University of Minnesota - Renewable Carbon News

Renewable Carbon News
University of Minnesota

17 March 202513 March 2025

Global Fiber Packaging Business Plants Roots in Renville, Minn.

Plant-Based Packaging Firm, CelluComp, Sees Growth Potential with Minnesota Sugar Beets as PFAS and Plastics Alternative

21 June 202421 June 2024

Claros Technologies, Inc. Raises $22 Million to Accelerate PFAS Destruction and Analytical Technologies

Company to continue scaling the research, development and market penetration of its bio-based UV-photochemical PFAS destruction technologies

2 November 202330 October 2023

Firms plan pilot plants for biobased acrylic acid

They all hope to succeed despite false starts to commercialize the process, but there are only few successful - Companies still have more work to do before they can compete with the petrochemical production

28 February 202323 February 2023

From Lab to Market: Bio-Based Products Are Gaining Momentum

Propelled by government investment and shareholder demand, manufacturers are pushing to get bio-based products into the marketplace. These new materials — made from plants, fungi, and microbes — aim to replace those that contain toxins and are difficult to recycle or reuse

23 February 202317 February 2023

New catalysts could make acrylics from corn cheaper than fossil equivalent

Catalyst exhibits substantially higher performance when benchmarked against other classes of leading catalysts

19 September 202214 September 2022

How to make recyclable plastics out of CO2 to slow climate change

Chemists are manipulating the greenhouse gas to make clothing, mattresses, shoes and more

29 June 202222 June 2022

Chemical recycling: Towards a circular economy

For most polymers the only possible approach is to break down the polymer chain through pyrolysis, which releases either monomers, such as ethylene, or light hydrocarbons like naphtha, to remake the polymers

11 May 20226 May 2022

Switching to sustainable surfactants

As the cosmetic and personal care industry races to drop petroleum-based ingredients, chemical companies are rolling out a dizzying array of biobased surfactants. Choosing from among them isn’t easy

22 June 202118 June 2021

Alte Textilien aus Pilzen entdeckt

Schon vor mehr als 100 Jahren fertigten die Ureinwohner Amerikas Textilien aus Pilzen. Wie sich jetzt zeigt, verblüffen die Stoffe durch robuste Eigenschaften

27 May 202116 June 2021

Danimer Scientific Receives Innovation Research Grant to Support Biodegradable Plastic Solutions

Project to be conducted with University of Minnesota’s Forever Green Initiative to investigate pennycress oil in production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a biodegradable plastic alternative

2 March 202125 February 2021

New method converts methane in natural gas to methanol at room temperature

New discovery could potentially provide a cleaner energy source for many of our everyday activities

11 November 20209 September 2021

U.S. Department of Energy Announces $27 Million in Plastics Recycling Research and Development

All new projects will help improve existing recycling processes that break plastics into chemical building blocks, which can then be used to make new products

29 August 201926 August 2019

University of Minnesota receives $20M grant for sustainable plastics research

Researchers used microbial engineering to develop an inexpensive, sustainable pathway for commercially viable flexible foams usable in everyday items

11 July 20198 July 2019

University of Minnesota researchers get grant to develop better corn-based plastic

The Minnesota Corn Growers Association hopes to create new markets, along with greener plastic alternatives

11 October 201810 October 2018

Pioneering biologists create a new crop through genome editing

From wild plant to crop: CRISPR-Cas9 revolutionizes breeding / New tomato contains more valuable antioxidants

Biologen schaffen erstmals neue Kulturpflanze durch Genom-Editierung

Von der Wild- zur Nutzpflanze: CRISPR-Cas9 revolutioniert die Züchtung / Neue Tomate enthält mehr wertvolle Antioxidantien

18 December 201714 December 2017

Monomer Recovery from Biobased Polyurethane

Innovative technique uses renewable and degradable MVL, to create a bio-based PMVL polyol

20 November 201716 November 2017

Antifouling Agent from Biosynthesized Acrylate Monomers

Zwitterionic Acrylate Monomers from Biosynthetic Pathway

11 October 201711 October 2017

Top 10 wood waste projects – Not letting waste go to waste

All around the world scientist's projects are taking the leftovers and turning them into something valuable

30 June 201728 June 2017

University of Minnesota: Biorenewable Alternative to Polyacrylates

By using bio-renewable materials, this method offers potential sustainable alternatives

31 May 201729 May 2017

Ultra-High Yield Para-Xylene from Biomass-Derived 2,5-Dimethylfuran

Using ethylene with DMF (from fructose) may provide a more economical method of para-xylene production

