Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

Bananas have created a buzz among the scientific community in recent years. We already know that bananas are nutritious; high in potassium, vitamin B6, the amino acid tryptophan, which helps induce relaxation and sleep, moderate amounts of vitamin C, and fiber.



So what is this excitement all about?



It is actually the banana peel and not the banana itself that has attracted many scientists who are searching for new solutions to old problems.



A young scientist, 16-year-old Elif Bilgin, has also caught on to the banana craze.



Elif Bilgin is from the magnificent city of Istanbul, and one of her favorite pastimes is to go to the Bosphorus River and admire the view.



“Istanbul is a city that never sleeps, the point where Europe meets Asia, and it is beautiful. Unfortunately, just like any big city, we face environmental problems on a daily basis. On my strolls down the river, I noticed an increase in plastic water bottles floating around in the river. This upset me and I started doing some research. I found that petroleum based plastics are causing too much pollution,” said Bilgin.



Petroleum based plastics can be found anywhere from plastic bottles to peanut butter jars, yogurt containers, plastic tableware, toothbrush bristles to plumbing pipes, insulation for electric cables, compact discs, and eyeglasses. Making plastics from petroleum is expensive and the process has a high-energy expenditure and produces a large amount of pollution, not to mention the possibility of toxic chemicals leaching into our beverages and foods.  



Bio plastics, as Bilgin discovered, can be the solution to a number of environmental problems our world is facing today.



Bio plastics are derived from natural, organic waste materials. It means recycling and reusing organic materials that would otherwise go to waste. Major advantages of this method include: less energy is needed to produce than plastics made from petroleum, bio plastics are non-toxic and will not leach toxins into the soil and water, and bio plastics are cheaper to make.



Bilgin’s goal was to figure out a way to make plastics out of organic waste. She looked into fruit peels and pinpointed the ones that are highest in starch and cellulose, which are the key ingredients in making bio plastics.



The banana peel is a perfect candidate. For example, in the year 2006 in Thailand alone, 200 tons of banana peels were thrown away daily and this number has increased every year.



“Banana peel is something we throw away every day and little do we know that it could be put to much more efficient uses,” said Bilgin.



For two years, Bilgin tirelessly toiled away at her project and converted her home kitchen into a scientific laboratory, not in the least bit deterred by failed trials. The first ten trials failed because she either could not make the plastics strong enough to be used in common products or because the banana peel in her plastic would decay.



Describing the cumbersome work, Bilgin said, “I conducted 12 trials and tried 6 different methods, varying the amount of banana peel used and the concentration of chemicals that are used. The final process of turning the peel into plastic includes dipping the peel into a solution which keeps it from decaying, before boiling, and pure`eing. After that, chemicals are added to the pure` to form a mixture which is then transferred to a petri-dish and baked.”



On her 12th experiment, Bilgin succeeded; she made durable, stable plastics from banana peels.



What kept her going after each setback was Thomas Edison’s famous saying, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”



Thomas Edison also said, “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”



Bilgin believes that, in the near future, bio plastics will rival petroleum-based plastics. The banana peel plastics she designed in her kitchen do work, and with further improvements and large-scale production, they could be the next environmental boom.



“Our beautiful planet can be spared from the consequences of the production of plastics with petroleum derivatives in them, such as pollution of air, land, and water,” said Bilgin.