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Turning sawdust into high-value green biochemicals
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning sawdust into high-value green biochemicals

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Petroleum-based chemicals are an essential part of various industries, from cosmetics to medicine. However, the reliance on fossil fuels also contributes large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere – almost 4.6 million metric tonnes from the UK petrochemical industry alone. To change this, startup Sonichem has developed biorefinery technology that can convert low-value woody biomass, such as sawdust, into high-value renewable biochemicals.

Sonichem uses ultrasound technology to break the chemical bonds in biomass feedstock to free up the cellulose, sugars, and lignin. These fractions are processed through recovery units and can then be used to produce high-quality biochemical products. The company claims that for every £1 of sawdust, its technology can create £8 worth of sustainable chemicals.

The use of ultrasonic energy allows Sonichem to fractionate the biomass at lower temperatures and pressures than comparable processes, meaning less energy is used. The company is also able to recover the organic solvents it uses for the process, reducing the amount of virgin chemicals needed each time.

Sonichem recently raised £1.2 million (around €1.4 million) in a pre-series A round of funding. The investment will be used to accelerate the development of the technology, continue research, undertake intellectual property generation, and finalise the design and location of the company’s commercial biorefinery plant, which will be located in the north of the UK.

Springwise has spotted other innovations that use biomass to sustainably create chemicals and materials, including a company using rice husks to produce silica for tyres and a process that converts air pollution into plant fertiliser.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Turning marine CO2 emissions into useful pebbles
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning marine CO2 emissions into useful pebbles

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Proposed international regulations will mandate at least a 40 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions from ships by 2030. Alisha Fredriksson, co-founder and CEO of London-based company Seabound, discovered that shipowners lack feasible options to meet this requirement.

The realisation motivated Fredriksson to develop a solution, leading to Seabound’s lime-based carbon capture equipment, which can be installed near a ship’s smokestack to capture up to 95 per cent of CO2 emissions from the exhaust.

To curb the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, Seabound implements its carbon capture system near its funnel. Quicklime pellets are consistently introduced into the device, undergoing chemical reactions with CO2 in the exhaust to form limestone. Upon docking, the pellets can then be used for future CO2 capture on other vessels, sold as construction materials, or divided into pure CO2 for various purposes.

Seabound’s innovative technology holds promise for various vessel types, including container ships, cruise ships, and dry bulk carriers. What sets this company apart is its seamless retrofitting capability for existing ships, rendering decarbonisation of shipping more accessible, rapid, and scalable.

The startup recently achieved a key milestone when, in partnership with global shipping company Lomar, it completed a successful pilot of its technology on-board a commercial container ship. The 240-metre-long vessel, which was chartered by liner shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, was equipped with a prototype version of the system that captured around one tonne of CO2 per day. Having completed the pilot, Seabound will now progress to creating its first full-scale systems, which it hopes to deliver commercially from 2025 onwards.

Springwise has previously spotted other innovators looking to make the maritime industry greener, including a startup that’s developed a ship-cleaning robot and a company that’s presented concept designs for a zero-emission ship.

Written By: Georgia King

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Turning the tide on plastic with reusable packaging
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning the tide on plastic with reusable packaging

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: E-commerce is growing steadily, with one forecast predicting that it will reach 23 per cent of total worldwide retail sales by 2027. Unless innovative solutions are found, this growth will come with an equivalent increase in the volume of packaging. Rather than focus on recycling alone, several organisations are now turning to reuse as a way to more rapidly reduce pollution and improve the circularity of their operational processes.

In Germany, a company called The Ocean Package offers a packaging-as-a-service solution consisting of fully traceable reusable boxes. Each box consists of up to 70 per cent recycled polypropylene plastic and 30 per cent virgin materials. To avoid unnecessary dyeing and material treatment, the boxes are all grey – the colour of plastic after it’s been recycled. Up to one-quarter of the weight of the boxes, which are designed to be easily flattened and returned via postboxes, is recovered ocean-bound plastic from the North Sea.

