Researchers at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a new technology for drinking-water production. They use metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that remove ions dissolved in salt or brackish water, producing … Read more
Battery recycling is an area long neglected by battery producers. Performance and cost were much more important. So now we are stuck with a rapidly growing heap of worn-out batteries … Read more
Much excitement in the universe of battery technology. Battery storage is rapidly growing world-wide, important for the energy transition. Batteries are improving and their costs are falling, all the time. … Read more
Biobased Press published its manifesto ‘Waltzing with Nature’ on May 1, 2020. In this manifesto, we testify to the importance of science for solving mankind’s major global problems. Like … Read more
Last month, Chemical and Engineering News devoted an article to biobased aromatics: aromatic compounds derived from biobased resources. Much is going on here. This developing sector holds the promise that … Read more
As plastic waste can now be found in the remotest areas of the Earth, plastic recycling becomes urgent. We know that biodegradable plastics are a niche solution, so we need … Read more
Brexit and The Wall not only generate news. These issues also provide for interesting comments that ultimately can apply to other, or much broader, areas like the bio-economy. Where continuous … Read more
‘Again and again, new products fascinate us: the smartphone, the airplane wing that can be glued, new medicines,’ says Ton Schoot Uiterkamp, ‘but we do not think in terms of … Read more
BiofuelsDigest, the world’s most widely read biofuels daily, as they proudly claim, concluded in May this year that ‘The pace of invention and change is just too strong … to … Read more
Imitating nature’s engineering secrets at the nanoscale could lead to a host of useful applications, like energy saving materials. Biomimicry, also called bionics, uses structures found in nature to solve … Read more
Every year, around a billion scrap tyres reach the end of their useful lives around the world. Many of these end-of-life tyres end up clogging landfills, providing breeding grounds for … Read more
Last January, the news that a Chinese team of scientists had cloned macaque monkeys drew a lot of attention. Discussion was quick – too quick – to focus on the … Read more
The solar industry is in turmoil. The price of solar panels falls continuously and each year demand grows by 30%. This poses a major challenge to an industry that is … Read more
Solar energy (photovoltaics, PV) is no longer that cute but hardly relevant technology of energy supply – it will evolve into the basis of our entire energy system. The world … Read more
Bio-waste is problematic from two sides. It may be a problem to dispose of it, and it represents an unused value. In a world where ‘there is no such thing … Read more
Mankind will have to grow more food on less land, so Hidde Boersma and Joost van Kasteren argue in the recently published volume (in Dutch) Ecomodernism, Rethinking Green and Growth. … Read more
The biobased and circular economy is coming nearer and nearer. Each year, new applications of biobased resources come to the market. Industry aims at using the whole crop, among others … Read more
Separation and purification are essential processes in the production of bio-based chemicals. This is challenging because bio-based compounds can only be manipulated under mild conditions. Scientists and engineers are trying … Read more
CocoPallet is a Dutch start-up that valorises the husk of the coconut to pallets for freight transport. Last month, Michiel Vos, founder and CTO of the company, was in Indonesia … Read more
The German start-up Susteen Technologies GmbH will come to the Netherlands with its thermocatalytic reforming process (TCR®), an improved pyrolysis technology. Its customers will locally transform various kinds of biomass … Read more
At first there was just LanzaTech, about which we wrote four years ago. Now there are many others: Newlight Technologies, INEOS Bio, Mango Materials. Companies that develop gas fermentation, using … Read more
Cleantech might have a much better impact on the economy than just sustainable energy. In the large body of literature that investigates the economic effects of climate policy, most economists … Read more
In fifty years’ time, technology has changed from the bogeyman to the saviour of mankind. Large-scale and energy intensive processes used to be the pinnacle of technology, producing much collateral … Read more
Juiciness, that was the missing element in this week’s synthetic burger. But hopes are high. Within twenty years we will all have the opportunity to buy a burger that did … Read more
The price of crude oil has risen to a level at which it will transform the fuels landscape, says Lux Research, an American advisory group. In the United States, this … Read more
Potatoes contain a lot of proteins. Up to two percent. Moreover, the potato contains its proteins in a special way, i.e. in an aqueous solution. AVEBE, the Dutch potato starch … Read more
A room in the Chemical Lab of Groningen University (RUG) hosts a revolutionary test equipment. It produces bioBTX through chemical catalysis. This is a mixture of benzene, toluene and xylene, … Read more
They were awarded many prizes for their innovative technology. New Zealand’s LanzaTech owns an entire fleet of bacteria, fit to process industrial waste gases and waste products directly into biofuels … Read more
‘Chinese concentrate in their research on four important areas: CO2-economy (of which artificial photosynthesis is a part), solar energy (PV), methanol, and artificial meat (proteins).’ According to Michael Carus, director, … Read more
Until quite recently, a few developments seemed to be clear, at least to the editors of this website. The economy would become more sustainable by finding alternatives for oil (over … Read more
German Nova-institute released an interesting press release, August 15: ‘The next revolution: CO2 plus renewable energy can serve as a feedstock for fuels, chemicals and plastics’. According to Nova’s CO2 … Read more
Biobased PEF (polyethylene furanoate), the new feedstock for soft drink bottles (Coca Cola and Danone) is not only green, but also cheaper to produce than both fossil and drop-in green … Read more
In the biobased economy, green chemistry will play an important role. But many aspects of it need further research and development. Almost all petrochemical technology will have to be adapted … Read more