Wood and Crab Shell Plastic Alternative

Jul-23-18 An eco-friendly wrap made from trees and crab shells could offer a compostable alternative to plastic.

Developed by a team from Georgia Tech, the wrap is made up of cellulose nanocrystals and chitin (from crab shells) that have been suspended in water and then sprayed in layers onto a substrate. After the material has dried, it can be peeled from the substrate in the form of a strong, transparent film. Not only does the material offer the same packaging abilities as PET, according to professor J. Carson Meredith, it also “… showed up to a 67 percent reduction in oxygen permeability over some forms of PET, which means it could in theory keep foods fresher longer.”

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[NEWATLAS.COM]
[NEWS.GATECH.EDU]

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