Using seaweed and crab shells to produce sustainable plastic films

North Carolina State University are exploring sustainable plastic film alternatives by combining chitosan from crab shells and agarose from seaweed. The resulting biopolymer composite films, offering enhanced strength, transparency, antibacterial properties, and biodegradability, presenting a potential alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Traditional mixing approaches proved insufficient, prompting a novel method involving chitosan-derived soft dendritic colloids to reinforce agarose films. The composites exhibit superior strength and E.coli resistance, showcasing promise for sustainable packaging. Ongoing research targets further improvements, emphasising impermeability to oxygen and water, while scalability considerations aim to align with large-scale production processes. (Technology Networks)