New biomaterial could replace plastic laminates

Researchers have developed an inexpensive biomaterial that can be used to sustainably replace plastic barrier coatings in packaging and many other applications.
Completely compostable, the material — a polysaccharide polyelectrolyte complex — is comprised of nearly equal parts of treated cellulose pulp from wood or cotton, and chitosan, which is derived from chitin — the primary ingredient in the exoskeletons of arthropods and crustaceans.
The main source of chitin is the mountains of leftover shells from lobsters, crabs and shrimp consumed by humans.
An article about the research is published in Nanoscale (News Item Penn State University, 17 September 2017).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.
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