Replacing Plastic with Bamboo: Eco-Friendly Disposable Tableware Based on the Separation of Bamboo Fibers and the Reconstruction of Their Network Structure

Abstract

Disposable bamboo fiber tableware is a novel type of product that utilizes sustainable, high-performance bamboo fiber to minimize plastic pollution. In this study, we developed a high-utility bamboo fiber tableware product by employing a novel hybrid fiber-membrane strategy: We used a combination of steam explosion technology and mechanical refining to achieve the “up-down” separation of bamboo. During the molding process, slender bamboo fibers mixed with starch were interwoven into a strong three-dimensional network structure, which resulted in the abundant formation of physical interwinding, fiber bridging, and hydrogen bonding. The above structural features conferred excellent strength, water resistance, oil resistance, better high- and low-temperature resistance, a low content of dissolved substances, and the capacity for rapid degradation when compared with plastic and polylactic acid tableware. We conducted a product life cycle evaluation and found that replacing 20% of plastic tableware products with the bamboo fiber tableware product developed herein would be equal to reducing carbon emissions equivalent to 300,000 cars in a small city.

Replacing Plastic with Bamboo: A Review of the Properties and Green Applications of Bamboo-Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

“…Bamboo can minimize greenhouse gas emissions in a number of ways. Bamboo grows fast and has a high capacity for carbon sequestration [48]. Bamboo products can store carbon for a long time and maintain a low or even zero carbon impact throughout the product life cycle.…”

“…A combination of steam explosion technology and mechanical refining is used to separate bamboo materials, and then the bamboo fibers are mixed with tapioca starch to prepare new bamboo fiber tableware. The prepared product has the characteristics of high strength, water resistance, oil resistance, temperature resistance, dissolution resistance, etc., and can be quickly and harmlessly degraded, which is an ideal substitute for traditional non-degradable plastics in food packaging applications [48].…”

Fast Sweat Wicking Enabled by Unidirectional Water Transport in Biodegradable Trilayered Porous Membranes Produced via Papermaking

“…36 Natural fibrous membranes and the exploitation of their hydrophilic or hydrophobic nature in various applications are rising. Cavalcante et al demonstrated a new application of membrane contactors for developing superamphiphilic mycelium materials; 37 Chen et al reconstructed eco-friendly disposable tableware based on bamboo fiber separation and its network structure; 38 and Oldal et al used green solvents to prepare inherently sustainable CA nanofibers. 39 Herein, we propose, for the first time, a simple strategy to develop a functional textile based on trilayered porous membranes with unidirectional water transport performance and complete degradation for continuous moisture wicking (Figure 1a).…”

Classification and properties of Bambusa blumeana fiber

“…At present, bamboo fiber has great potential in terms of promoting sustainability and environmental protection; the development of sustainable high-performance bamboo fiber can greatly reduce plastic pollution (Chen et al 2023), and bamboo fiber applications in the field of renewable resources have been extensively researched (Mousavi et al 2022).…”