Cellulose based biodegradable materials as a potential alternative to plastic based products

Abstract

Since the invention of plastics in 1907 the disadvantages and dangers posed by it is much more than the advantages. The hazards of plastic pollution impacting the mother earth has been reported and well documented for the past two decades. In the past two decades the development in science is also enormous, however it has caused some destruction to the natural resources available in our planet such as oceans, rivers, lakes and soil making it inutile for the people. The landfills mainly consist of single-use plastics such as straws, plastic cups, sanitary napkins, plastic plates, etc. Around 32% of the total 78 million tons of plastic packaging produced annually is made to flow into our oceans. This figure is expected to increase to two folds by 2030 and by four times in 2050. By 2050 it is estimated that there will be more plastics in the ocean than the fishes. Sanitary napkins and baby and adult diapers are the major plastic pollutants among the landfills because it contains 95% of plastic. Apart from being hazardous to the environment it also poses great risk in women by causing bacterial vaginosis and other hormonal problems due to the presence of estrogen disrupting factors such as Dioxins, etc. present in the above products. This research work has addressed this major issue by replacing all the three layers of the sanitary napkin (top perforated hydrophobic, middle super-absorbing and hydrophobic back sheet) by biodegradable alternatives made of cellulose composite polymer materials loaded with the goodness of traditional herbal extracts such as turmeric, vetiver, neem and lemon. This work was successfully developed into a product with good absorbing efficiency, antibacterial property and is quickly biodegradable in soil (within 15 days).