Making plastic from sugar

[mayk]

An alternative to oil based products are hitting the market thanks to high oil prices. This is one of the first few alternate ways of making plastic without oil.



http://www.forbes.com/technology/20...plastic-tech-sciences-cz_kad_0916plastic.html

Burlingame, Calif. -

Making plastic just got a whole lot sweeter.

Nudged in large part by higher oil prices, a wave of innovation is sweeping the petrochemicals industry. A handful of companies large and small have been working on replacing petroleum-based ingredients in chemicals with renewable ingredients. In the latest development, Genomatica, a small, private sustainable-chemicals company in San Diego, says it can now make thousands of tons of a foundational chemical in plastics using sugar instead of a petroleum-based ingredient.

 

[white_crane]

You can make plastic from milk...
here's how

 

[J.B.Nimble]

You can make plastic from milk...
here's how

And in China we go one better and make milk from plastic...

 

[finnsk]

An alternative to oil based products are hitting the market thanks to high oil prices. This is one of the first few alternate ways of making plastic without oil.



http://www.forbes.com/technology/20...plastic-tech-sciences-cz_kad_0916plastic.html

Burlingame, Calif. -

Making plastic just got a whole lot sweeter.

Nudged in large part by higher oil prices, a wave of innovation is sweeping the petrochemicals industry. A handful of companies large and small have been working on replacing petroleum-based ingredients in chemicals with renewable ingredients. In the latest development, Genomatica, a small, private sustainable-chemicals company in San Diego, says it can now make thousands of tons of a foundational chemical in plastics using sugar instead of a petroleum-based ingredient.

This will push food prices up further

 

[Happy]

This will push food prices up further

But if human waste was used as fertiliser, not too many people would feel hard done by not being able to consume this particular sugar.

Next question would if pathogens can jump in a process and spoil the plastics.