Australia & New Zealand Chitin &nd Chitosan R&D and Innovations

Australian Teenager Develops Bioplastics from Shrimps

Fifteen-year-old Angelina Arora from Sydney Girls High School developed a biodegradable plastic made from prawn shell and sticky protein from the silk of silkworms.

Arora compared the protein with a spider’s web and stated that when mixed with chitin, it produces a flexible yet strong fabric.

“I’m driven by wanting to help — whether it’s people, the environment or animals. It was amazing after months of research that I found a plastic that was suitable,” she said.

This research won her the Innovator to Market Award in the 2018 BHP Billiton Foundation Science and Engineering Awards, a partnership between the BHP Billiton Foundation, CSIRO and the Australian Science Teachers Association.

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She will represent Australia at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Pennsylvania (13–18, May).

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