12 January 20239 January 2023Cow Gut Bacteria Hosts Solution for Recycling Crop Waste to Bioethanol: IIT GuwahatiIIT Guwahati researchers report an efficient multifunctional enzyme from a bacterium found in the gut of cows that can break down woody biomass for conversion to bioethanol fuel
Old Christmas trees could be saved from landfill to make renewable fuelsResearch at the University of Sheffield and the University of Valladolid has found that pine needles from discarded Christmas trees or other sources could be turned into renewable fuels and new products
Producing fertiliser without carbon emissionsResearchers at ETH Zurich and the Carnegie Institution for Science have shown how nitrogen fertiliser could be produced more sustainably. This is necessary not only to protect the climate, but also to reduce dependence on imported natural gas and to increase food security
Dünger klimafreundlicher produzierenForschende der ETH Zürich und der Carnegie Institution for Science zeigen auf, wie sich Stickstoffdünger nachhaltiger herstellen liesse. Dies ist nicht nur aus Klimaschutzgründen nötig, sondern auch um die Abhängigkeit von Erdgasimporten zu reduzieren und um die Ernährungssicherheit zu erhöhen
11 January 20236 January 2023AIMPLAS produces plastic film from coffee wasteBy avoiding biowaste generation and harnessing its potential as a source of high-value secondary resources, biowaste can play an important role in the transition towards a circular economy
Circularise joins phase two of BT Green Tech Innovation PlatformIn partnership with BT and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), they will begin proof of concept (PoC) activities to prove their impact for UK manufacturers
C&A und das Bioökonomie-Start Up traceless materials ersetzen Textilhaken aus PlastikDie Pilotphase mit traceless materials ist ein weiteres Beispiel für C&As Initiativen im Rahmen der Kreislaufwirtschaft, wie auch die Cradle to Cradle® zertifizierten Produktinnovationen oder die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Materialforschungsunternehmen Recover™
EU countries prepare for textile recycling big bangA 2021 report by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre found that around 4-6% of the EU’s overall environmental footprint can be traced back to textiles
C&A teams up with circular bioeconomy start-up traceless materials to replace plastic hooksThe pilot phase with traceless materials fits in with C&A’s recent circularity initiatives, including Cradle to Cradle Certified® product innovations and collaboration with material sciences company Recover™
Michigan Becomes 21st State to Enact Bipartisan Advanced Recycling LegislationThe new law in Michigan brings to 21 the total number of states that recognize advanced recycling technologies as manufacturing and not waste disposal
LanzaTech’s Waste Gas-to-SAF Facility receives £25M Grant from UK Department for Transport Advanced Fuels FundPlans for the world’s first commercial-scale factory to transform waste gases into sustainable jet fuel have moved a step closer
10 January 20239 January 2023 Submit Your Innovative Product now: The Innovation Award “Renewable Material of the Year 2023For the third time, a comprehensive award will be presented for the best renewable materials – which can be produced either from biomass, directly via CO₂ utilisation, or recycling
Monthly news from the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI)Let’s take a look at what happened in December 2022 at RCI
An exclusive interview with Giulia Gregori, Novamont. “Specific codes for the biobased industries are fundamental to fully exploit the circular bioeconomy potential”NACE codes are an important element as they would allow a better measurement in the statistical field and the possibility of addressing specific legislative measures dedicated to waste deriving from biodegradable and compostable plastic products
Scientists Discover Enzymes That Could Make It Cheaper To Recycle Waste Polyester Textiles and Bottles Than Making Them From PetroleumUsing machine learning, NREL-led team discovered variants of 'plastic-eating' enzymes adapted to deconstructing all varieties of PET — even durable crystalline varieties
Strong and biodegradableA polyester plastic of great mechanical stability, which is also easily recyclable and even compostable: Stefan Mecking, chemist at the University of Konstanz, and his research group present a new material
Hochbelastbar und biologisch abbaubarEin Polyester-Kunststoff mit hoher mechanischer Stabilität, der trotzdem gut recycelt werden kann und sogar kompostierbar ist: Forschende der Universität Konstanz um den Chemiker Stefan Mecking stellen ein neues Material vor
USDA Invests $9.5M to Develop New Bioproducts from Agricultural CommoditiesThe program’s exploration into bioproducts accelerates USDA’s efforts to develop circular bioeconomies, where agricultural resources are harvested, consumed, and regenerated in a sustainable manner
Transparent Wood-Based Materials: Current State-of-the-Art and Future PerspectivesThe present manuscript aims at providing the reader with some perspectives about its novel functionalizations and applications
Covestro signs major renewable energy supply contracts with Chinese producer CGNMulti-year contract calls for annual purchase of 300 gigawatt hours of wind and solar power from CGN. Plans to cover 30 percent of electricity demand at Covestro's Shanghai site
Vollebak releases “first piece of clothing ever” coloured with black algae dyeExperimental clothing brand Vollebak and biomaterials company Living Ink have teamed up to create a T-shirt using black dye made from algae instead of petroleum, in what they say marks a major breakthrough for sustainable fashion
9 January 20239 January 2023 Successful completion of the iMulch project – Impact of agricultural mulch films on terrestrial ecosystemsiMulch investigated the impact of plastics on organisms, soil functions, drainage systems and adjacent water bodies
Erfolgreicher Abschluss des iMulch-Projektes – Einfluss landwirtschaftlicher Mulchfolien auf terrestrische ÖkosystemeiMulch untersuchte die Auswirkungen von Kunststoffen auf Organismen, Bodenfunktionen, Drainagesysteme und angrenzende Gewässer
