GENECIS: project for processing of food waste into bioplastics for 3D printing
Source:
Food waste management is probably one of the most important problems concerning the environment. And if the discharge of substances from the combustion or gasoline engines in theory possible to do something radically abandoning them in favor of environmentally friendly sources of energy, here to refuse food will not work at all desire. And a group of researchers from Canada's University of Toronto have developed a very interesting method, thanks to which food waste can be turned into biodegradable plastics for 3D printing. And the range of applications of such plastic material is truly vast: from children's toys to medical devices.
Receive expert plastic produced in the framework of the project Genecis, and the substances are called polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA). The PGA is a group of high-quality biodegradable polymers, which on the physical properties have similarities to the plastic "traditional", but have a very useful function: in the soil they decompose for 1 year, and in the water in less than 10 years. It seems that quite a long time, but compared to the common plastic based on PVC and other compounds (which require several hundred years for the decomposition) — it is a very good indicator.
Production of PHA takes place in 3 stages. At stage 1, a genetically modified anaerobic bacteria (that is, those which do not need oxygen) decompose food waste into fatty acids. This process is somewhat similar to the one that occurs in the stomach of mammals. Then "connect" aerobic bacteria which in the presence of oxygen produced on the basis of fatty acids PHAS. Next comes the time of the third stage: purification of PHAS from bacteria and waste their life and obtaining the final substance. To receive plastic takes about 7 days, and the production of associated gas is 21 days. It can already be used as fuel.
One of the bioreactors for the production of PHAS.
A Team of canadian experts currently working on the creation of new species and subspecies of bacteria (many of which do not even have names) to improve the production technology. Experts now aim to develop processes that would allow the creation of biodegradable plastic to flow. As stated by the Director of the company Vani Sankar,
"We are ready to experiment with bacterial cultures and beyond. If the scope of application of plastic is quite clear, here the biogas can be used to fuel cars. Using gas can reduce the emission of combustion products to 243 tons per year. And that's with only a few cars."
This and other news you can discuss in our
Recommended
The Oculus zuest 2 virtual reality helmet for $300. What's he capable of?
Why is the new Oculus zuest 2 better than the old model? Let's work it out together. About a decade ago, major technology manufacturers introduced the first virtual reality helmets that were available to ordinary users. There were two ways to find yo...
The mysteries of neurotechnology - can the brain be used as a weapon?
DARPA has launched the development of a neural engineering system to research a technology that can turn soldiers into cyborgs Despite the fact that the first representatives of the species Homo Sapiens appeared on Earth about 300,000 - 200,000 years...
What materials can be used to build houses on Mars?
Marsha constructions n the surface of the Red Planet SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is hopeful that humans will go to Mars in the next ten years. Adapted for long flight ship Starship is already in development, but scientists have not yet decided where exactly...
Related News
Physicists have learned to transfer qubits on a conventional fiber optic cable
quite a lot of research done on the subject of the transmission of a quantum signal and even conducted a successful test of this technology. However, with all the potential advantages of quantum computers and quantum information n...
Developed effective the battery from solar panel and running the battery
One of the major drawbacks of alternative energy is that it happens intermittent and the same solar energy greatly depends on weather conditions. Despite the relatively good level of development of solar panels, this technology ca...
Found a way to transmit thoughts from one person to another
Send a brain signal from one person to another has long been described in various works of fiction and, as often happens, technology was quite feasible. Because for a long time already invented sensors for recording brain activity...
Virtual Singapore launched the most ambitious digital project in the history of
Singapore is one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world, and in the future in this field his position, most likely, will be strengthened. In addition to testing the most recent developments like unmanned flying v...
Cyclists rode from France to China on solar energy
If the cars could be powered only on solar energy batteries, all drivers would have been happy. Unfortunately, at the moment this type of food is difficult to implement, because the car is impossible to install the large solar pan...
Began testing the most effective engine for elektrozapalom
Electric vehicles are already far not new. And if electric cars like the Tesla still not as frequent guests on the streets of our cities, here electric motorcycles, bicycles, and scooters gyrometer can be found almost everywhere. ...
That will replace lithium-ion batteries?
all new electronic devices, whether it's Xs or a brand new iPhone cheap smart bracelet for $ 1, ordered in the famous Chinese online store, have one thing in common: they all are powered by lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, with th...
New polymer sensors will detect even small amounts of toxins in drinking water
In today not very good ecological situation, to find clean drinking water – not an easy task as it seems. Of course, there are many ways of purification of water from harmful impurities, but not all of them (not always) you can fi...
NASA is testing miniature satellites to track storms
To monitor climate change and preparation of weather forecasts have long been used various monitoring tools like the surface of the Earth and from the air. And speaking of the weather satellites, most of them are extremely bulky d...
Virtual reality system will replace the controls of combat fighters
the British company BAE Systems, engaged in technologies in the field of weapons, information security, and aerospace sector, is going to develop the cockpit of a fighter of new generation, where the usual controls are replaced wi...
#news high technology 262 | Russian SpaceX and the first train on hydrogen
Every Monday in the new issue of "News of high technologies" we summarize the results of the last week, talking about some of the most important events, the key discoveries and inventions. Today — about the new iPhone, the t...
The electronic skin, sensitive to even a breath of wind
Scientists from all over the world already not the first year working on the creation of "synthetic" or e-skin, the application of which can be found not only in robotics but also in the creation of prostheses, ultra-sensitive sen...
At MIT create a battery that absorbs carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide, one of the main waste production, can serve as fuel for the batteries of the new type. At least, so say experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which engaged in creation of such a battery. toda...
Developed by spray application of tactile sensors on any surface
for a long time scientists are trying to create a flexible touch panel, which could be used as artificial leather. But a group of scientists from the Korean Institute of advanced technology, in South Korea went the furthest, creat...
Artificial intelligence has painted a picture: who owns the copyright?
In October, the auction house Christie's for the first time will expose on sale of works of art created artificial intelligence. Machine learning is penetrating deeper into the culture, and lawyers are beginning to ask the questio...
Think like a man: what if to give the machine a theory of consciousness
last month a team consisting of samebecause AI players, suffered a spectacular defeat against professional competitive players. A show match held in the framework of the world championship on the game Dota 2's The International re...
Amazon wants 2021 open 3 thousands of stores without cashiers
As reported by Bloomberg, Amazon has plans until 2021 to open up to 3000 automated supermarkets without cash registers, sellers, and queues. The first automated supermarket Go the company opened in Seattle (Illinois) at the end of...
Developed environmentally friendly air conditioners on the basis of magnets
In the warm time of the year to cope with the heat without air conditioning is extremely difficult. However refill them cooling agents are extremely harmful for the environment. A group of engineers from Germany, it seems, have fo...
AI has learned to recognize objects in pictures by voice description
for a long time there is a technology of speech recognition. As a function of image recognition. So why not combine improving both? Apparently, that's what I thought the experts from the Massachusetts technological University (MIT...
In Germany began testing the first unmanned aerial tram
looks Like Germany is seriously thinking about becoming one of the first countries in which in the transport sector, introducing advanced technology. Most recently, we you that in Germany has launched train running on hydrogen fue...
Comments (0)
This article has no comment, be the first!