vegetable oils

Plastic waste management is a complicated business. Most methods of recycling or breaking down plastic are costly and harmful to the environment. The most common biodegradable alternatives – like paper straws – are less than ideal replacements.

There are many approaches to creating biodegradable plastics using feedstocks like seaweed, sugarcane, and other plant matter. However, the resulting plastics often fall short compared with conventional petroleum-based plastics.

One type of bioplastic that is gaining popularity is polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHA. PHA is a plastic produced by microorganisms. It is fully compostable or biodegradable but in other ways but looks, feels, and functions like regular plastic but without the environmental drawbacks.

PHA can be made using bacterial fermentation of a variety of feedstocks such as vegetable oils, sugars, starches, and even methane and wastewater.

Researchers at a startup from the University of Waterloo in Canada called MetaCycler BioInnovations have developed a process for producing PHA based on bacteria that has been engineered to convert waste from milk and cheese production. This solution upcycles waste from the dairy industry into cost-effective, sustainable bio-based plastics.

PHAs can be tailored to have a wide range of properties ranging from being rigid and tough to being quite flexible. Therefore, they can be suitable for many applications including packaging, agricultural films, and consumer goods.

The Waterloo technology is a way to tackle the problems of both food waste and plastic pollution with one solution.

**********

Web Links

Turning food waste into a new bioplastic

Photo, posted December 10, 2017, courtesy of Leonard J Matthews via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

In the 1990s, cardiovascular health issues associated with partially hydrogenated oils containing harmful trans fats became a focus of great concern. As a result, food companies looked for substitutes and the alternative they identified was palm oil. Its ability to remain solid at room temperature made it well suited for many food applications. Unfortunately, that property stems from its high saturated fat content, which means it also increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

The widespread use of palm oil has also caused significant environmental problems. Palm oil plantations have replaced millions of acres of tropical forests, destroying the habitat for numerous species and threatening biodiversity.

Other potential replacements for partially hydrogenated oils such as coconut oil tend to be more costly, limited in supply, and also high in saturated fats.

Food scientists at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, recently demonstrated the use of enzymatic glycerolysis (EG) to turn liquid vegetable oils into solid fats. Their process is able to produce solid fats with the textural and structural properties desired by consumers.

The process is fairly simple, relatively easy to scale up, and is amenable to smaller food production or even local production. Using it would enable food producers to use all sorts of readily available vegetable oils that can be produced in parts of the world that are not necessarily tropical regions.

Palm oil use is not going to go away, but this work may point a way to help slow down the destruction of ecosystems and animal habitats as well lead to more sustainable and healthy food sources.

*********

Web Links

U of G Food Scientists Find Palm Oil Alternative That’s Good for Human, Planet Health

Photo, posted February 21, 2010, courtesy of Craig Morey via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Plastic from food waste

Plastic waste management is a complicated business. Most methods of recycling or breaking down plastic are costly and harmful to the environment. The most common biodegradable alternatives – like paper straws – are less than ideal replacements.

Web Links

A Palm Oil Replacement | Earth Wise

Web Links