Biodegradable Styrofoam Made From Milk

Sorry vegans. Chances are that in the future we’ll be getting dairy shipments. Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have whipped up an alternative to insidious petroleum-derived styrofoam packaging using a combination of clay and milk protein.

The scientists, led by macromolecular science and engineering professor David Schiraldi, took the cow milk protein casein and strengthened it with a little bit of clay and glyceraldehyde, a triose monosaccharide. Casein is already a pretty popular substance for adhesives, but it’s water soluble. Not ideal for packaging. Schiraldi and his colleagues blended all three ingredients and freeze dried the mixture to make an aerogel that they then baked in the oven.

by Alyssa Danigelis

Full Story: http://news.discovery.com/tech/biodegradable-styrofoam-made-from-milk.html