一个由日本主导的团队报告了一种植物基塑胶，旨在解决海洋微塑胶污染：它在海水中可于数小时内完全溶解，而不是在数十年间碎裂。这项工作由 RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) 的 Dr. Takuzo Aida 领导，针对传统塑胶的核心失败：在阳光与海浪磨蚀后，较大的塑胶物会变成持久存在的微塑胶，进入沉积物、表层水体、海鲜，并可能进入人体暴露途径。该材料以纤维素衍生化学为基础，面向日常包装，设计目标是在一般使用处理下保持可用，同时一旦流入海洋即可安全解体。
研究人员使用 carboxymethyl cellulose 与带有 guanidinium 基团的正电聚合物，在室温水中透过离子聚合组装成高密度交联薄膜。其结构完整性由静电盐桥维持；但在海水中，Na+ 与 Cl− 离子会破坏这些连结，使其解离为可溶于水的成分，而不是形成颗粒碎屑。为提升实用性，他们加入薄型阻隔涂层以延缓过早的水分/盐分渗入，并使用 choline chloride 作为增塑剂以降低脆性并调整柔韧性。报告的性能包括：拉伸测试中延伸率最高达 130%，可制成厚度 0.07 mm (0.003 inches) 的透明薄膜，以及展示可承装番茄的轻量蔬果袋，显示其在废物流中常见易渗漏的薄型包装形式上具有潜力。
作者将该系统描述为闭环可回收，因为溶解后的成分可被重新收集，并透过电解质触发的再结合重新组装；但这依赖真实的收集基础设施与受控回收，而非不受控的环境释放。此方法不同于许多需要工业堆肥条件的「可生物降解」塑胶；作为对照，一项被引用的海水实地研究发现，polylactic acid 纺织品在 428 days 后几乎没有可见变化，凸显海洋情境中标示与实际表现的落差。仍待解决的限制包括对气体与水汽的阻隔表现、食品接触迁移/口感安全性、相对于纸张/再生塑胶/其他生物聚合物的成本竞争力，以及供应、制程一致性与废弃处理政策协同的规模化需求。即使能在海水中快速解离，文章仍强调，减少污染仍需要降低一次性使用需求、强化废弃物收集，以及以政策诱因推动更洁净且可回收的材料。
On 02-21-2026, a Japan-led team reported a plant-based plastic designed to address marine microplastic pollution by dissolving fully in seawater within hours rather than fragmenting over decades. The work, led by Dr. Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), targets a core failure of conventional plastics: after sunlight and wave abrasion, larger items become persistent microplastics that enter sediments, surface waters, seafood, and potentially human exposure pathways. The material is built from cellulose-derived chemistry intended for everyday packaging, with the design goal of remaining usable in normal handling while safely disassembling if it reaches the ocean.
The researchers used carboxymethyl cellulose and a positively charged polymer with guanidinium groups, assembled via ionic polymerization in water at room temperature to form a densely cross-linked film. Its integrity is maintained by electrostatic salt bridges, but in seawater, Na+ and Cl− ions disrupt these links, causing dissociation into water-soluble components instead of particulate debris. To improve practicality, they added a thin barrier coating to delay premature water/salt ingress and used choline chloride as a plasticizer to reduce brittleness and tune flexibility. Reported performance included elongation up to 130% in tensile testing, fabrication of a clear film at 0.07 mm (0.003 inches), and a lightweight produce bag demonstrated holding tomatoes, indicating potential for thin packaging formats that are often leakage-prone in waste streams.
The authors describe the system as closed-loop recyclable because dissolved components can be recollected and recombined using electrolyte-triggered reassociation, but this depends on real collection infrastructure and controlled recovery rather than uncontrolled environmental release. The approach differs from many “biodegradable” plastics that require industrial composting conditions; for comparison, a cited seawater field study found polylactic acid textiles showed little visible change after 428 days, underscoring label-performance gaps in marine settings. Remaining constraints include barrier performance against gases and vapor, food-contact migration/taste safety, cost competitiveness versus paper/recycled plastic/other biopolymers, and scale-up requirements for supply, process consistency, and disposal policy alignment. Even with rapid seawater dissociation, the article emphasizes that pollution reduction still requires lower single-use demand, stronger waste collection, and policy incentives for cleaner recyclable materials.