INTRODUCTION

The term “bioplastics” seems to cause almost as much confusion as the term “biodegradable.”

So what are bioplastics—and what, exactly, does the “bio” in bioplastics refer to?

Bio … bio … hmmm. The history of plastics? No. Biotechnology? No. The “bio” in

bioplastics actually has more to do with that oft-dreaded high school class, biology. You

know: having to do with life, living organisms, biological systems and the like.

Ok… biological organism and plastics. Since oil and natural gas originate from biological

organisms, does that mean plastics derived from oil and natural gas are bioplastics? Well, not

really—at least that’s not how the term is commonly used. So just what are bioplastics?

A Brief History of Bioplastics

Let’s step back in time for a bit of perspective. The very first plastics were (and still are)

made by plants through their very own internal chemical synthesis. Rubber from a rubber

tree, for example, is actually a plastic. Early synthetic or “manmade” plastics were largely an

attempt to replicate existing materials, such as rubber, ivory, or tortoise shells.

One of the first synthetic plastics was made from cellulose, a substance made by plants and

trees. In today’s vernacular, this plastic is deemed a bioplastic. That means its primary raw

materials (feedstocks) originate from “biomass:” living or recently living and renewable bio-

organisms. Biomass… bio-organisms … thus the term: bioplastics.

What are Bioplastics Today?

Early bioplastics were largely eclipsed by more efficient plastics. The raw materials for

today’s plastics come from many places (some even use salt), but most plastics can be made

from the hydrocarbons that are readily available in natural gas, oil and coal. Even though
these resources are derived from living organisms, they are not alive, recently alive or

renewable (biomass). So plastics made from natural gas, oil or coal are not considered

bioplastics.

Interest in bioplastics and other “bio” products has been growing (get it?) due to concern

about the use of finite resources, primarily natural gas and oil. Bioplastics are reemerging

today as scientists develop more efficient ways to produce the necessary quantities of

biomass, most often sugarcane, wheat and corn.

Bioplastics ≠ Biodegradable

Many people believe—incorrectly—that if something is derived from biomass then it must

also be biodegradable. However, the use of “bio” feedstocks does not necessarily mean that

the finished product, a plastic or otherwise, will be biodegradable.

For example, a bioplastic called polylactic acid (PLA) is made with plant feedstocks and is

considered biodegradable in a commercial composting facility. But PET bioplastic made with

plant feedstocks is not biodegradable. In other words, the “bio” in bioplastics does not mean

biodegradable.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

According to the „Oxford Dictionary‟ word „Plastic‟ was coined in the mid of 17th century

and derived from French „plastique’, Latin „plasticus’ or from Greek „plastikos’/ „plassein’.

Meaning of all these cognates is „able to be molded into different shapes‟ (Joel, 1995). The

first man-made plastic, a modification of cellulose, was created by Alexander Parkes in 1862

and called „Parkesine‟. In 1868 John Wesley Hyatt invented Celluloid, derived from

cellulose and alcoholized camphor that could be molded with heat and pressure into a durable

shape. By 1900, movie film was an exploding market for celluloid (Harris, 1981).

Plastic, from the time of their origin have become an indispensable part of our life and in

modern society. Synthetic plastics are extensively used in packaging of products like food,

pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, detergents and many products manufactured from plastics are a

boon to public health, e g. disposable syringes and intravenous bags (Halden, 2010). This

utilization is still expanding at a high rate of 12% per annum (Sabir, 2004) and has replaced

paper and other cellulose-based products for packaging because of their better physical and

chemical properties viz. strength, lightness, resistance to microorganisms (Shah et al., 2008)

and favorable mechanical/thermal properties, stability and durability (Rivard et al., 1995).

With time, stability and durability of plastics have been improved continuously, hence this

group of materials is now considered as a synonym for the materials being resistant to many

environmental influences (Joel, 1995). Plastic is inert i.e. resistant to biodegradation, durable,

hygienic, lightweight, cheap, and malleable (Mohee and Unmar, 2007). It has been proven

that polyolefins especially low density polyethylene (LDPE), are resistant against degradation

and microorganism attacks (Mahmood and Reza, 2004).

As population is increasing so the consumption of synthetic plastic is increasing, only in a

span of one year (1996-95) shipments from the Canadian Plastic Industry increased by 10.6%
(Charron, 2001). In Australia about 1 million tones of plastic materials are produced each

year and a further 587,000 tonnes are imported (Australian Academy of Science, 2002). In

European countries on an average 100kg of plastic is used per person each year (Mulder,

1998.) The bags, with a typical thickness of 16 microns and weight of 7-8 gm are provided

free of charge in Israeli stores and supermarkets (Ayalon et al., 2009). In Mauritius, plastic

wastes constitute around 8% by weight (or 100 tonnes) of the total solid waste generated

daily. The amount of plastic carry-bags disposed at the landfill is approximately 1000 tonnes

annually, while the local plastic industries generate around 250–300 million plastic carry

bags per annum (Mohee and Unmar, 2007). In Israel, 2 billion HDPE carrier bags are

manufactured every year. The total amount of these bags is 30,000 tons/year. At the end of

2007, there were 2,007,300 households in Israel. It means that the consumption in Israel per

household is 1000 bags /yr, 2.7 bags per day. Every person in Israel uses an average of 300

bags /yr, similar to other countries such as Ireland, where before introduction of the levy, a

yearly average was of 330 bags per person (Ayalon et al., 2009). The estimated figure of

plastic waste generation across the Pakistan was 1.32 million tons per annum (Sabir, 2004).

