In Germany, in the RUBIO project, 18 partners are turning the vision of a sustainable plastics industry into reality. Their goal is to use regionally available plant residues to create versatile, sustainable products that are recyclable and biodegradable. As part of the project, the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP is developing new types […]
In Ohio, The Sentinel Tribune reported that a new bio-based photocuring technology developed by a Bowling Green State University professor and graduate student is drawing the attention of top scientists at some of the country’s largest and most innovative companies. Jayaraman Sivaguru, Research Professor and associate director of the BGSU Center for Photochemical Sciences, and […]
In South Korea, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology have developed a methodology to improve thermoelectricity production. High charge carrier mobility and low thermal conductivity of indacenodithiophene (IDT)-based polymers make them ideal candidates for thermoelectric materials. However, they suffer from low electric conductivity, a prerequisite for high thermoelectric performance. In a new […]
In the UK, a scientist from the University of Plymouth has played a key role in new research which has developed a powerful, low-cost method for recycling used cooking oil and agricultural waste into biodiesel, and turning food scraps and plastic rubbish into high-value products. The method, outlined in a study published in Nature Catalysis, […]
In the UK, researchers have ‘hacked’ the earliest stages of photosynthesis, the natural machine that powers the vast majority of life on Earth, and discovered new ways to extract energy from the process, a finding that could lead to new ways of generating clean fuel and renewable energy. An international team of physicists, chemists and […]
In Massachusetts, wax that is derived from a commonly grown marine microalga could be the next big thing in cosmetics and personal care products, thanks to a recent license agreement between the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Western Washington University (WWU)—which jointly own the patents—and Upwell Cosmetics, a start-up materials company founded in Woods Hole, […]
In Japan, introducing carbonated water into a mixture of low-methoxy pectin and calcium carbonate solution can accelerate the gelation process, improve the mechanical strength of hydrogels, and induce intrinsic structural changes in the gel material-found a recent Tokyo University of Science research. The insights from this study validate the use of carbonated water as a […]
In Brazil, the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) said a group of researchers from Brazil’s State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) have cultivated microalgae in a laboratory setting under carefully controlled conditions. Their primary aim was to harness the metabolites, particularly lipids, produced by these microorganisms to create biofuels. Luisa Fernanda Ríos, one of the authors […]
In China, a research group from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a family of eco-friendly glass of biological origin fabricated from biologically derived amino acids or peptides. The proposed glass is biodegradable and biorecyclable. In this study, the researchers used chemically modified amino acids and peptides […]
In Colorado, they’ve been called “dream” plastics: polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs. Already the basis of a fledgling industry, they’re a class of polymers naturally created by living microorganisms, or synthetically produced from biorenewable feedstocks. They’re biodegradable in the ambient environment, including oceans and soil. But there’s a reason PHAs haven’t taken off as a sustainable, environmentally […]
