Paper pen, bioasphalt, water activated bio shampoo, lignin self-healing elastomer, bio crop coating, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of July 10th

#3 Biobased roads trial and demos a success – stands up to wear and tear

In the Netherlands, Wageningen University’s Food & Biobased Research team is making progress with the development of bio-asphalt. Half of the fossil-based bitumen has been replaced by the natural binder lignin in a number of demonstration projects. The quality of the bio-asphalt compares well with conventional asphalt, which is good news for an international asphalt industry actively seeking bio-based alternatives, according to Wageningen University.

Lignin gives structure and support to asphalt, according to Wageningen University, is abundantly available in nature, and lignin-based bio-asphalt can be produced at much lower temperatures.

The team expects a breakthrough within five to ten years once there is more certainty about the performance of bio-asphalt and lignin will be produced on a larger scale.
More on the story, here.