New study on optimizing microbial fuel cells shows electrode material can make all the differenceThe best results were achieved with carbon felt and modified stainless steel mesh, which generated quantities of electricity that can be used in practice, for example, to power environmental monitoring sensors in remote regions
Neue Studie zur Optimierung mikrobieller Brennstoffzellen: das Elektrodenmaterial macht den UnterschiedDas beste Ergebnis erzielten modifizierte Elektroden aus Edelstahlgewebe, die unabhängig zuverlässig Strommengen erzeugen, welche z.B. für den Betrieb von Umweltüberwachungssensoren in entlegenen Regionen genutzt werden können
CJ Biomaterials Partners with South Korean Industry-University Research Council to Promote Eco-Friendly Material and Accelerate Adoption of PHA TechnologyCompanies help address the challenge of plastic waste, which is capable of all modes of biodegradability and compostability, including marine, soil, home and industrial
Endlich: Widerstandsfähiger Kunststoff lässt sich recycelnNeuer Meilenstein: Forscher recyceln Nylon-6 bei milden Temperaturen und ohne toxische Chemikalien
Call for Submissions: 2022-23 Wood Design & Building AwardsEntries should showcase the use of wood products in any or several of their many forms and applications, and an understanding of the special properties of wood including strength, durability, beauty, and cost-effectiveness
This wooden debit card puts your money to work in saving the planetGreen finance firm Treecard, London, hopes, that the cards will provide a viable alternative to the mass-produced plastic debit and credit cards that make up the vast majority of category
Plasma technology makes recycling of CO₂ local and 100% circularThe BluePlasma consortium receives approval from VLAIO to set up an R&D pilot project
Carbon-negative synthetic biology: challenges and emerging trends of cyanobacterial technologyExcessive CO2 emissions are one of the most widely discussed challenges in the 21st century. Carbon-negative production of value-added chemicals by cyanobacterial cell factories has been considered a top priority for solving such problems
6 January 20233 January 2023Most colors are eco criminals: Here’s how to make purple greenerUCPH researchers have teamed up with Danish company Octarine Bio to create new types of sustainable pigments
Universität von Kopenhagen: So wird Lila grünerGoodbye erdölbasierte Farbstoffe: Biotech-Start-up und Wissenschaftler revolutionieren die Farbproduktion
A poison helps to understand H2-producing biocatalystsThe toxic cyanide molecule attacks H2-generating enzymes, but at the same time provides new insights into catalysis
Ein Gift hilft Wasserstoff produzierende Biokatalysatoren zu verstehenDas giftige Cyanidmolekül greift die Enzyme an, ermöglicht aber auch neue Einblicke in die Katalyse
The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Ginkgo BioworksTogether with their partners and their growing ecosystem, the company design custom organisms that bring new products to life for countless applications
Tandem chemocatalysis and biological funneling to valorize ligninLignocellulose-derived monomers can be converted to a single product, polyhydroxyalkanoates, by Pseudomonas putida
EU Commission chief hails ‘historic’ COP15 biodiversity accordAfter two weeks of fraught negotiations, world nations gathered in Montreal adopted on Monday (19 December) a new package to address the loss of biodiversity and restore natural ecosystems
Welt beschließt „historisches“ COP15-ArtenschutzabkommenNach zwei Wochen schwieriger Verhandlungen haben die in Montreal versammelten Nationen am Montag ein neues Paket zum Schutz der Biodiversität und zur Wiederherstellung natürlicher Ökosysteme verabschiedet
5 January 20232 January 2023European Green Deal: Putting an end to wasteful packaging, boosting reuse and recyclingNew proposals of the European Commission are key building blocks of the European Green Deal's Circular Economy Action Plan and its objective to make sustainable products the norm
EU-Verpackungsverordnung: Von Anfang an im Kreislauf denkenDie EU-Kommission will mit ihrem neuen Entwurf einer Verpackungsverordnung darauf setzen, die von Verpackungsabfällen ausgehenden Umweltwirkungen entlang des gesamten Lebensweges zu mindern
Formerra, Danimer Scientific Announce Sustainable Materials Distribution RelationshipDanimer is committed to achieving 100% biodegradable plastics that return to nature instead of polluting lands and waters
Fünf europäische Pilotregionen schließen sich für die Bioökonomie zusammenDie BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg beteiligt sich am Projekt ROBIN von Horizon Europe, um die Beteiligung von regionalen Bioökonomie-Strategien europaweit zu verbessern
Five European pilot regions are joining forces for the bioeconomyBIOPRO Baden-Württemberg participates in the Horizon Europe ROBIN project to improve the participation of regional bioeconomy strategies and related policies across Europe
The chemical industry can wean itself off fossil raw materials. Here’s howThe substitution of fossil raw materials with renewable biomass-based ones or with recycled materials such as plastics waste, is a viable and attractive method to reduce most emissions from fossil-embedded carbon
Synthetic biology of extremophiles: a new wave of biomanufacturingExtremophiles are becoming a popular chassis for industrial bioproduction and are becoming competitive with current industrial biotechnology
It’s the holiday season for US renewable chemicalsWhile the renewable chemicals industry continues to play second fiddle to biofuels when it comes to US government funding (it’s true!), the Biden Administration’s actions towards boosting the bioeconomy are setting off a flurry of activities on how renewable chemicals companies can dip in to these bioeconomy-related funding initiatives
4 January 202311 January 2023Wood and CuanTec to accelerate circular economy solutions in the UKWood, the global consulting and engineering company, will work with CuanTec Ltd., a Scottish circular economy business, to develop cutting edge separation facilities that will process shellfish waste to extract chitin, a naturally occurring, 100% compostable biopolymer with a wide range of applications in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries