The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has solved the problem of plastic waste from polybags.
Prof PP Kundu, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Roorkee, an expert in polymer technology, has developed a thermoplastic starch that will be mixed with LDPE, making LDPE biodegradable.
The Government of India has banned the use of certain types of polybags since July 2022 as they are not biodegradable and are considered a major threat to the environment and with Prof Kundu’s technology India will soon be able to have biodegradable polybags of its own.
India, being agricultural in nature, produces a lot of starch like potato, rice, wheat and maize, or maize starch and other starches are available in abundance which can help in the production of these bags.
Natural starch, which is crystalline, cannot be mixed with LDPE as its melting point is above 250oC. So it can be used as a filler in LDPE. On the other hand, thermoplastic starch is a plasticized form of natural starch obtained from natural sources such as cassava, corn, potato, etc. along with plasticizer. Thermoplastic starch is primarily amorphous, while regular starch is crystalline, the IIT explained.
The plasticizers commonly used are polyfunctional alcohols such as glycerol and sorbitol along with some low molecular weight compounds capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds, such as water, formamide, etc. The starch and plasticizer undergo gelatinization in the presence of heat and constant stirring. In doing so, the crystallinity of starch is sufficiently reduced, which leads to an amorphous structure. Due to its amorphous nature, it can be mixed with LDPE, IT explained.
IIT Roorkee has transferred this technology to Noida-based Agrsar Innovatives LLP for the production of high volume biodegradable polybags. M/s Agrasar will use the current technology commercially for the production of biodegradable polybags in large quantities.
Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director of IIT Roorkee said: “The technology developed is expected to be of immense value given the large amounts of starch produced in India and the environmentally friendly nature of the solution.”
Read all Latest education news and Important news here