A team from the University of Alicante Waste, Energy, Environment and Nanotechnology (REMAN) is creating a process for manufacturing a water-soluble plastic material derived from potato starch.

According to the research team, the material is compostable, biodegradable and appropriate for use as a flexible film in bags and packaging.

Source: Asociacion RUVIDSource: Asociacion RUVID

Created in response to the ongoing global plastic waste crisis, the starch-based plastic is considered highly stable with a reported low migration rate.

To create the material, the team required that the starch be gelatinized and plasticized in the presence of plasticizers — generally, water and another plasticizer featuring a higher boiling point. While plasticized starch — surrounded by plasticizer molecules — tends to retrograde, only partially recovering its original ordered structure, thus leading to a decrease in its properties, migration is avoided with the new approach, according to the researchers.

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