Team:JNFLS/Implementation
1.Background and Significance
The year 2020 is a disastrous year. In the first half of the year, humans encountered the attack of Novel Coronavirus, and in the second half of the year, masks began to pollute in a wide range of the world.
To prevent the spread of the virus, people have to wear masks in public. As a result, humans consume millions of disposable masks every day. The main ingredient in disposable masks is polypropylene, which is extremely difficult to be degraded in the natural environment (it takes hundreds of years to break down). After investigation, we learned that there are two ways to dispose of discarded masks: burning and burying. The former causes secondary pollution to the environment, while the latter reduces soil fertility and crop yield. It is really a very intractable problem.
This year, our project tries to solve this problem. We are exploring the use of biodegradable bacterial cellulose instead of polypropylene to make masks. Bacterial cellulose is a kind of high value-added product with great potential application value. People have started to study the application of bacterial cellulose in textile, food, medical materials, etc., but no one has studied the use of bacterial cellulose as a mask.
2.How to use
Bacterial cellulose is biodegradable and has been explored to use in medical materials. In the process of bacterial cellulose synthesis in our project, we add photosensitive substance spirooxazine, which can change color under the condition of light, greatly enhancing its aesthetic properties of the masks. So, most of people, especially the young teenagers would like to wear it. In addition, chitosan, an antimicrobial substance, is added to the medium in the process of bacterial cellulose production, making it more practical, which is helpful to keep people’s health. According to our questionnaire survey, most people are willing to accept masks made of bacterial cellulose.
Because of the development of high technology, we need facial recognition in many situations now. In this age of virus epidemic, most people wear masks in public, which makes it inconvenient to remove them for face recognition. Our product, the bacterial cellulose mask, is translucent (a property of the dry bacterial cellulose itself), which is a good solution to this problem. It allows us to do faccial recognition without having to remove a mask. This is an amazing!
3.How to implement
In order to obtain bacterial cellulose masks in the laboratory, we printed a 3D mask model. We plan to put the model into the fermentation medium, and culture E. coli statically, so as to obtain bacterial cellulose in the shape of a mask. After freeze drying, we will test all the properties of the cellulose serving as a mask. We have contacted the mask manufacturer, who is responsible for helping us to test the properties, compared with the existing mask standard.
Next, we will collaborate with a manufacturer of mask. At the beginning of our project, we visited the workshop of mask manufacturers to learn about the workflow and relevant requirements of mask production. At the same time, we introduced our project to them. They were very interested. They thought it was a very promising project, and expressed their willingness to cooperate with us. That gave us a lot of encouragement!
4.The potential safety
The bacterial cellulose we used is an organic compound produced by E. coli. Therefore, it may be contaminated with E. coli during the production process. So the bacterial cellulose obtained in fermentation broth needs drying and sterilization process. In addition, cellulose may be a nutrient substance for some microorganisms, so the bacterial cellulose masks may be contaminated with microorganisms in moist conditions. These microbes may degrade cellulose to provide energy for themselves. If people continue to use such masks without knowing it, it is a potential threat to the mask user. So be sure to remind the user of a bacterial cellulose mask: make sure the mask stays dry.
5.Challenges
Although our project is very promising, we still have some challenges. The yield of bacterial cellulose produced by E. coli is very low now. In order to improve the yield, all the conditions of fermentation need to be optimized. Our 3D-printed model has not been used in the culture medium for acquiring the mask shape of cellulose production, so we are not sure if there will be any problems. Experimental data on drying and preservation of bacterial cellulose are not available yet. There is still much work to be done in the future. The questionnaire also showed that some people are hesitate to accept the masks made of bacterial cellulose. We still need to do more publicity work in order to get more people's recognition and acceptance.
6.Inestimable economic and social value
When our project is completed, and the bacterial cellulose masks are put into production, its economic value and social value are inestimable.
First, using E. coli to produce cellulose would greatly reduce the cost of masks. Even more, we could also use the crops waste, such as corn stalks, as an energy source for bacteria fermentation, which would be even cheaper. Now the novel coronavirus has not been defeated yet, and people use masks in public every day. So over the course of a year, that's a lot of money. Bacterial cellulose could greatly reduce the masks cost.
In addition, masks are widely used by people all over the world now, and millions of masks are discarded every day. It has been reported that discarded masks have caused great environmental pollution to humans (please refer to our project description). It is expected that our project can be realized and the bacterial cellulose masks can be put into use. Bacterial cellulose mask is a biodegradable product and can be used for other purposes after degradation, such as making paper as industrial raw materials. This is a great benefit to the protection of human environment and the improvement of energy efficiency.