Green Technology

Biopolymers do not have the greenest carbon footprint per recent study.  …

…   “The team attributed this to agricultural fertilizers and pesticides, extensive land use for farming, and the intense chemical processing needed to convert plants into plastic.”   …

Via Futurity: Plant derived plastics.

Research project performed a lifecycle assessment on bio polymers.  …

…   “Biopolymers were among the more prolific polluters on the path to production, the LCA revealed.”   …

Via University of Pittsburgh: Plant based plastic.

Posted by Green Tech at 09:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DASANI® Water (part of the Coca-Cola Company) is rolling our plant bottles in the western US.  These bottles have UP TO 30% plant-sourced plastic and are just as recyclable - 100% - as their normal #1 PET bottles.

" ... Today, the plant-based material is made from sugar cane juice and/or molasses, which is a by-product of producing sugar."

" ... in Denmark, 65 percent of PlantBottle packaging will come from a combination of recycled and plant-based material ... "

" ... Ultimately, our goal is to develop recyclable plastic bottles made from plant-based waste -- thereby turning waste into a resource."

Via:  DASANI® LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 05:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Zeba has developed an interesting product that can help conserve water.  A white granule is mixed with the soil and it holds 500 x weight in water.  When it rains it absorbs the extra water and releases it slowly over time.  This lets farmers take advantage of rain by having more soaked up near the plant and released when needed - rather than run off into streams.

" ... superabsorbent polymer based on natural cornstarch, making it biodegradable, nontoxic and odorless. ...  a water-insoluble, net-like matrix in the form of a hydrogel that holds and releases water for use by plants as needed.

" ...  able to absorb more than 500 times their original weight. ... slowly releases just the right amount of encapsulated moisture in response to plant root suction. T... process is repeated hundreds of times over a growing season or more before Zeba loses effectiveness.

" ... cornstarch based material is biodegradazble"

Via:  Zeba LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 05:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Traditional PET bottles are made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. The new bottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30 percent plant-based materials. The PlantBottle is currently made through an innovative process that turns sugar cane and molasses, a by-product of sugar production, into a key component for PET plastic. Coca-Cola is also exploring the use of other plant materials for future generations of the PlantBottle. Coca-Cola North America will pilot the PlantBottle with Dasani and sparkling brands in select markets later this year and with vitaminwater in 2010. The innovative bottles will be identified through on-package messages and in-store point of sale displays. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My family and I had Thanksgiving dinner at Longwood Gardens (Kennett Sq, Pa) - a beautiful garden that is getting more into being GREEN and their impact on the planet.  As I was eating leftovers I noticed that the plastic container was not the #1, #2 or #5 that I expected ... but #7 (inside a recycling triangle) PLA and was marked as composable.

"PLA stands for polylactic acid, or Polylactide, ... produced by NatureWorks LLC.  ...  made from lactic acid. Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation. Dextrose is made from starch and starch is made from carbon dioxide and water."

"Ingeo™ biopolymer is the world's first and only performance plastic made from 100% annually renewable resources. Corn-based Ingeo™ biopolymer ... Clear and strong like petroleum-based plastic, yet Ingeo™ biopolymer can be commercially composted."

The label shows the container comes from NatureWorks and is composable.  I will see if it decompooses in my mulch pile (may take a while as it is probably inactive in the winter ...)

Look for a future post on my success with composting this ...

Via:  NatureWorks  LINK

Continue reading "NatureWorks Compostable PLA Plastic" »

Posted by Green Dude at 08:30 PM | Permalink

The idea of bio-based plastics has been around for some time.  The idea is to use a renewable material, like corn, in place of petroleum based raw materials.  Corn and other bio raw materials are abundantly available in the US - where petroleum is not ... 

"Metabolix patented technologies combine bioscience and nature to deliver sustainable solutions for the world's need in plastics, chemicals, and energy with unequaled environmental benefits.

"Mirel is a new family of high performance, biobased plastics that are sustainable and totally biodegradable. Made from corn sugar, ... appropriate for a wide variety of conversion processes and applications.

Via:  Metabolix  LINK

Continue reading "Metabolix Bio Plastics" »

Posted by Green Dude at 04:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Paper or Plastic?

