"Green" Polymer Made from Wine

Plastics are made of semisynthetic polymerization products composed of organic condensation or addition polymers and may contain other substances to improve performance or economics. Their widespread use made them indispensable in almost all industry areas.

Unfortunately, plastic polymers are durable and degrade very slowly and in some cases, burning plastic can release toxic fumes, all of these contributing to the global pollution. Recycling is a solution, as there are methods by which plastics can be broken back down to a feedstock state.

Now, a team of undergraduate engineering students at Oregon State University created an environmentally friendly polymer by mixing byproducts from winemaking processes and biodiesel production. This is truly a unique material that could have many practical applications, with a high commercial value.

Christen Glarborg, Patrick O'Connor, Heather Paris and Alana Warner-Tuhy have applied for a patent for their invention, which could replace polystyrene foam in many products, from meat trays in supermarkets to furniture, particle board, fire logs, insulation and even hair gel.

They created the new material by mixing tartaric acid, a byproduct from the wine industry, and glycerin, from biodiesel production processes.

"When put together, those ingredients can make a hard, bubbly polymer," Paris said. "It biodegrades in water," said O'Connor. "Dr. Hackleman suggested we try to mold it into a tray, like to replace the foam trays under meat in the supermarket. Then we found that at 600 degrees, our polymer vaporized. So we thought, how about ash-free logs or pellets for heating?"

It seems that there may be many possibilities for marketing this new product, although for the moment the inventors are focused on testing and refining the polymer for strength and biodegradability.

"Producing biodiesel produces a lot of glycerin. Now it seems that even the waste from green industries can be put to another good use - one that can help in the solution to a global problem." said David Hackleman, the Linus Pauling Chair at the OSU College of Engineering.