All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lynn L. Bergeson On December 18, 2018, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency of the United Kingdom (UK) published a policy paper titled “Our Waste, Our Resources:  A Strategy for England.” The paper outlines the strategy to be implemented for the preservation of material resources through minimizing waste, promoting resource efficiency, and moving towards a circular economy. The strategic framework to be put forth is guided by two...

Biofuels International, “Biogas-to-Biofuel Technology Accepted for Testing” Biofuels International, “Prospects Raised for Large Scale Algae Biofuel Production” Reuters, “Biofuel Groups Ask Federal Judge to Freeze U.S. Refinery Waiver Program” Packaging Gateway, “Leaf Resources Extends Leafcoat License to Europe” Reuters, “Iowa Senator Says Expect Fewer Biofuel Waivers from Wheeler’s EPA” Fronteras, “Food Biotechnology Added...

Phys.org, “New Method Enables Large-Scale Production of Bio-Based Plastic Bottles” Mercom India, “India Joins the Club for Collaboration on New and Alternate Fuels” Biofuels Digest, “University of Delaware Start-Up Creates Renewable Oil that Can Be Used from Cosmetics to Lubricants” Reuters, “Britain’s Renewable Electricity Capacity Overtakes Fossil Fuels — Report” Renewable Energy Magazine, “APPA Claims Biofuel a Key Ingredient...

Eureactiv, “EU Bioeconomy Strategy and IPCC – Planets Apart” Dentristry.co.uk, “First Bio-based Plastic Toothbrush Launched” Automotive World, “First Biobased Coating Hardener for Lightfast Polyurethane Coatings” Chemical Engineering, “Anellotech Announces Scaleup Plans for Bio-Based BTX Production” Renewables Now, “BNDES Grants USD 13m to Brazilian Ethanol Producer”...

Des Moines Register, “In Iowa, Trump Says He Kept His E15 Promises, Claims Democrats Would ‘End Ethanol’” Bloomberg, “Gene-Edited Foods Are Coming to Your Plate but Aren’t Being Regulated” inhabitat, “Nuatan Is the Bioplastic That Could Answer the Plastic Pollution Crisis” UPROXX, “This ‘Bio Plastic’ Is 100% Compostable and Poised to Change the World” BiofuelsDigest, “Novozymes’ Yeast Beast in New Release;...

Agence de Presse Africaine (APA News), “Nigeria: Government to Support 1000 Cotton Farmers” Forbes, “Trump’s Relationship with American Farmers Is Soiled Because of Biofuels Stance and Trade War” Brisbane Times, “Biofuels Successfully Trialled in Flights from Brisbane Airport” PackagingNews, “PepsiCo Joins Danone and Nestlé Waters in Bio-based Bottles R&D Partnership”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On August 30, 2018, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology (Fraunhofer IGB) published an article announcing the latest advances in using 3-carene as a building block to produce biobased plastics. The aforementioned substance, 3-carene, “is a component of turpentine oil, a waste stream of the production of cellulose from wood.” This substance can be found in pine, larch, or spruce and is usually a byproduct that ends...

Food Business News, “New Pet Food Packaging Initiative Utilizes Sustainable Sugarcane” Environmental Leader, “Government Regs and Consumer Awareness Drive Bioplastic Packaging Market” Spring Wise, “Biotechnology Solution Turns Waste into Valuable Metals”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson At Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, Dominik Kopp, a Ph.D. student, has developed a method for turning coffee waste into biodegradable plastic coffee cups. Because of its properties, sugars are an efficient source that is often converted into biobased chemicals. According to this study, coffee grounds consist of 50 percent sugars that can be converted into lactic acid. Once this is done, lactic acid can be used to produce biodegradable plastics....

Plastics Technology, “Materials: Marine Biodegradable Bioplastic Compound” The Economic Times – India, “Government Puts Restrictions on Export of Bio-fuels” inUth BETA, “India Joins U.S. and Australia with Launch of First-Ever Biofuel Flight” Ecns.cn, “Biofuels Push to Help Clear the Air” DairyReporter.com, “United Caps and Braskem Launch ‘I’m Green’ Bio-sourced Plastic Caps and Closures”...

EurekAlert!, “Renewables Could Drastically Cut Tailpipe Emissions” AP News, “US Says Conserving Oil Is No Longer an Economic Imperative” Reuters, “Gene-editing Startups Ignite the Next ‘Frankenfood’ Fight” Stora Enso, “Stora Enso and Orthex Combine Wood Fibre and Bioplastic into Durable Consumer Products” U.S. Department of Energy, “New Members of Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee Announced”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson Researchers in Lithuania and Egypt have discovered how to use N, N-dimethylcyclohexylamine (DMCHA) to break down multilayer flexible packaging (MFP) that pose a threat to the environment. MFP is used in making blister pill packages, candy wrappers, chip packets, and related products, and can contain aluminum, among other toxic substances, which when leaked or incinerated is hazardous to the environment. Although some practices exist to separate the multilayered packaging...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On August 13, 2018, France’s Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, Brune Poirson, announced during an interview a new plan to charge ten percent more for packaged products that do not use recycled plastic in 2019. France aims to transition 100 percent of its packaging use into recyclable plastic by 2025. With this goal in mind, the French government will be introducing a number of...

Bio-based World News, “Expert View: Growing the Irish Forest Bio-economy”  Master Bond, “High Tensile Strength Epoxy Adhesive Utilizes Renewable Biomaterial” ABC News, “How a Humble Australian Bee Could Help the World’s Plastic Problem” Edie.Net, “Iceland Launches Plastic-Free Chewing Gum in UK First”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 18, 2018, Neste, a member of the Biobased and Renewable Products Advocacy Group (BRAG®) announced that it is exploring the use of waste plastic as a raw material in fossil refining, with a plan to start an industrial scale trial during 2019.  If successful, Neste could process one million tons of plastic waste annually by 2030.  The chemical recycling process uses “waste plastics as raw material for the refining and...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 16, 2018, Anellotech and Suntory announced that a new milestone had been reached in developing a 100 percent biobased plastic bottle. Anellotech is using a thermal catalytic process called Bio-TCatTM to confirm non-food based feedstocks into BTX aromatics, renewable chemicals that are structurally identical to traditional plastic components.  The BTX is now undergoing purification studies to make bio-paraxylene, a key chemical for the renewable bottles....

The Guardian, “Researchers Race to Make Bioplastics from Straw and Food Waste” Imperial College London, “New Enzyme Boost Could Hasten Biofuel Production” GreenBiz, “Ambitious Alliance Mobilizes Value Chain for Bio-Based Polymers”...

By Lynn L. Bergeson On July 5, 2018, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd announced that it had developed a 100 percent biobased, thermally formable, biodegradable material, that is suitable for furniture applications.  This product is an attractive alternative to wood and other biocomposite materials that are already available in the market, with the added benefit of formality and coloring properties.  "All the goals we set were achieved: the material is 100% bio-based,...

Plastics Insight, “EU-Funded Researchers to Develop Eco-Friendly Bio-Based Materials for Aircraft” Biomass Magazine, “ISO Committee Advances Development of Standards for Solid Biofuel” University of Portsmouth, “John McGeehan Key Player in Discovery of ‘Promiscuous’ Enzyme That Converts Plant Waste into...

Plastics Insight, “IKEA, Neste Collaborates for First Large-scale Production of Renewable, Bio-based Polypropylene Plastic” Markets Insider, “Kreussler Inc. Earns USDA Certified Biobased Product Label” CISION PRWeb, “John Kaweske Announces Bio Clean Energy Wins $36 Million Biodiesel Supply Contract Bolivia Government Oil Companies”...