You have a mistaken understanding of paper teabags. They are made of paper, but during manufacturing the paper bag is sprayed with plastic to finish it
(And no, I’m not talking about the silky plastic pyramid style ones. Just the cheap paper ones)
> To such end, three teabags of different chemical compositions were used in this study: (1) empty nylon-6 (NY6) teabags (as a model of polyamide), (2) empty polypropylene (PP) teabags, and (3) commercially available teabags containing tea, and cellulose as the polymer composition.
To me, that suggests there were bags included containing no PP or Nylon-6.
> Most paper tea bags also have plastic fibers
used in the sealant in addition to these nylon and PET plastic tea
bags. Even paper tea bags have an unsettling substance called
epichlorohydrin added to them in order to keep them from
bursting.
this is such garbage paper you are referencing, and in particular the claim "most paper tea bags contain unsettling amounts of bad plastics" screams for citations and testing method.
I guess the authors only took into consideration some bad quality local trash brand.
Yorkshire Tea claims "most of the bag is made from natural fibres like wood pulp and the seal is made with PLA - an industrially compostable, plant-based plastic"
> In environments above 60°C, such as in hot liquids or high-heat exposure, PLA can begin to leach additives or degrade into its lactic acid monomers
Why the fuck are these sodding tic tacs putting 3D printer plastic into tea bags that will be thrown into boiling water?!
Well that's interesting, I presumed the so called biodegradability of PLA was more of a joke since you need to compost it, but the body is fairly warm I suppose.
Regardless the problem is not the plastic itself, but the plasticizers and other additives that leech out once you decompose it from what I understand. For medical use I would expect it's fairly stringent on what goes into it, but for something like tea bags I'm less sure.
Because PLA is made from sugar, funny enough, if use PLA from Europe to 3D print it smells like cotton candy (cause made from cane sugars) whereas PLA in the US smells like popcorn (because made from corn syrup). It's also why its completely biodegradable, if you leave it outside, bacteria and UV light will eventually break it down, its also why its not a good material for anything exposed to environmental elements or something that needs to be durable for a long period of time. Its fine for most things, including biodegradable cups and straws. All that said, its probably the least toxic of the plastics considering its source.
PLA has been around for a while, its not new with 3D printers, its just commonly used for 3D printers because it has excellent properties for 3D printing.
Because it's literally a polymer of lactic acid? It's safe enough that they use it for medical implants because its degradation products already exist in the body?
(Or is this a sarcastic response along the lines of "didn't you know it contains dihydrogen monoxide, a chemical widely used in nuclear reactors and military applications!"?)
You have a mistaken understanding of paper teabags. They are made of paper, but during manufacturing the paper bag is sprayed with plastic to finish it
(And no, I’m not talking about the silky plastic pyramid style ones. Just the cheap paper ones)
Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10389239/