18. Jan 2017

Shelling out for carrier bags

Chitosan has been looked at for applications varying from wound dressings to pill packaging. At the University of Nottingham, they want to turn it into carrier bags for Egypt.


shrimpBioengineers at The University of Nottingham are testing a new alternative to oil-based plastic based on shrimp shells that they hope to use to make both biodegradable shopping bags that are targeted at the Egyptian market, as well as a new food packaging material to extend product shelf life. 

Effective waste management is currently one of Egypt’s biggest challenges, said Dr Nicola Everitt from the Faculty of Engineering at Nottingham, who is leading the research together with academics at Nile University in Egypt.
“Non-degradable plastic packaging is causing environmental and public health problems in Egypt, including contamination of water supplies which particularly affects living conditions of the poor,” she explained. However, natural biopolymer products made from plant materials are not a viable solution in Egypt, because of the competition for land with food crops.

The idea is that shrimp shells, which are a part of the country’s waste problem, could be turned into part of the solution.
Dr Everitt said: “Use of a degradable biopolymer made of prawn shells for carrier bags would lead to lower carbon emissions and reduce food and packaging waste accumulating in the streets or at illegal dump sites. It could also make exports more acceptable to a foreign market within a 10-15-year time frame. All priorities at a national level in Egypt.”

Chitosan is a man-made polymer derived from the organic compound chitin, which is extracted from shrimp shells, first using acid (to remove the calcium carbonate “backbone” of the crustacean shell) and then alkali (to produce the long molecular chains which make up the biopolymer). The dried chitosan flakes can then be dissolved into solution and polymer film made by conventional processing techniques.
Chitosan was chosen because it is a promising biodegradable polymer already used in pharmaceutical packaging due to its antimicrobial, antibacterial and biocompatible properties.

The second strand of the project is to develop an active polymer film that absorbs oxygen.

This future generation food packaging could have the ability to enhance food shelf life with high efficiency and low energy consumption, making a positive impact on food wastage in many countries.

If successful, Dr Everitt plans to approach UK packaging manufacturers with the product.
Additionally, the research aims to identify a production route by which these degradable biopolymer materials for shopping bags and food packaging could be manufactured.

The project is sponsored by the Newton Fund and the Newton-Mosharafa Fund grant and is one of 13 Newton-funded collaborations for The University of Nottingham.

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news

Privacy policy notice

This website uses external components, such as Fonts, maps, videos or analysis tools that can all be used to collect data about your behavior. Privacy policy