Cassava root moving from the kitchen to the factory

“I salute the mandioca! One of Brazil’s greatest achievements.” Former President Dilma Rousseff was ridiculed for this declaration back in 2015 but, in actual fact, there is nothing that unites Brazilians more—north to south, east to west—than cassava. Known locally as mandioca, macaxeira, or aipim, the root can be found on dinner tables all across the country in various different forms. But recent research from engineers at the University of São Paulo (USP) suggests that cassava’s benefits may go beyond the kitchen.

A team of USP researchers has used cassava starch to develop a biodegradable plastic film that is, according to early testing, more resistant and versatile. Developed in partnership with USP’s Polytechnic School and the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, the cassava plastic was made by using ozone gas to process starch extracted from the vegetables. The “ozonated” samples had higher tensile strength, lower solubility, and a more...