Maple Syrup: the new plastic?

From the nifty biotech desk: when is a surplus of maple syrup a boon to the plastics industry? When scientists discover that a special bacteria can turn maple syrup sugars into biodegradable polymers.

[National Research Council Canada] researchers found that the bacteria not only thrive when added to maple syrup, but also transform the sugars in the sap into a family of natural polymers that can be used to make plastic-like materials that are biodegradable – everything from "green" food packaging to drug-delivery films that dissolve harmlessly in the body.

In addition to taking advantage of declining demand for maple syrup, the development of plastic polymers from syrup and sap could be significantly less expensive (and environmentally intensive) than making polymers from other biomass or petroleum products.

In a research paper to be published later this year in the peer-reviewed journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering, they argue that producing biopolymers from maple sap and syrup is potentially much cheaper than existing methods that rely on U.S. corn, Brazilian sugarcane and European sugar beets.

The one potential hangup is that global warming could significantly alter the maple syrup industry, potentially reducing production in the New England area of the United States and pushing it further into Canada.

I'll do my bit, accepting the artificial syrup for my waffles. For the sake of science...

(Tip to Tyler's Clean Break blog for the original source)