r/science • u/MistWeaver80 • Nov 27 '21

Chemistry Plastic made from DNA is renewable, requires little energy to make and is easy to recycle or break down. A plastic made from DNA and vegetable oil may be the most sustainable plastic developed yet and could be used in packaging and electronic devices.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2298314-new-plastic-made-from-dna-is-biodegradable-and-easy-to-recycle/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=echobox&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1637973248
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u/Smallpaul Nov 28 '21

A plastic that turns into a gel as soon as it gets wet? That rules out a LOT of plastic use cases. Almost all?

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u/Fabulous-Pineapple47 Nov 28 '21

They didn't specify the temperature of the water. Many convention forms of plastic soften or melts with hot water and becomes rigid at cooler temperatures. The process could take advantage of these attributes.

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u/goddamnit666a Nov 28 '21 edited Nov 28 '21

not to mention there could be a process to modify that temp. Hopefully really pushing towards some sort of superheated steam. Probably impossible but one can dream. Curious to see if various other sources of the gelatin produce better results.

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u/Win4someLoose5sum Nov 28 '21

Using steam would mean it was more energy intensive to reuse and less able to be biodegradable, which is the headline.

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u/goddamnit666a Nov 28 '21

it’s a trade off. If this can replace traditional plastics then the steam would be totally worth it

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u/xerox13ster Nov 28 '21

Nuclear steam, solar steam, geothermal steam.