Soggy paper straws are a thing of the past. Now, think lignin and potato starch.
From #investment in #circular fashion, and IKEA's newest #biobased glue, to American #researchers using pearl millet and kudzu for #packaging, today's newsletter has it all. On that note, our feature story also tackles #packaging, going in-depth at edibles and how it can green the food chain.
Just a few more weeks until World Bio Markets! And today we announce another great speaker whose presentation you won't want to miss... Buy your delegate pass here.
Best wishes for a great week ahead!
FEATURE STORY
Eat your packaging: greening the food chain with edibles
Edibles are so appealing from a sustainability standpoint because it shares chemical structures with living bodies and can therefore return its compounds safely to the environment. It gets rid of the need for expensive recycling infrastructures and collection processes that have inhibited plastic recycling rates around the world, even for bioplastics which are often biodegradable but only in particular conditions at dedicated industrial facilities.
Circular fashion tech company, Circ, lands $25 million in Series B funding round
Circ, an American-based textile recycler, has raised $25 million in Series B extension funding from European e-commerce group Zalando, material science brand Avery Dennison, and Korean sportswear manufacturer Youngone.
TotalEnergies is developing its renewable activities in Poland by acquiring the country’s main biogas producer, Polska Grupa Biogazowa (PGB), and a 200-megawatt development pipeline of solar projects.
IKEA to use bio-based glue for reduced climate footprint
In Lithuania, the first IKEA Industry factory is now using a glue system made of technical starch from corn in large-scale production. This results from 10 years of efforts to find alternatives to fossil-based glues.
Siita becomes world’s first zero-waste cosmetics company
South Korean vegan cosmetics brand Siita has been recognized as one of the first zero waste companies globally by a sustainable fashion and lifestyle platform affiliated with the United Nations.
World’s largest mass microalgae biomass production facility to open in April
Microalgae biomass can be processed for various commercial applications such as jet fuel, plastic, paints, surfactants, truck fuel, proteins, feed and food products, as well as for pharmaceutical and cosmetics purposes.
Sneh Bangar, a postdoctoral researcher from Clemson University Lab, is the first to isolate nanocrystals from kudzu to develop starch-based films reinforced with kudzu cellulosic fibers.
Say goodbye to soggy straws and hello to starchy ones
To create the straws, the researchers blended lignin with either potato starch or polyvinyl alcohol — a more traditional bioplastic material — then added citric acid.
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