JAPAN-LED TEAM DEVELOPS OCEAN-DEGRADABLE PLASTIC“塩水で分解”プラスチック開発

An international team led by a Japanese researcher says it has developed a new type of plastic that breaks down in seawater. It says the material is durable and recyclable and can help reduce pollution by keeping microplastics out of the oceans. Aida Takuzo at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science heads the team. It published its results in the U.S. journal Science on Friday. The researchers sought to develop a material to replace conventional plastics made from fossil fuels. They say their new type of plastic is colorless and transparent and has the same strength and thermal resistance as polypropylene. They call the new material supramolecular plastic – “polymers with structures held together by reversible interactions.” They made the substance by combining two ionic monomers, one of which is a common food additive. The plastic's main ingredients can both be broken down by bacteria.

 ◆fossil fuel  化石燃料     a fuel such as coal or oil that is produced by the     very  gradual decaying of animals or plants over millions of years 

 ◆thermal resistance 耐熱性 

 ◆polypropylene. ポリマー、高分子化合物、重合体  

 ◆monomerモノマー、単量体、小さな分子から成る化合物（低分子化合物）