Komaplastics: Cellulose-Based Biodegradable Agricultural Plastic
Engineering
BME 188A-C
Conventional bed mulch films are a considerable source of plastic waste and pollution. This project aims to design a biodegradable thermoplastic derived from bacterial cellulose (BC) to replace contemporary agricultural films. The creation of an amorphous cellulose is a prerequisite to the addition of plasticizer. Cellulose dissolution and amorphous cellulose production has been accomplished with ionic liquids, but CBM integration will be investigated as an alternative dissolution method as it is likely more compatible with a co-culture production scheme. Several plasticizers have been tested for their ability to plasticize cellulose while more plasticizer tests are underway.
