Disposable plastic milk tea cups are often used in our lives. What about degradable plastic milk tea cups?
Degradable plastics refer to plastics with reduced stability and easier degradation in the natural environment after adding a certain amount of additives (such as starch, modified starch or other cellulose, photosensitizers, biodegradants, etc.) during the production process.
- Biodegradable plastic
Under the action of microorganisms, it can be completely decomposed into plastics with low molecular weight compounds. It is characterized by convenient storage and transportation, as long as it is kept dry, it does not need to be protected from light, and it has a wide range of applications. With the development of modern biotechnology, more and more attention has been paid to biodegradable plastics, and it has become a new generation of research and development hotspots. - Photodegradable plastics
Incorporating photosensitizers into plastics, the plastics are gradually decomposed under sunlight. It belongs to an earlier generation of degradable plastics, and its disadvantage is that the degradation time is difficult to predict due to changes in sunlight and climate, so the degradation time cannot be controlled. - Light/biodegradable plastics
A type of plastic that combines photodegradation and microorganisms, it has the characteristics of light and microorganism degradable plastics at the same time. - Water-degradable plastics
Add water-absorbing substances to plastics, which can be dissolved in water after use. It is mainly used in medical and sanitary utensils (such as medical gloves), which is convenient for destruction and disinfection. - Oxidative degradation
Adding additives to the traditional plastic production raw materials is the same as the general color masterbatch addition method. After plastic products are abandoned, two substances in the additives work: one is a pre-oxidant (mainly some non-toxic metal ions), and the other is a biodegradation promoting substance (mainly some natural plant cellulose). The pre-oxidant controls the plastic to maintain its due life and function when it is not abandoned, and reduces the molecular weight through the peroxidation reaction after abandonment, making the polymer brittle and easy to be decomposed by microorganisms. Biodegradation promoting substances are mainly to promote the growth of microorganisms. - Starch-based plastics
So far, starch-based degradable plastics mainly fall into four categories: filled type, photo/biodegradable type, blend type and all-starch plastic.
Degradable plastic milk tea cups are currently commonly used starch-based plastics and oxidatively degradable plastics.