Most of the companies that partner with The Ocean Package are in the subscription and rental sector and have already established reusable packaging cycles. In this application, the organisation’s service integrates seamlessly with these existing processes, and partners agree to return all packaging for recycling at the end of its useful life. The company is also exploring potential collaborations to bring its reusable solution to the B2C sector.

The boxes come in four sizes ranging from small to extra-large, and the accompanying logistics platform tracks every package for its full life cycl. The platform also provides detailed analysis of a company’s processes, and the data can help monitor ESG performance indicators.

The Ocean Package expects to use each box at least 20 times. Each use reduces carbon emissions by 80 per cent from that of traditional packaging systems, and waste is reduced by up to 95 per cent when compared to cardboard. The company’s development plans include expanding its network of partners and working with a broader range of organisations, including those that are not as far along in the circular economy path.

Corn-based laminate and a mushroom-based biodegradable polystyrene alternative are two examples of material innovations in Springwise’s library that could help us replace plastics.

Written By: Keely Khoury

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Turning seaweed into clothing – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning seaweed into clothing – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The textile industry is recognised as one of the most polluting. This is due to manufacturing methods that often require lots of water, energy, and harmful chemicals, and the sector as a whole generates 8-10 per cent of global carbon emissions. But now, one fashion tech startup is harnessing the power of seaweed to create cleaner and more sustainable fashion. 

After being frustrated with how harmful the fashion industry can be, Phycolab founder, Thamires Pontes, turned to the potential of seaweed – both as a crop that boosts marine ecosystems while it grows and as a greener material for textiles. The startup is developing natural-based textile fibres derived from macroalgae, called PhycoFiber, to replace existing polluting materials.  

Notably, seaweed does not require arable land, pesticides, or insecticides, and the plant absorbs more carbon than terrestrial forests, while also helping to de-acidify and re-oxygenate the ocean. Phycolab also promotes seaweed cultivation as a promising alternative for creating job opportunities in coastal communities; particularly in areas that have been overfished, seaweed farming offers more stable and sustainable employment. 

In June this year, Phycolabs was selected as one of the winners of H&M’s Global Change Award. Upon finalising its prototype, the company is looking to test the product with interested players both in Brazil and internationally to prove its viability. 

Seaweed has proven to be an effective solution in helping various industries cut their carbon footprints. Springwise has spotted many ways the plant is being used, like in home interiors and as a methane-reducing livestock feed.

Written By: Anam Alam and Matilda Cox

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Turning post-consumer plastic into building materials
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning post-consumer plastic into building materials

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Two issues that often face developing economies are a deficit in recycling infrastructure and the availability of affordable housing. Timao Group is aiming to provide an answer to both these problems through its provision of modular homes made from recycled plastic.  

Timao transforms post-consumer plastic into the materials necessary to create its modular homes, like interlocking blocks, universal beams, and plastic beams. In converting the recycled plastic into generic component parts, the homes can easily be constructed and extended, crucially reducing the cost of maintenance and labour. The company also utilises turnkey delivery and installation methods to make sure that construction of the houses is as simple as possible, with the construction systems being produced off-site to then be delivered and fully assembled on-site. 

The group believes in a triple-impact philosophy of its business model, meaning it aims to have a positive impact on both the social and environmental levels, without neglecting or risking economic profitability.  

Earlier this year, Timao received the SME Award at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) High-level CEOs Roundtable and more recently, was selected as a participant in the third Project NINJA accelerator programme, which will help the company scale within the Kenyan market.  

The construction industry is brimming with new methods and materials to help make the homes of tomorrow more sustainable and affordable. Springwise has also spotted one company that upcycles plastic into building materials, as well as another that creates sustainable home insulation using natural wool.

Written By: Archie Cox

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Turning pineapple waste into natural textiles
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning pineapple waste into natural textiles

By Zarkon Group,

It wasn’t that long ago that pineapples were seen as a luxury – but now they can be found on supermarket shelves all year round, fuelling a 400 per cent increase in global pineapple production since 1960. The downside of this phenomenal growth is 25 million tonnes of pineapple waste a year from the plant’s discarded leaves. Most of them are either burned or left to rot, generating high volumes of methane emissions, perhaps the most dangerous of the greenhouse gases.

Fast fashion has gone through a similar period of rapid growth in the last fifty years, with a similar impact on the environment. The sector is responsible for an estimated 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water per year – or four per cent of all freshwater extraction globally. This is set to double by 2030.

Ananas Anam has come up with a solution to both of these problems. Through repurposing the agricultural waste that comes from pineapple production it has created a series of natural textiles, Piñatex and Piñayarn, using the fibres from the discarded leaves. The leaves are collected in bundles before the long fibres are extracted using semi-automatic machines. The fibres are washed, dried naturally by the sun (or in a drying oven during rainy season) and then combined with a corn-based polylactic acid to create a non-woven mesh that forms the basis of the textiles.

As the name suggests, Piñayarn is a compostable and biodegradable yarn, while Piñatex offers a viable alternative to leather, doing away with the tanning process needed for animal skins that usually uses around 250 polluting chemicals. By not burning the leaves, there is also a CO2 emissions saving – the equivalent of 6 kilogrammes of CO2 for each 1 kilogramme of yarn produced.

Not only does this solution offer a circular approach to textile production, but it’s also good for the farmers who produce the pineapples – Ananas Anam supports rural farming communities in Bangladesh like Eco-Fresh Agro, fostering strong partnerships through their transparent supply chain, and demonstrating that by reusing resources, we can do so much more than just follow fashion.

Video and article credit: RE:TV

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Turning CO2 emissions into sustainable chemicals
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning CO2 emissions into sustainable chemicals

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: As industries around the world push ahead in their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some of the changes being introduced are, ironically, contributing to the continued growth in the global plastics market. As vehicles seek to reduce weight in order to run more efficiently, plastics are often one of the first materials to be considered as a replacement for steel and other heavy metals. That is only a short-term solution, however, as UN member states negotiate a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.  

Innovators are increasingly looking for multi-purpose solutions to the complex plastics problem. Many companies seek to reduce waste or emissions while cleaning current damage to the environment. One such company, Paris-based Dioxycle, created a system that uses industry emissions as feedstock for the production of sustainable manufacturing of the chemical ethylene.  

The process directly captures emissions from manufacturing plants and separates the carbon from impurities. After cleaning, the captured carbon passes through layers of catalytic membranes in the company’s proprietary low-temperature electrolyser. Powered by renewable energy, the carbon is then transformed into ethylene, a building block of modern manufacturing. The chemical is used in heavy industry to produce products that range from diesel and ethanol to recyclable plastics, adhesives, and furniture. Dioxycle’s goal is to recycle 600 megatonnes of carbon annually and it is currently testing the technology in two locations – one in France and one in California.  

An important aspect of the system is its affordability. The company explicitly works to provide end users with a sustainable ethylene chemical product that is equal to or lower in cost than fossil fuel-produced versions.

In the archive, other innovations spotted by Springwise that highlight ways of using captured carbon include nanotubing that could replace copper wires in myriad items and carbon-negative textiles.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Turning organic waste into planet-friendly plastic
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning organic waste into planet-friendly plastic

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Petroleum-based plastics are everywhere in our daily lives, from our clothes and cosmetic products to food packaging and deliveries. Though plastic is highly useful, it’s carbon-intensive to manufacture and often isn’t recycled. In fact, of the seven billion tonnes of plastic that have been produced so far, only around 10 per cent has been recycled. 

One way scientists have been tackling the impact of plastic is by replacing it with bio-based alternatives. One of these innovators is Canadian startup Genecis, which creates pollution-free, totally biodegradable PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) – a naturally occurring polymer produced by bacteria when they are fed organic waste like leftover food. 

At the end of its usable life, a PHA product will break down safely in the environment without leaving behind microplastics or leaching toxic chemicals. To become even more sustainable in future, the company hopes to use old PHA products as the feedstock for new Genecis bioplastic, creating an entirely closed-loop system and reducing the need for additional resources. 

Mirroring the versatility of traditional plastic, Genecis’ alternative PHA can be used in car interiors, clothing, and packaging. And because the material is natural, it is also safe to use in tools for medical procedures.

The company was recently awarded money from the Female Founder Initiative as part of Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund to help support female innovators. The online retail giant is “currently evaluating ways to use Genecis’ technology”, potentially in packaging for grocery and pharmacy items delivered by Amazon. As well as Amazon, Genecis is currently working with several corporate clients to help design sustainable bioplastic products for their specific use cases.

In the archive, Springwise has spotted a huge variety of other innovators also working to make more sustainable plastic alternatives, including one made from cellulose, and the world’s first biodegradable water bottle.

Written By: Matilda Cox

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Turning waste plastic into non-toxic resin
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning waste plastic into non-toxic resin

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says in a recent report that plastic pollution could be reduced by 80 per cent by 2040 if reuse, recycling, and reorienting and diversifying techniques are adopted worldwide. New Zealand company Nilo’s repurposing technology could be an important strand in that push towards circularity.  

Nilo’s patent-pending technology makes use of plastics that are not normally recycled, such as food film packaging and post-industrial waste. The company focuses its work around the Māori concept of Kaitiakitanga, or environmental guardianship, and as part of that, is developing a process in which Nilo pays people in the informal garbage picking industry to collect plastic waste. 

By making plastic waste collection a valuable part of a new economy, Nilo hopes to contribute to broader economic growth. The company’s technology is scaleable, and because the upcycled plastic waste is so versatile, local production plants can customise outputs for each region’s particular needs.  

Currently, the plastic that Nilo recycles is used as a binding agent in manufactured wood and on roads. The binder can be used as a direct replacement for Urea-Formaldehyde (UF), one of the most commonly used chemicals in the building industry. Largely because of the substantiveness of its carbon footprint, the European Union is working to restrict the use of UF by 2026.  

Nilo’s binder, on the other hand, is non-toxic and the boards it is used to create can be continually recycled when a product reaches the end of its lifespan. IKEA recently acquired a 12.5 per cent stake in the company, which allows it to use Nilo’s adhesive in its wood-based board products. Bringing the binder to commercial market is a key focus of the company’s current work.  

Plastic pollution is such a difficult task that the Springwise archive contains myriad innovations – such as a jellyfish-like robot that cleans ocean plastic and a type of fungi that can break down polypropylene – working to reduce the problem.  

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Turning rainforests into tangible ESG assets
CategoriesSustainable News

Turning rainforests into tangible ESG assets

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Since 1947, the total area of tropical rainforests has been reduced by more than half, with around 100 acres of rainforest cleared every minute for agricultural and industrial development. Now, one organisation – Forestbase – has an idea about how to significantly slow this process by valuing forest land much higher.

Forestbase founder and CEO Kjell Clarysse points out that most forest land is priced so low that it is the main driver for deforestation, with buyers able to make high profits turning the forest land into timber, mining, agriculture, or tourism. Instead, Clarysse suggests moving conservation away from a donation basis and into financial markets as an infrastructure asset.

First, Forestbase buys tropical forest land when it becomes available, outbidding extractive and environmentally damaging industries. Then, in collaboration with local communities, Forestbase establishes a conservation plan that is mutually beneficial for locals and the land.

In order for the bought land to be turned into a formal infrastructure asset, Forestbase built its own legal assessment tool, the Land Tenure Stability Index (LTSI). The company then sets up special purpose vehicles (SPVs) for the land it buys. Investors can buy shares of the SPV, which equates to the number of hectares of land purchased, and this asset can be used to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. Because the ownership of the land has been fractionalised and spread over multiple land titles, it de-risks the purchase for investors and makes the assets easier to trade.

By turning hectares of rainforest into tangible assets, Forestbase brings the price of the land much closer to its intrinsic worth, taking into account the value of the biodiverse ecosystem that exists in one block of land. The ultimate goal is to drive up the price of rainforest to the point where it is more profitable to trade it than to exploit it. As Clarysse summarises, the company is “re-calibrating the position of nature in our financial system”.

Forestbase is currently focusing on increasing its asset financing capacity.  

A variety of novel financial products and markets are working to improve sustainability. In the archive, Springwise has spotted CO2 insurance products and fossil fuel-free funds.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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