All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 25, 2017, the Bioplastics Division of the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) awarded DuPont Industrial Biosciences and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) the 2017 Innovation in Bioplastics Award.  DuPont and ADM were recognized for their development of a method to produce furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) from fructose derived from corn starch.  Compared to traditional conversion methods used to produce the biobased monomer, the new method...

On February 22, 2017, the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy announced seven recipients of $5.9 million in funding to develop novel ways to use carbon dioxide (CO2) captured from coal-fired power plants.  The projects will focus on converting captured CO2 to useable products.  Recipients of the funding include:   ?  The University of Kentucky Research Foundation will receive nearly $1 million to convert CO2 to bioplastics using microalgae.  In addition to developing a...

On April 1, 2016, The Plastics Industry Trade Association's SPI Bioplastics Division released a new report explaining and defining bioplastics. The report, Bioplastics Simplified: Attributes of Biobased and Biodegradable Products, educates consumers on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims (Green Guides), and what this means in terms of claims that companies make about the origin and degradability of their products. The report...

On November 19, 2013, Nestlé announced that it is joining the Bioplastics Feedstocks Alliance (BFA), along with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and seven consumer firms, to promote the sustainable development of biomass used to make bioplastics. Other members of the BFA include: The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Ford, H.J. Heinz Company, Nike, P&G, and Unilever. A copy of Nestlé's press release is available online....