In Malaysia, researchers at Universiti Putra Malaysian are using natural fibers made of pineapple leaves for drone frames. The pineapple leaf material has a higher strength to weight ratio compared to plastic and is cheaper than traditional drone frame materials. It also makes the drone partially biodegradable, in case it becomes lost to the user […]
In Canada, the government has invested in producing biodegradable face mask filters to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Seamus O’Regan, has announced a $1.3 million investment in FPInnovations, a non-profit R&D private organization spanning the pulp and paper industry, forest operations, wood products, and bio-sourced products, to […]
In Russia, a student at the National University of Science and Technology MISiS has made a bioplastic from gelatin and sawdust. Valeria Solovyova, who is pursuing a master’s at NUST MISiS’s Technologies and Materials for Digital Production program, created the material using wood waste, gelatin, glycerin, and water. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she had […]
In Eastern Europe, specialty chemicals distributor Biesterfeld will distribute renewable food and nutrition ingredients produced by Atlanta’s CP Kelco. Under the terms of the deal, Biesterfeld will distribute pectin, carrageenan, xantham gum, gellan gum, and citrus fiber in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Biesterfeld has already been providing these products in […]
In Maryland, researchers at the US Army Research Institute are developing a renewable, self-healing material inspired by squid teeth in the hopes it can be used to design self-repairing robots and uniforms. Squids catch and hold food using tentacles, which can regenerate if lost or damaged. Researchers at Penn State University have already developed soft […]
In Boston, Massachusetts, biological engineering company Conagen has developed a process to produce lactoferrin, an abundant protein in breast milk that acts as an antimicrobial and antiviral agent. Currently, makers of infant formula rely on lactoferrin extracted from cow milk in a costly purification process that simultaneously removes several key nutrients. “The main key drivers […]
In New York, New Age Renewable Energy has been converting dairy waste into hand sanitizers to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The company is taking whey acid byproduct from milk production to produce gallon containers, 55-galon drums, and 275-gallon tanks of hand sanitizer, depending on organizational needs. The process was developed over the last few […]
In Ghana, a local entrepreneur is producing bicycles from bamboo to provide an eco-friendlier method of transportation, create local jobs, and help children focus on their education. Bernice Dapaah tells the World Economic Forum that the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative has sold more than 3,000 bikes. For every sale, a bamboo bike is donated to […]
In the Philippines, a natural fiber already used to produce tea bags and Japanese currency could be used to produce biodegradable personal protective equipment for preventing COVID-19 infection. “With this pandemic, if we all buy masks made of synthetic fiber, they will pile up in dumpsites because they take so long to decompose,” Philippine Fibre […]
In California, Advanced BioCatalytics says it has received the coveted EPA Safer Choice Approval for Glucospike, a microbiology-based surfactant for cleaning applications. To qualify for the Safer Choice label, a product must meet EPA’s Safer Choice Standard, which includes stringent human and environmental health criteria. “At [Advanced BioCatalytics] ABC we have been building surfactant-based applications, […]
