DoD FUNDS R&D FOR A:NANOHYBRID PHA PLASTIC BIODEGRADES RAPIDLY

摘要

Aside from the fact that they are made from renewableraw materials, a big advantage of polyhydroxyalkanoate(PHA) plastics is that they cause few disposal problemsbecause they are biodegradable in the environment. CornellUniversity's Emmanuel Giannelis and his coworkers havefound that adding clay nanoparticles to a PHA plastic,polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), speeds up the biodegradationrate of the material. It also strengthens it. Nanohybrid PHBdecomposed almost completely after seven weeks incompost, while PHB without the additive showed almost nodegradation (Biomacromolecules; online, October 25, 2007).