She makes starch "magically transformed" into degradable plastic

Bai Juan, director of the Research Institute of Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co.
,
Ltd.
Photo by reporter He Xiaogang

Bai Juan

Date of birth: July 1979

Date of joining the party: June 2003

Occupation: Honor of Director of Scientific Research Institute of Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co.
, Ltd.

Achievements: Won the "11th Hubei Province Youth Science and Technology Award", "The 3rd Wuhan Youth Science and Technology Award", "Wuhan City Model Worker", "Wuhan City March 8th Red Banner Bearer", "Wuhan City Outstanding Communist Party Member", etc.

Bai Juan (right) checks the operation of the biodegradable film bag production line
.
Photo by reporter He Xiaogang

Recently, at Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co.
, Ltd.
, Bai Juan guided the team members to conduct chemical analysis tests in the laboratory in the morning, and went to the workshop in the afternoon to check the operation of the production line of biodegradable materials and biodegradable film bags
.
"My job is to put it in layman's terms, and it is to study how to use natural polymer materials such as plant starch to replace traditional petroleum-based plastics to manufacture various packaging bags and disposable products, so as to save oil resources, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and achieve harmless waste.
chemical treatment to eliminate 'white pollution'
.
"

In July 2005, Bai Juan graduated from Zhengzhou University with a master's degree in polymer materials and came to Wuhan Huali Environmental Protection Technology Co.
, Ltd.
to become an ordinary scientific researcher and embark on a long journey of biodegradable plastic research
.
With a love, Bai Juan has been working for 17 years
.

Following Bai Juan to the granulation workshop, a reporter from Changjiang Daily witnessed the "magic transformation" of starch
.
I saw that a biodegradable material production line was operating efficiently.
Bags of white-flowered starch entered the reactor from the feeding port.
After modification and plasticization, melt extrusion, cooling and pelletizing, it finally turned into grains like rice.
Bio-based fully degradable blown film material
.
Bai Juan told reporters that after years of research and development, they used starch, straw powder, rice husk and other natural polymer materials as the main raw materials, chemically modified them, and then blended the modified starch with synthetic biodegradable polyester to make into bio-based degradable plastics
.
This bio-based degradable plastic is made into film bag products after plasticizing and mixing, inflation and traction, folding and winding, and printing
.

Bai Juan (left) instructs team members to conduct chemical analysis tests in the laboratory
.
Photo by reporter He Xiaogang

Degradable plastic bags look the same as ordinary plastic bags, but they are very soft and thin to the touch
.
Bai Juan picked up a stack of degradable plastic bags and compared them with ordinary plastic bags: "Ordinary plastic bags are petroleum-based products, which affect the urban environment after being discarded, causing 'white pollution'; while biodegradable plastic bags, in natural conditions Or under certain conditions (such as composting), it can be completely degraded into carbon dioxide and water within half a year
.
”

In order to make the product stand the test, Bai Juan consults a lot of information and often develops it day and night
.
She leads the team members to solve problems collectively when they encounter difficulties, and start over when they fail
.
With a tenacity and innovative spirit, more than 20 grades of bioplastics developed by Bai Juan's team are exported to the world and are widely used in food packaging, agriculture, express delivery and other industries
.

From researcher to manager, Bai Juan has grown all the way, and has applied for 23 domestic and foreign invention patents and 1 utility model patent
.
At present, there are 12 authorized patents, including 1 American invention patent and 1 Australian invention patent, 9 Chinese invention patents and 1 utility model patent
.
At the same time, she is also the first drafter of the national standard GB/T33796-2017 "General Technical Requirements for Thermoplastic Starch"
.

Talking about the future, Bai Juan said: "I will make unremitting efforts to further enhance the added value of environmentally friendly materials and expand the application field of bioplastics
.
I hope to use advanced technology to allow more consumers to use environmentally friendly products
.
I also call on every A citizen, start with me, start with small things, respect nature, protect the environment, use more environmentally friendly products, and be the guardian of clear waters and lush mountains
.
"