Turning aluminium industry waste into biodegradable plastic

Researchers have been investigating an environmentally friendly solution for the use of oxalate, one of the major waste products of the alumina industry. By upcycling the carbon from a waste stream the production of carbon dioxide can be avoided. After sourcing an initial bacterial culture from a local wastewater treatment plant a synthetic wastewater was created to understand the conditions required for bacteria to convert the oxalate waste product into the biodegradable plastic. The team is now identifying the suite of bacteria that can work. An article about the research is published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (Press Release Murdoch University, 29 August 2017).
Click here for the press release.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.
Click here for more information about the NVC Project PUMA: the end of packaging as an environmental issue. You are welcome to join us for the next project meeting on 4 April 2018.

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