Fibres of the future 2: cellulosic fibres from wood
Wood contains cellulosic fibres, embedded in lignin and hemicellulose. Pure cellulose can be processed to a quality from which yarns can be spun. The most well-known of these products is viscose. The viscose process however involves the toxic and highly inflammable solvent carbon disulphide and is now abandoned in most countries. On the other hand,
Biobased markets need standardization
Everybody involved in the bioeconomy should understand that standardization is a requirement for a successful institutionalisation of biobased markets. Standardization is a prerequisite for trade One of the basic assumptions is that market parties need to establish standardization because they need standards to control the variables in the supply chain operation. In this way bio-products
Gene technology: the same old story, once more
Scientists again called for a slowdown of gene technology, last August in Science. A group of 26 researchers called for safety measures in the area of gene drives. As a matter of fact, for a moratorium. This was not the first time that something like this happened. But a preceding moratorium did not produce the
Biobased chemicals will develop beyond the obvious
To me, the speech of Dr Laura Ruohonen of Finnish research centre VTT at the World Bio Markets Conference, last March in Amsterdam, opened new perspectives on the biobased economy. There are many, so far unexplored biobased chemicals and polymers – we are just beginning to see what the future might have in stock. At
GMO debate, nuclear power, and the concept of absolute evil
Recently Ecover, the ‘sustainable cleaning company’, announced a plan to use oil from genetically modified algae as a feedstock for their detergents. They were denounced in the strongest terms by Friends of the Earth and other NGOs. As if this were the ‘absolute evil’. I recognise patterns and themes from the nuclear debate in the
on: 12 June 2016