Thursday 13 June 2013

DIY eco-manufacturing: Turning banana peels into bio-plastics


Elif Bilgin, from Istanbul, Turkey is a finalist in the Google Science Fair Festival. After two years of experimentation, she has developed a simple method for using banana peels in the production of bio-plastic as a replacement for the traditional petroleum based plastic. The bioplastics can then be molded into a making cosmetic prosthetics or used in the electrical insulation of cables. Banana plastic is cheaper to make than the petroleum based plastic we currently use, it recycles a waste material, and it's simple enough to make in your kitchen.

The banana peel is something we throw away every day, but little do we know, it has much more efficient uses. For example, in Thailand, 200 tons of banana peels are thrown away daily and this number increases each year and in the fruit industry. All those peels may be put into much more use. Starch and cellulose are important raw materials used in the bioplastic industry. Since they are rich with starch and this starch is very easy to extract, potatoes are the most commonly used raw materials.

The 9th and 10th pilot experiment Bilgin conducted was successful in producing plastic, but had started to decay after only 3 days. Then she discovered that in order to improve shelf life of post-harvest wild mango fruits, sodium metabisulphite can be used. On the 11th and 12th trials, she dipped the banana peels in this solution prior to the preparation of the plastic. Both trials were successful and have not shown any signs of decay for 2 months and counting.

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