SBIR Phase I: Biodegradable Plastic Derived from Wheat Gluten

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目建议证明一种创新的加工方法，用于生产完全来自生物资源(如植物蛋白质)的商业级塑料(聚合物)材料。建议的小麦面筋调理和加工方法将产生一种完全生物兼容和可生物降解的硬质塑料材料。拟议的生产方法预计将产生具有成本竞争力的生物基聚合物产品，其机械和性能属性可与合成塑料产品相媲美，甚至更好。完全由植物蛋白制成的塑料材料是天然的，因此将减少合成塑料制造中使用的有毒化学品和不可降解塑料废物堆积对环境造成的污染。这项拟议的研究将通过德雷克塞尔的合作本科教育计划包含很强的教育成分。

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to demonstrate proof-of-concept of an innovative processing method for yielding commercial-grade plastic (polymer) materials derived solely from biobased resources such as plant proteins. The proposed method for conditioning and processing wheat gluten will lead to a hard plastic material that is fully biocompatible and biodegradable. The proposed production method is expected to result in cost-competitive biobased polymer products with mechanical and performance attributes comparable to, or better than, those of their synthetic plastic counterparts. Plastic materials that are made entirely from plant proteins are natural, and will, therefore, reduce pollution of the environment caused by toxic chemicals used in synthetic plastic manufacture and by non-degradable plastic waste accumulation. The proposed study will have a strong educational component through Drexel's Co-op Undergraduate Education Program.