Omani researchers produce ethanol, biodiesel and bioplastics from paper waste

In Oman, researchers from Sultan Qaboos University have successfully transformed waste paper including waste office paper, newspaper and cardboard paper into fermentable sugars by enzymatic hydrolysis that was later turned into ethanol and bioplastics as well as biodiesel. Paper waste represents more than 35% of the sultanate’s 1.6 million metric tons of MSW produced on an annual basis. The research team is scaling up its process with a 100-liter bioreactor to run further pilot tests.