The plastic industry in Pakistan was reported to be growing at an average annual growth rate

of 15% (Shah et al., 2008).

 MATERIALS AND METHODS

Extraction of cellulose from pulp: Cellulose is extracted from paper sludge after treating it

with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride which is a good solvent of cellulose. This co

solvent addition is kept at appropriate stirring conditions (600C).This allows the

fractionation of a paper-grade Kraft pulp into a separated cellulose and a regenerated

hemicellulose fraction. Both of these exhibited high levels of purity, without any yield

losses or de polymerization. Thus, this process represents an ecologically and

economically efficient alternative in producing dissolving pulp of highest purity.

Conversion of cellulose into dextrose: The process of breaking down of cellulose is

called Cellulolysis. Cellulolysis is the process of breaking down cellulose into smaller

polysaccharides called cellodextrins or completely into glucose units; this is a hydrolysis

reaction. Because cellulose molecules bind strongly to each other, cellulolysis is relatively

difficult compared to the breakdown of other polysaccharides. However, this process

can be significantly intensified in a proper solvent, e.g. in an ionic liquid. The enzymes

utilized to cleave the glycosidic linkage in cellulose are glycoside hydrolases including

endo-acting cellulases and exo-acting glucosidases. Such enzymes are usually secreted as

part of multi enzyme complexes that may include dockerins and carbohydrate-binding

modules.

The present invention relates to a process for the production of glucose from cellulose.

In one of its more specific aspects, this invention relates to a process for the conversion of

cellulose to glucose wherein cellulose is converted to cellobiose under the influence of

Trichoderma reesei and cellobiose is converted to glucose by a purified cellobiase

derived from Aspergillus terreus. In another of its more specific aspects, this invention

relates to a process for the production of a purified enzyme having a very high

activity for the production of glucose from cellobiose. There is presently tremendous
scientific and commercial activity in the quest for economic means to convert cellulose

(abundant in the form of wood, waste paper, and agricultural products, e.g. bagasse) to

glucose and thence to ethanol and other chemicals. Cellulose may be converted to glucose

by the action of various enzymes derived from molds. It is known from the prior art that

Trichoderma reesei is a fungus that has the ability to degrade cellulose very rapidly.

Currently Trichoderma reesei is the preferred orgnaism for studies in the hydrolysis of

cellulose to glucose for industrial purposes. The conversion of cellulose to glucose is not

yet economically feasible, due partially to the fact that the cellobiase produced by

Trichoderma reesei has a low specific activity. Additionally, glucose, which is the

final product of reaction, further inhibits the activity of the Trichoderma reesei enzymes. We

have discovered an efficient method for the conversion of cellulose to glucose in a two

stage process. In the first stage, cellulose is converted to cellobiose by the action of a

cellulase produced by Trichoderma reesei, and in the second stage, cellobiose is

converted to glucose by the action of a purified cellobiase produced by Aspergillus terreus.

This is a distinct departure from the prior art processes in which Trichoderma reesei

enzymes perform both functions at efficiencies and conversion rates considerably less

than those obtained in our process. 3. Preparation of PLA bio-plastic: To produce PLA,

starch is extruded from waste newspaper, which results in a simple starch called

dextrose. Dextrose is a type of glucose, which is a simple sugar that plants produce during

photosynthesis. Now dextrose is put through a fermentation process similar to the one

used to make beer. Instead of alcohol, however, the dextrose is converted into lactic acid --

the same stuff that makes your muscles cramp when you exercise without proper

hydration. Heat is applied to the lactic acid polymers, causing them to link together and

form a long chain that ultimately becomes the material used to make many bio-plastic

products.
 CONCLUSIONS

The environmentally benign natural cellulose-based CA either from flax fibers or cotton

linters was prepared successfully by using sulfuric acid–catalyzed acetylation process and

characterized by using various instrumental techniques and environmental properties tests. It

was found that CA produced as viscous acetone–soluble fluid and the production yield of CA

from flax fibers (81%) was higher than that from cotton linters (54%). In addition, it was

better than that from cotton linters in terms of biodegradation properties (41–44% weight loss

after 14 days) but they had nearly the same chemical resistance. Also, the produced CA

proved to be comparable with polyethylene and polypropylene with respect to its resistance

to 30% sulfuric acid and 40% NaOH. Flax fiber is recommended for the commercial

production of CA because of its higher production yield and it is available in large quantities

compared with cotton linters; these are used as an ingredient of cattle feed. This acceptable

overall performance, shown by this CA, has put it forward as a suitable material for packages,

salt containers, fiber and plastic tools manufacture. This CA has the potential to replace or

minimize the use of non-biodegradable and petroleum-based materials.

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