Mealworms Can Convert Styrofoam Into Usable Soil

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I want to know what these researchers were doing when they figured this out. :eek:

A team from Stanford and China's Beihang University found that the beetle larvae stay perfectly healthy eating just Styrofoam, which is normally considered non-biodegradable. Better still, the worms convert the plastic to CO2 and waste that's safe to use as soil for crops. The scientists were as surprised by the discovery as you might be.
 
I feel like everything is bio-degradable, if it comes from the Earth, it will find its way back to the Earth which is everything.
 
FM 3370 said:
I feel like everything is bio-degradable, if it comes from the Earth, it will find its way back to the Earth which is everything.
Click to expand...

Even radiation that emits alpha particles?
 
FM 3370 said:
I feel like everything is bio-degradable, if it comes from the Earth, it will find its way back to the Earth which is everything.
Click to expand...

The problem occurs when the production outweights the deconstruction.
 
Unfortunately the scientists that determined it used to work for VW.






(you may now laugh)
 
so, you could ruin a house by putting these critters near the thermal insulation of a house? old houses get covered in styrofoam for thermal insulation here in europe. at least in my country. no idea if it's done like that elsewhere.
 
FM 3370 said:
I feel like everything is bio-degradable, if it comes from the Earth, it will find its way back to the Earth which is everything.
Click to expand...

Sure, heat something up hot enough it will break down into constituent parts.
 
Styrofoam is bio-degradable as is. Just stick it out in the sun for a while. It will eventually crumble into dust.


And why waste in on something like this anyway? Gasoline + Styrofoam makes a great Napalm.
 
cyclone3d said:
Styrofoam is bio-degradable as is. Just stick it out in the sun for a while. It will eventually crumble into dust.


And why waste in on something like this anyway? Gasoline + Styrofoam makes a great Napalm.
Click to expand...

Acetone works well too.
 
hooray, i get to pat myself on the back.

people always complained styrofoam takes over a million years to break down, and id scoff and say, 'well, its not like itll take 1 million years for scientists to find something to break it down'.

i sure showed you, strangers who i dont remember.
 
cyclone3d said:
Styrofoam is bio-degradable as is. Just stick it out in the sun for a while. It will eventually crumble into dust.
Click to expand...

Whatever it was that you put out in the sun that biodegraded was not Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene foam). You may have had that experience with alternate materials, such as packaging peanuts made from corn starch instead of Styrofoam.
 
Steve said:
A team from Stanford and China's Beihang University found that the beetle larvae stay perfectly healthy eating just Styrofoam, which is normally considered non-biodegradable. Better still, the worms convert the plastic to CO2 and waste that's safe to use as soil for crops. The scientists were as surprised by the discovery as you might be.
Click to expand...

*Casts line*

*sniff*

Fisherman1: Did you fart?

Fisherman2: Nah, it's the worms... gotta squeeze them before putting them on your line...

Fisherman1: Squeeze the worms?

Fisherman2: Yeah, they were on sale at the Pro Bass Shop... said something about being previously used to reduce plastics waste. Owner said to squeeze them so they don't float

Fisherman1: Well, I guess I'm switching to a spinner bait then because I didn't squeeze mine!
 
FM 3370 said:
I feel like everything is bio-degradable, if it comes from the Earth, it will find its way back to the Earth which is everything.
Click to expand...

Except pitbulls, once their jaws lock... it's game over.
 
evilsofa said:
Whatever it was that you put out in the sun that biodegraded was not Styrofoam (expanded polystyrene foam). You may have had that experience with alternate materials, such as packaging peanuts made from corn starch instead of Styrofoam.
Click to expand...

Nope, stuff such as styrofoam fishing floats, styrofoam coolers, etc.

Leave that stuff out in the AZ sun and it will start to degrade pretty quickly.

Even in water that stuff starts to break down after not tool long... and especially a whole lot quicker than the thousands of years claimed.
 
cyclone3d said:
Nope, stuff such as styrofoam fishing floats, styrofoam coolers, etc.

Leave that stuff out in the AZ sun and it will start to degrade pretty quickly.

Even in water that stuff starts to break down after not tool long... and especially a whole lot quicker than the thousands of years claimed.
Click to expand...

What does it break down into?
 
evilsofa said:
What does it break down into?
Click to expand...

Styrofoam (and not the biodegradeable alternatives commonly used) is resistant to photolysis, so leaving it out in the sun wouldn't lead to significant breakdown in the short term. In the time frame the forum lurkers are talking about: it breaks down into smaller pieces of Styrofoam.

Out of sight is out of mind, apparently. :D
 
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