15 May 201728 April 2017

Discovery could transform industries

Researchers invent process to make sustainable rubber, plastics

21 April 201718 April 2017

Bio-based Elastomers from Recoverable Methyl Valerolactone

Phase of Development - Proof of concept; demonstrated on laboratory scale

13 April 201728 May 2018

Biomass-derived Butadiene from Tetrahydrofuran

New catalyst is highly efficient at converting furans to dienes and achieves conversion of THF to butadiene with selectivity approaching 98% High Yield

12 April 20176 April 2017

University of Minnesota Researchers Develop Safer, More Effective Molecule

OFS molecule is showing great promise in cleaning applications and has the potential to be used in paints, personal care products and more

16 March 201716 March 2017

Efficient Process to Make Biodegradable Polyesters and Green Solvents from Itaconic Acid

New, aqueous based process is more efficient in terms of high yield and selectivity

27 February 201724 February 2017

How could renewable car tyres be made from grass clippings in your back garden?

University of Minnesota Scientists invented a renewable car tyre produced from natural resources

17 February 201716 February 2017

Researchers invent process to produce renewable car tires from trees, grass

The car tires produced from biomass that includes trees and grasses would be identical to existing car tires with the same chemical makeup, color, shape, and performance

8 February 20176 February 2017

U of M’s CFANS and CSE to partner on bio-based industry projects

Teams within the U’s Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, Mechanical and Chemical Engineering to bringing expertise in pulp and paper, food and bio-based industry

27 January 201725 January 2017

Isosorbide-based Methacrylate Monomer for High Tg Polymers

New derivative can be polymerized and incorporated into block polymers

14 December 201612 December 2016

UMass Amherst Chemical Engineers Lead Team that Boosts Valuable Chemical p-xylene Production from Biomass

Researchers developed new method that generates a 97 percent yield and uses biomass feedstocks

4 November 20162 November 2016

Nanobionic spinach plants can detect explosives

After sensing dangerous chemicals, the carbon-nanotube-enhanced plants send an alert

25 August 201624 May 2018

The plastics revolution: how chemists are pushing polymers to new limits

Polymers have infiltrated almost every aspect of modern life. Now researchers are working on next-generation forms

3 May 201628 April 2016

How the GE Mushroom Could Change the Debate Around GMOs

CRISPR allows scientists to cut and paste gene sequences more easily than ever

21 April 201619 April 2016

Recyclable, sugar-derived foam — a renewable alternative to traditional polyurethanes?

Minnesota researchers develop recyclable foam by using a new sugar-derived material

21 March 201618 March 2016

Producing spandex from agricultural byproducts? Welcome to the circular bio-economy

Farm waste products such as maize leaves are being repurposed in novel and circular ways, and the European Union is among the many groups now taking note

24 February 201615 February 2016

Synthetic biopathway turns ag waste into ‘green’ products

Process could enable biomanufacturing of 1 billion pounds of spandex each year

16 September 201514 September 2015

Making the Most from Carbon in Plants

Meeting the challenge of creating sustainable bioproducts from lignin

14 August 20159 September 2021

Why not just reduce our use?

Meet the companies trying to break our plastic addiction

29 June 201515 October 2015

Bio-based biodegradable polyurethane foam wins BASF award

New technology based around a sugar based mevalonate (MVL) monomer and its polyesterol (PMVL) made by solvent-free polymerization

12 March 201512 March 2015

From tea bags to Miatas, bioplastics are on the rise

Businesses of all sizes are looking beyond "traditional," petroleum-based plastics to alternatives derived from plants, or even synthesized by microorganisms

12 February 201511 February 2015

A ray of sunshine for bioenergy

New study shows value of combining solar thermal energy with biomass gasification to produce natural gas substitute

18 August 201415 August 2014

University of Minnesota’s Center for Sustainable Polymers receives $20 million

National Science Foundation grant to pioneer next generation of plastics

17 June 201417 June 2014

CSU study details practices that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from corn production

Researchers analyzed what would happen if all farms in the survey adopted the best of some recommended practices

6 March 2013

Startup using U of M technology to manufacture key industrial chemicals from renewable sources

Ascenix BioTechnologies initially to use innovative bio-based process for yielding methylmethacrylate

25 February 2013

Growing the Biobased Economy

Strategies must address the needs of new customers and the challenges of building a sustainable supply chain

29 January 2013

Scientists Trick Iron-Eating Bacteria into Breathing Electrons Instead

Cultivation of an Obligate Fe(II)-Oxidizing Lithoautotrophic Bacterium Using Electrodes

4 December 2012

Order of importance:

Study finds prioritizing rather than canvassing entire plant genome may lead to improved crops

29 August 2012

Study offers new hope for increasing global food production, reducing environmental impact of agriculture

Just-released Nature paper shows more strategic use of nutrients and water on a global scale could boost production 45 to 70 percent for most crops

10 May 2012

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