What is PHBV?
PHBV is a new type of biopolymer 3-hydroxybutyrate and 3-hydroxyvalerate copolymer, the molecular formula is as follows:
It is a kind of biological material produced by fermentation engineering technology using starch as raw material. It is a kind of biopolyester, which is produced by bacteria, can be digested by bacteria, and completely decomposed into carbon dioxide, water and biomass under soil or composting conditions.
PHBV has complete biocompatibility and high barrier to water and gas, so it is used in medical materials (sutures, bone nails), film materials (mulch, shopping bags, compost bags), disposable products (pens, Tableware), packaging materials (especially food packaging), etc. have a wide range of application prospects.
At present, more than 20 companies in the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan and other countries have launched bio-self-destructing plastics. Biologists from the University of Michigan proposed the idea of "planting" decomposable plastics. They used potatoes and corn as raw materials and implanted genetic genes of plastics so that they could grow bioplastics without harmful ingredients under artificial control. . U.S. Empire Chemical Industries uses bacteria to make sugar and organic acids into biodegradable plastics. The method is similar to the fermentation process used to produce ethanol, except that the bacteria used are of the genus Alcaligenes, which can convert the feed material into a plastic. Called PHBV. The bacteria accumulate this plastic as energy storage, just like humans and animals accumulate fat. When the PHBV accumulated by the bacteria reaches 80% of their body weight, steam is used to break these cells and collect the plastic. PHBV has similar properties to polypropylene. After being discarded, this material is stable even in a humid environment, but in the presence of microorganisms, it will degrade into carbon dioxide and water. Therefore, this plastic will not pollute the earth.
