Circular solution for bioplastics, McDonald’s fryer oil to 3D printing resin, human hair to fertilizer, crab shells and seaweed to yarn, and more: The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations for the week of February 6th

The infinity symbol…a figure 8 on its side, a lemniscate…no matter what you call it, it signifies the concept of limitlessness or eternity which is what the bioeconomy has been doing lately in its limitless innovations. It’s been a big week for bioplastics with Danimer Scientific and Columbia Packaging Group partnering to make compostable produce bags from Danimer’s Nodax polyhydroxyalkanoate, Perrier to invest €1million ($1.1 million) in three startups to develop more sustainable packaging for its sparkling water, and UK researchers developed a way to recycled plant-based plastics – giving all the bioplastic naysayers a moment of silence.

In today’s Digest, let’s dive into bioplastics as well as some other exciting, slightly creepy, Top 10 Innovations like the conversion of human hair into melanin, keratin and fertilizer, old McDonald’s fryer oil being converted into biodegradable 3D printing resin, yarn made from crab shells and seaweed, and more – and it’s ready for you now at The Digest online.

#1 Canadian researchers convert old McDonald’s fryer oil to 3D printing resin

In Canada, researchers at the University of Toronto have converted old fryer oil from McDonald’s into a biodegradable 3D printing resin.

“The reasons plastics are a problem is because nature hasn’t evolved to handle human-made chemicals,” Andre Simpson, a professor at University of Toronto Scarborough’s Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences tells 3D Printing Media. “Because we’re using what is essentially a natural product—in this case fats from cooking oil—nature can deal with it much better.”

The idea came after Simpson and his team noticed molecular similarities between commercial resins and those found in cooking oils.

The team developed a one-step process and converted 1 liter of used fryer oil into 420 mL of resin. They then used the resin to print a 3D butterfly with good resolution. When buried, the material is quickly broken down in soil.
More on the story, here.