High Captured Carbon Content Bioplastic Film from Spirulina

Abstract Bioplastics offer a solution to the problem of increasing atmospheric CO2 levels contributed by the linear production and consumption pattern of fossil‐derived plastics by closing the carbon loop with material sourcing from biomass and bioplastic's biodegradability. Spirulina, a genus of cyanobacteria that is capable of rapid CO2 uptake, can be the key to realizing a circular plastic economy by converting atmospheric CO2 to value‐added high protein content biomass, from which the protein can be extracted and processed to produce protein‐based bioplastics with high captured carbon content that is biodegradable, releasing CO2 after decomposition to be returned to the cycle. To demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing the self‐assembling capabilities of Spirulina protein to fabricate bioplastics, a simple procedure is proposed that involves protein isoelectric point precipitation f…