Bioloon: Subtle Innovation Creates Biodegradable Balloons

Balloons have always been made from natural latex, a material derived from rubber tree sap. Natural latex is biodegradable. So far so good. But, the problem is what manufacturers do to it before it gets to you.

Finally, a biodegradable balloon

To convert liquid latex into elastic rubber, manufacturers put it through a process called sulfur vulcanization, adding sulfur, accelerators, antioxidants, and activators. Those additives are what stop biodegradation. They’re also what leak toxic chemicals into the environment when a balloon ends up in the sea, on a beach, or in an animal's stomach.

Happily, researchers at Imperial College London have developed a new balloon material designed to break down quickly after use, offering a more environmentally responsible alternative for celebrations and events.

The innovation, led by the Department of Chemical Engineering’s Professor Jason Hallett, was inspired by concerns over the environmental impact of discarded balloons, and makes use of a modified latex material that retains the performance of a standard balloon whilst degrading a lot quicker once disposed of. The material is also easier to inflate than conventional balloons. The Imperial team - known as Bioloon - developed the new material to address this challenge without compromising usability.

Juliana Cumming, a 29-year-old Ph.D. student at Imperial College London, spent three years figuring out how to skip the sulfur vulcanization step. “Our balloon is still made with natural latex, but we blend it with another biodegradable polymer and we don’t add any of these additives that are used in traditional balloons,” she says. The material that results is soft, elastic, and inflates as easily as a regular balloon. The benefit is that it doesn’t spend the next several centuries in a landfill or a seabird‘s gut.

The Imperial team is aiming to bring the bioloon to market by 2028. If used by all manufacturers, the really good news would be that it would stop around 25 billion balloons messing up the environment and harming wildlife, every year.