[앵커]
If you use paper straws when drinking in cafes, etc., you must have had an uncomfortable experience as they get damp easily.
A research team in Korea has developed an environmentally friendly paper straw that does not get wet and is easily decomposed.
This is Reporter Lee Seong-gyu.
[기자]
Paper straws are commonly used when drinking coffee in cafes.
You saw a paper straw in your coffee.
After a while, it becomes soggy and hard to drink.
The paper is coated with polyethylene, but the coating is not uniform, so water leaks through the gaps.
In addition, there is a disadvantage that polyethylene does not decompose well, which is colorless for eco-friendly purposes.
A research team in Korea has developed a paper straw that does not get wet easily and decomposes easily.
Corn plastic straws, which are alternatives to paper straws, ordinary paper straws, and paper straws developed by the research team were placed in water.
After a while, plastic corn straws and ordinary paper straws get damp and bend easily, but the paper straws we developed keep their original shape.
Cellulose nanocrystals, which stick well to paper, are mixed with polybutylene succinate, a biodegradable plastic, to form a tight coating so they don’t get wet easily.
[곽호정 / 한국화학연구원 박사후연구원 : 생분해성 플라스틱의 물성을 강화시켰을 뿐 아니라 종이와 생분해성 플라스틱 사이를 강하게 결합시키는….]
Looking at the amount of decomposition after being soaked in sea water for 2 months, the general straw is almost the same, but the developed straw has had a lot of decomposition.
When placed in a carbonated drink, a regular straw produces lots of bubbles because the non-uniform coating stimulates carbonation, but the advanced straw does not.
The research team evaluated that the newly developed straw is about 10% more expensive than the current paper straw, but it is efficient when considering convenience and environment.
[오동엽 / 한국화학연구원 연구원 : 이 기술은 종이 제품을 수분에 강하게 만들면서 생분해 속도를 촉진시키는 기술이므로 종이 빨대뿐만 아니라 종이 식기, 종이컵, 종이박스 등의 제품에 널리 확장될 수 있습니다.]
The government will only use paper straws in restaurants and cafes in the future, and it went into a one-year guideline period from the 24th of last month.
Attention is focused on whether paper straws, which do not get wet and can be easily disassembled, will become a replacement.
This is YTN Science Lee Seong-gyu.
YTN Seongkyu Lee (sklee95@ytn.co.kr)
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[저작권자(c) YTN 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]
