On December 2, the reporter learned that Tianjin University, in cooperation with the China Petroleum and Chemical Research Institute, has successfully developed a new deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) bioplastic. This kind of plastic has abundant raw material sources, and the whole process of production, use and recycling is ecologically friendly and compatible, and can be recycled without damage with low energy consumption, which is expected to replace petroleum-based plastics in some applications. The results were recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a leading journal in the field of chemistry.
Bio-based plastics are one of the effective means to address plastic pollution and reduce carbon emissions. DNA, the genetic material of life, is widely found in nature. According to statistics, the total reserves of this biopolymer on earth are currently about 50 billion tons.
Professor Dayong Yang’s team at Tianjin University has developed a new DNA bioplastic, and Kunyu Zhang, an expert at the Institute of New Materials, has developed an ionomer that is the key additive for polymerizing natural DNA molecules into plastic. This plastic is all from renewable resources, low temperature processing energy consumption is less than 5% of petroleum-based plastic melt processing energy consumption, not only can achieve non-destructive recycling into new plastic products, but also can achieve controlled degradation through DNA enzymes. DNA plastic mass production potential is very large, the existing industrial equipment can quickly extract a large number of biomass DNA from plants, algae and bacteria, the annual extraction volume can reach hundreds of thousands of tons. The excellent foldability and low-temperature stability of this plastic is expected to play an important role in the biomedical field.
He Shengbao, Chief Engineer of PetroChina Refining and Chemical Company, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of Petrochemical Institute, said that the DNA bioplastic developed in cooperation with Tianjin University is one of the innovative achievements in exploring new and disruptive new materials, which is of great significance in implementing the “green and low-carbon” development strategy of the Group and building an economic system of low-carbon and circular development.