Sustainable polyesters made from lignocellulosic sugars in plants - plant waste

Using glyoxylic acid, researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have managed to clip ‘sticky’ groups onto both sides of the plant waste sugar molecules, which then allows them to act as plastic building blocks. By using this simple technique, they were able to convert up to 25% of the weight of agricultural waste, or 95% of purified sugar, into plastic. The inherently degradable nature of these materials means that they can easily be recycled via methanolysis at 64 °C, and then depolymerization in room-temperature water. The properties of these plastics is such that it could allow them to be used in a wide range of applications. The researchers have already made packaging films, and fibres that could be spun into textiles or filaments for 3D-printing.