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    Microalgae Plastic

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    SAAD
    The document discusses using microalgae to produce biodegradable plastics as an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic waste. It notes that harvesting microalgae on a large scale remains a challenge and that producing these plastics currently costs more than selling them. Small teams are exploring how to harvest microalgae at large scale to disrupt the plastic industry.

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    Microalgae Plastic

    Uploaded by

    SAAD
    13 views1 page
    The document discusses using microalgae to produce biodegradable plastics as an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic waste. It notes that harvesting microalgae on a large scale remains a challenge and that producing these plastics currently costs more than selling them. Small teams are exploring how to harvest microalgae at large scale to disrupt the plastic industry.

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    The document discusses using microalgae to produce biodegradable plastics as an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic waste. It notes that harvesting microalgae on a large scale remains a challenge and that producing these plastics currently costs more than selling them. Small teams are exploring how to harvest microalgae at large scale to disrupt the plastic industry.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    13 views1 page

    Microalgae Plastic

    Uploaded by

    SAAD
    The document discusses using microalgae to produce biodegradable plastics as an alternative to non-biodegradable plastic waste. It notes that harvesting microalgae on a large scale remains a challenge and that producing these plastics currently costs more than selling them. Small teams are exploring how to harvest microalgae at large scale to disrupt the plastic industry.

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    ndestructible plastic waste is a byproduct of our chaotic way of life.

    At present there are no alternative options available because


    biodegradable scalable alternatives are simply not there. Corn starch derivatives are not a viable solution because they take from
    our food.
    Economically competent biodegradable plastic variant that are currently on the market are produced from corn starch. Corn starch is
    feed for humans and cattle alike and if it were used for production on a large scale, it would likely create more problems that will
    solve. It wouldn’t be long before opportunistic investors begin to invest on agricultural land, provoking a war of sorts.

    Experts believe that biodegradable plastics could be created by using microalgae. The green substance is powerful enough on its
    own to be able to revolutionize the entire plastic industrial landscape. Harvesting microalgae en masse however remains one of the
    biggest challenges preventing entrepreneurs from utilizing its true potential. Boasting a potential $500 billion market value, the entire
    global plastic can be disrupted if engineers figure out a way to manufacture biodegradable plastics from microalgae.

    At present it costs companies more to produce these plastics than to sell them. Breaking even is a mirage yet to be seen. One way
    to cut down on losses is to utilize multiple product streams from a single source of microalgae. In much the same way that crude oil
    companies do with distillation pants, having multiple product streams can allow companies to increase their sources of revenue.

    Microalgae strains contain several species each of which can be manipulated with different species of bacteria to give different
    products, ranging from bioplastics to biofuel. The idea of a biorefinery has been explored on a laboratory scale and suggestions
    have been made about what actions prospective investors could take to ensure their endeavor is successful. But no company has
    currently incorporated this idea on a large enough scale yet.

    At present only small student teams have the foresight needed to explore what microalgae is capable of, it is up to them to make
    breakthrough on microalgae research and figure out how to harvest the green stuff on a large scale. Numerous studies have been
    carried out exploring the options of microalgae research, but it would likely take another decade before someone could break the
    ice.

    Producing biodegradable plastics from microalgae has become relatively easy. The first stage involves harvesting microalgae, the
    second stage is processing it through a centrifuge which will sift out the useful strains form the less useful ones. The third stage
    involves inoculating the selected microalgae strains with bacteria, usually E coli. The fourth stage is to provide enough time in the
    chamber for the bacteria to turn the microalgae into biodegradable plastic polymers.

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