Polymer production is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To reduce this, the polymer industry needs to shift towards renewable carbon feedstocks such as biomass and CO 2 . Both feed-stocks have been shown to reduce GHG emissions in polymer production, however, often at the...
More than 350 million metric tons of plastic are produced every year, and 85% of the garbage dumped in the oceans is plastic, according to estimates. Brazil is the fourth-largest producer, accounting for some 11 million metric tons per year. To make matters worse, most plastic packaging is...
Synthesis of Renewable Nylon Monomers with Poplar Wood. Scientists have developed a method for synthesis of nylon monomers with poplar wood. Different from previous reports, this work offers an example for the direct utilization of the raw biomass without the separation of cellulose,...
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) recently published a report assessing the sustainability of agricultural plastic products. The report recommends replacing non-biodegradable conventional polymers with biodegradable bio-based polymers. The list of recommended...
The rise of synthetic polymers, which form the basis of plastics, has contributed to many serious environmental issues. The worst of these is the excessive use of petrochemical compounds and the disposal of non-biodegradable materials without recycling. A team of scientists led by Assistant...
From Milk Protein, a Plastic Foam that gets Better in a Tough Environment. A new high-performance plastic foam developed from whey proteins can withstand extreme heat better than many common thermoplastics made from petroleum. A research team at KTH Royal Institute of Technology reports that...
There are approximately 960,000 Ford Fiesta’s registered on Britain’s roads. Each of these cars requires 100 gallons or more of crude oil to manufacture the plastic in the car’s interior, bodywork, crumple zones and engine components. What’s more, this plastic will still be around long after the...
Citrus Derivative Makes Transparent Wood 100% Renewable. Five years after introducing see-through wood building material, researchers in Sweden have taken it to another level. They found a way to make their composite 100% renewable – and more translucent – by infusing wood with a clear bio...
Biodegradable and Compostable Plastics: Challenges and Opportunities. More and more plastic products are labelled as ‘compostable’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘oxo-degradable’ or ‘bio-based’. However, plastics made from bio-based materials are not necessarily compostable or biodegradable. The European...
Turning Wood Into Plastic. Efforts to shift from petrochemical plastics to renewable and biodegradable plastics have proven tricky — the production process can require toxic chemicals and is expensive, and the mechanical strength and water stability is often insufficient. But researchers have...