Recently, Russia's Tula State University (TulSU) announced that its researchers have used special bacteria to obtain a biodegradable packaging material similar to polyethylene from carbon dioxide emissions.
The traditional industrial method for purifying gas emissions is to capture and bury carbon dioxide. Scientists at Tula State University stated that this method is costly and not always effective.
As an alternative way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, experts at Tula State University proposed processing this greenhouse gas into a material with properties similar to polyethylene.
Vyacheslav Arlyapov, Director of the 'Biochemical Technology' Research Center at Tula State University, explained: 'In the first stage, carbon dioxide is converted into simple organic substances-formates-under the action of a catalyst, and then 'captured' by specially selected bacteria. These microorganisms can produce polymers used to store nutrients, with a strength comparable to ordinary polyethylene used to make plastic bags.'
According to him, one of the bacteria capable of producing bio-packaging is Cupriavidus necator, whose ability to store nutrients has long been known. The scientist added that various other microorganisms involved in this new technology are unique strains collected by TulSU experts during field research.
"Some bacteria that grow under adverse ecological conditions, such as soils contaminated with heavy metals, sometimes have the ability to 'store' food in polymer form. We isolated 80 candidate microorganisms from environmental samples, but only 3 were able to produce 'biodegradable packaging,'" emphasized Arliyapov.
The university further pointed out that this new technology could allow large companies to obtain tons of biodegradable packaging materials, which can be naturally 'digested' over a few years.
Currently, this technology is still in the laboratory research stage. In the future, researchers plan to adjust the polymer composition to make it suitable for 3D printing, while also studying the material's mechanical properties in more detail, to achieve industrial application of this technology.
