Turning buzz into bio, dead flies used to make biodegradable plastics

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News Websites
15 Aug 2023 11:47

The polymer derived from black soldier flies is considered a promising resource due to its lack of competing applications, such as for food purposes.

A black soldier fly (Wikimedia Commons)

Researchers have revealed that dead flies could hold the key to developing biodegradable plastic, according to their findings presented at the autumn meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

This discovery is significant due to the scarcity of sources for biodegradable polymers that don't compete with other vital applications.

The lead investigator, Karen Wooley of Texas A&M University, has been dedicated to transforming natural resources like glucose into degradable polymers that won't persist in the environment. Her team's breakthrough involves using waste remains from black soldier fly farming, as their larvae are used for animal feed and waste decomposition.

“For 20 years, my group has been developing methods to transform natural products – such as glucose obtained from sugar cane or trees – into degradable, digestible polymers that don’t persist in the environment,” Wooley said as quoted by The Guardian.

The global production of #plastic is measured in millions of metric tons. The majority of the plastic #garbage that is left over eventually finds its way into our oceans, even if half of it is recycled, burned, or dumped in landfills. pic.twitter.com/i90dQKqJ9B
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) March 18, 2023

Utilizing chitin, a sugar-based polymer found in fly exoskeletons, the researchers developed a hydrogel that can absorb an impressive 47 times its weight in water, holding the potential for aiding in water management during floods and droughts.

The next step reportedly involves creating bioplastics like polycarbonates or polyurethanes from the fly components, offering a solution to plastic pollution concerns.

Wooley concluded, “Ultimately, we’d like the insects to eat the waste plastic as their food source, and then we would harvest them again and collect their components to make new plastics. So the insects would not only be the source, but they would also then consume the discarded plastics.”