Researchers use sunlight to produce biodegradable plastic
Scientists at Michigan State University have developed a low-cost method of producing biodegradable plastics. The team paired genetically altered cyanobacteria, which use sunlight to produce sugar, to feed natural bioplastic-producing bacteria in a saltwater medium, whose voracious appetite encouraged the cyanobacteria to generate more sugar. The virtuous circle combination produced biomass at 20 times the rate of other systems, and contained a steady 30% bioplastic material, four times more that previously produced.

In Michigan, Michigan State University scientists are proposing a new way to economically produce biodegradable plastics with sunlight and help from an ancient microorganism. Researchers at the Ducat MSU-Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory took cyanobacteria, that use sunlight to naturally produce sugar, and genetically tweaked them to constantly leak that sugar into a surrounding saltwater medium. They paired them with natural bioplastic-producing bacteria that fed on the leaked sugar. The pairing was prolific.

Processed biomass contained a near constant 30 percent bioplastic content, four times more than similar experimental systems, and production rates were over 20 times faster.