A few years ago, as part of Youth in Government, I wrote a proposal for the National Issues Forum. My big idea? A circular economy—no waste. Everything, I argued, should be one of three things: recyclable, repairable, or biodegradable.
Conceptually? Nailed it. Scientifically? Well… eh.
Now, thanks to my Biorenewable Resources course, I’ve been dragged into the depths of what a circular economy really means. And spoiler alert: I should’ve said “compostable,” not “biodegradable.”
So, if you're looking for a deeper dive into bioplastics than you'll get in any news article… perfect! Just keep reading this EXTRA CREDIT blog :)
Glucose: The Spell Book of Industrial Sorcery
Corn is everywhere. The dinner table, your shampoo, glue, paint, aspirin… even your car fuel. But how? The secret ingredient is glucose.
Glucose, a sugar produced during photosynthesis, is foundational to both the food chain and industrial biotechnology (Lesson 18, UMN). It's a biochemical building block—very, very important.
We can extract glucose from three kinds of biomass:
- Sugar crops like sugarcane and sugar beets
- Starchy biomass like corn kernels
- Lignocellulosic biomass like corn stalks, husks, and tassels (aka corn stover)
Photo by Victoria Priessnitz on Unsplash
Photo by Christophe Maertens on Unsplash
Photo by Tianlei Wu on Unsplash
Fermentation: Nature’s Chemical Converter
Once you’ve got glucose, fermentation steps in—turning one thing into something else. If glucose is the spell book, fermentation is the wand.
Microorganisms (yeast, bacteria) break down sugars and produce useful byproducts like ethanol, organic acids, or enzymes (Lesson 19, UMN). For ethanol production, yeast is the go-to. The process is efficient—just sugar, heat, and the right pH—but it doesn’t stop there. You still need distillation, an energy-heavy process that separates and purifies ethanol from the mix.
And fermentation isn’t just for fuel. With the right microbes and feedstocks, we can produce building blocks for bioplastics too.
Bioplastics: A (Slightly Confusing) Hope for the Future
Bioplastics are materials made from plant-based sources instead of fossil fuels. That’s awesome—unless you toss them into the wrong recycling bin.
Here’s the tricky part:
- Bio-based = made from plants, like corn or sugarcane
- Biodegradable = breaks down with microbial activity, under certain conditions
- Compostable = breaks down quickly, completely, and without toxicity, under specific (often industrial) composting conditions
(Lesson 20, UMN)
By the way, the global bioplastics market is one the rise. In 2024, the market was valued at approximately USD 20.20 billion and is projected to reach around USD 104.82 billion by 2034 (Precedence Research, (n.d.)).
Enter Mycelium: Mushrooms, But Make It Packaging
Now ignore everything I just said—and think mushrooms.
More specifically: mycelium. It’s the root-like structure fungi use to grow. You can literally grow it in a mold to form materials—it’s perfect for replacing styrofoam!
Ecovative Design uses mycelium to grow packaging and textiles that are home-compostable and low-impact. No high-heat industrial composters needed. Companies like IKEA and Dell are already on board (Lesson 20, UMN).
Photo from Ecovative Design at https://atlasofthefuture.org/project/ecovative-design/.
So yes, my proposal may have been labeled “unrealistic.” But in the end? It's not so far-fetched.
Works Cited
- Bioplastics Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2034. Precedence Research. (n.d.). https://www.precedenceresearch.com/bioplastics-market?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- Lesson 18: Crops to Sugar, BBE 1002, University of Minnesota
- Lesson 19: Fermentation, BBE 1002, University of Minnesota
- Lesson 20: Bioplastics, BBE 1002, University of Minnesota
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