One of the negatives about plastic bags is that they contribute to trash and asre found "lost" most everywhere.  Here's a possible option to eliminate on of plastic bag's major drawbacks - they do not decompose. 

How about biodegradable plastic?

"Ecoflex® is BASF's completely biodegradable and compostable plastic. ... ideal for trash bags or disposable packaging as it decomposes in compost within a few weeks or in soil without leaving any residues. ... designed to process like Low Density Polyethylene into films, bags or coatings. ... is shelf and warehouse stable for one year."

Via: EcoFlex Biodegradable Plastic by BASF  Link 

Posted by Green Dude at 05:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "The white roof coating helps reflect sunlight and reduces energy usage by lowering the building's cooling needs. " ...

Continue reading "Green Bio-Roof Uses Soy Polymer Coating" »

Posted by Green Tech at 09:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Plans include the collaborative development of new, renewably sourced resins and sheet materials based on high-amylose corn starch as the renewable feedstock for applications including cosmetics, personal care and food packaging trays, caps and containers. In addition to co-developing these new materials, DuPont will market and distribute Plantic's starch-based resins and sheet products under the DuPont Biomax family of products. " ...

Via DuPont: Bio Materials

Posted by Green Tech at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Funded by a $1.5 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the three-year project will determine if energy crops planted for cellulosic ethanol could simultaneously produce methacrylate monomers, a key raw material used in the manufacture of many products including paint and coatings, building materials, and acrylic sheet and resins. The economics are attractive. More than 1.5 billion pounds of methacrylate monomers are produced annually in the United States, a market worth $780 million. Though in its early stages, the science looks promising. Molecular biologists and biochemistry experts at Ceres say that some plants naturally produce compounds similar to methacrylate monomers, but do not necessarily accumulate them in extractable forms or quantities. They believe it may be feasible to alter the way plants produce these compounds so that they can be extracted from the dried stalks, stems and leaves before these are fed into biorefineries producing ethanol from cellulose. " ...

Via Rohm and Haas: Bio-Products Research

Posted by Green Tech at 08:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Metabolix Natural Plastics can be used as an alternative to petrochemical plastics in a wide variety of applications, including coated paper, film or bags, and thermoformed and molded goods. They are produced using a patented, biological fermentation process that converts agricultural raw materials such as corn sugar into a versatile range of plastics with excellent durability in use but that also biodegrade benignly in a wide range of environments, including marine and wetlands. The Natural Plastic commercial manufacturing facility will be located adjacent to ADM's corn wet mill in Clinton, Iowa. The plant will utilize starch from the mill's existing corn grind capacity as raw material for Natural Plastic production, and is designed to initially produce 110 million pounds annually. ADM and Metabolix are working together in a strategic alliance to commercialize Metabolix's patented and proprietary Natural Plastic technology. Permits enabling the start of construction were issued on November 30, 2006 by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Commercial production of Natural Plastic is expected to begin in 2008. Metabolix and ADM are currently operating a pilot manufacturing facility to produce pre-commercial quantities of material ... " ...

Via Metabolix, Inc.: Metabolix Announces Commencement of Construction of Commercial Manufacturing Facility for Biodegradable Natural Plastic

Via Smithsonian: Corn Plastic: "WalMart and other companies leveraging green packaging made from plastic based on corn. "

Posted by Green Tech at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "NatureWorks polymer is the first man-made polymer to come from 100% annually renewable resources. Sugar is extracted from corn and is then fermented to create lactic acid which is then transformed into the new biopolymer - polylactide. This polylactide is branded as NatureWorks polymer and designed for use in packaging, consumer packaged goods, and a broad range durable applications where traditional petro-based plastics find use. The same polymer is used to create a new generation of textile fibres, identified under the Ingeo brand. This fibre is a real and sustainable alternative for fashion, home and personal care items - many products that consumers experience next to their skin in their every day lives. Being derived from plants, not oil, requires less fossil fuel usage for production and helps make NatureWorks polymer the first greenhouse-gas-neutral polymer available in the world today. " ...

Via NatureWorks: New Reality for Bioplastics

Posted by Green Tech at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)