Ocean CO2 becomes sustainable plastic, thanks to modified microbes

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Biodegradable plastics are those that are made of renewable raw materials. A type of plastic that disintegrates in a few years by the action of the environment (not like conventional plastic, which takes about 100 years), now it seems that by sequestering CO2 from the sea it is possible to obtain a material to make biodegradable plastic. Under certain conditions of temperature and humidity, these plastics are consumed by microorganisms. During t…

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Researchers have developed a system that can capture CO2 in seawater and convert it into biodegradable plastic precursors. Based on an electrochemical conversion facilitated by a genetically modified marine bacterium, the process would achieve an efficiency of 70% for a consumption of about 3 kWh per kilogram, which would reduce the cost of capture of CO2 compared to current systems. Absorbing about 26% of CO2 emissions from anthropogenic source…