on the basis of a protein obtained using bacteria with synthetic DNA. Such a composite material has demonstrated excellent strength properties and high elasticity. Ecologically harmless material can be used in various industries and in medicine.

Using genetic engineering to createsubstances safe for nature opens up enormous prospects for scientists to replace hazardous plastics with new materials with predetermined strength and elasticity characteristics.

Source: eurekalert