In Massachusetts, Wyss Institute Research scientists are taking on the challenge of developing sustainable plastics that provide the same properties as fossil-based plastics and are cheap but are also biodegradable that don’t require the use of plants at all, and have a negligible carbon footprint: microbes. They honed in on a specific microbe called Cupriavidus […]
In Germany, while is true that plastics made from corn, wheat, or sugarcane are, in principle, climate-neutral and protect declining oil reserves—a broad shift in consumption from conventional to bio-based materials could be bad news for the environment given the current state of technology. After all, plant based raw materials are produced on land and […]
In Illinois, perennial grasses can be converted into everything from ethanol to bioplastics, but it’s unclear which bioproducts hold the greatest potential. BioSTEAM, a new open-source simulation software package in Python developed by researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, gives scientists, engineers, biotechnology companies, and funding agencies a fast, flexible tool to analyze […]
In Washington, DC, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) published a notice of intent to issue a joint Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled “BOTTLE: Bio-Optimized Technologies to Keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment.” This FOA, jointly funded by the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Advanced Manufacturing […]
In the UK, the government us seeking evidence to help it develop standards for biodegradable, compostable and bio-based plastics, and an understanding of its environmental impacts through an open public consultation that closes October 14. The government wants to identify gaps and provide expert advice on: a) the overall sustainability of bio-based and biodegradable plastic […]
In Germany, bioplastics are often promoted as an environmentally and climate-friendly alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics. However, a recent study from the University of Bonn suggests that shifting to plant-based plastics could have less positive effects than expected. Specifically, an increased consumption of bioplastics in the following years is likely to generate increased greenhouse gas […]
In New York, Future Market Insights predicted in “Bio-plastics Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 to 2020”, that the global bio-plastics market is expected to account for $43.8 Bn by 2020, registering a CAGR of 28.8% during the forecast period. A growing beverage packaging industry, government support for adopting bio-based materials, and rising […]
In India, the transportation minister said the country’s financial institutions are not equipped to structure the more than $880 million in soft loans held by the sugarcane industry, financing that would help many integrate or boost ethanol production. As policy shifts are needed to allow mills to produce ethanol from grade B molasses, he instead […]
Combining predictive modeling and experimental lab work, researchers from IBM Research and Stanford University say they were able to design a catalyst that enables cheaper biodegradable plastics from plants. The high cost of biodegradable plastics compared to petroleum-derived counterparts is a major impediment to their wider use in disposable goods such as plastic utensils. Unlike […]
In Europe, a study has shown that European demand for biodegradable polymers has focused on compostable plastic bags. The market of compostable and biodegradable plastic products grew to 100,000 tonnes in 2015, and could grow to beyond 300,000 tonnes in 2020 The industry lives and dies by the legal framework surrounding the use of biodegradable […]
