Transparent paper retains boiling water and degrades in months
Advanced Materials
Technological Innovation Website Editorial Team - 04/28/2025
Objects of various thicknesses made from the paper-based material. [Image: Noriyuki Isobe et al. - 10.1126/sciadv.ads2426]
Only cellulose
In a major breakthrough toward replacing problematic disposable cups and straws, researchers have developed a biodegradable material that is transparent and can hold liquids for several hours - even boiling water.
And if it is not properly recycled and ends up at the bottom of the ocean, it will degrade naturally in less than a year, say Noriyuki Isobe and colleagues from several institutions in Japan.
The basis of the new material is a cellulose hydrogel, similar to that used in papermaking. After drying, the material was treated with an aqueous solution of lithium bromide, which forced the cellulose to solidify into the desired shapes. As simple as that, which means the transparent material is made almost entirely of cellulose.
The researchers note that the final products can be as thin as the walls of a plastic cup or as thick as desired.
Tests showed that the material also worked well as a straw, with no signs of the collapse seen in paper straws available today. Cups made from the pure material only showed signs of leaking after three hours, but the team has now identified a plant-based resin coating that makes them leak-proof.
Manufacturing is very simple (top), while recycling is complete, only losing some transparency (bottom). [Image: Noriyuki Isobe et al. - 10.1126/sciadv.ads2426]
Recyclable and biodegradable
The recycling test showed that the objects can be easily reused in their entirety, although new objects made from the reused material become less transparent.
Finally, the team tested the biodegradability of the material in a marine environment. They produced several sheets of the transparent paper and placed some in shallow waters and others in very deep waters – due to the low temperatures, materials take longer to degrade at greater depths. The new material, however, degraded completely in less than 12 months in the deepest parts of the ocean.
The team hopes the new transparent paper will be used to replace current options in food packaging, disposable cups and straws.
Item: Fully circular shapeable transparent paperboard with closed-loop recyclability and marine biodegradability across shallow to deep sea
Authors: Noriyuki Isobe, Keiko Tanaka, Shun'ichi Ishii, Yasuhiro Shimane, Satoshi Okada, Kazuho Daicho, Wataru Sakuma, Kojiro Uetani, Toshihiro Yoshimura, Katsunori Kimoto, Satoshi Kimura, Tsuguyuki Saito, Ryota Nakajima, Masashi Tsuchiya, Tetsuro Ikuta, Shinsuke Kawagucci, Tadahisa Iwata, Hidetaka NomakiMagazine: Science AdvancesVol.: 11, Issue 15DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ads2426
Other news about:
inovacaotecnologica
