The discovery, presented at the fall gathering of the American Chemical Society (ACS), could be valuable because it is challenging to find sources of biodegradable polymers that do not have conflicting uses.

"For 20 years, my group has been developing methods to transform natural products - such as glucose obtained from sugarcane or trees - into degradable, digestible polymers that do not persist in the environment", said lead investigator Karen Wooley of Texas A&M University.

"But those natural products are harvested from resources also used for food, fuel, construction and transportation".

A colleague suggested they could use the remains from the breeding of black soldier flies. The larvae of flies contain proteins and various nutrients, making them suitable for animal feed and waste decomposition, which is why they are grown for these specific purposes. However, adult flies are less useful and are discarded after their short lifespan. Wooley's team attempted to use these carcasses to create useful materials from a residual product.

Researchers found that chitin, a sugar-based polymer, is a major component of flies and strengthens the shells or exoskeletons of insects and crustaceans. Shrimp and crab shells are already used for chitin extraction. Researchers said that the chitin powder obtained from flies appeared purer than that from crustaceans, and obtaining chitin from flies could alleviate concerns about certain seafood allergies.

From the products of flies, the team created a hydrogel that can absorb 47 times its weight in water in just one minute. This product could be used in cultivated soil to capture floodwater and then slowly release moisture during droughts.