Segetis granted $325K, plans commercial capability

According to the current declaration of Segetis, the company has been awarded with $325,000 under the Next Gen Energy Grant funding by the Dept. of agriculture of Minnesota. Earlier, Segetis also got the fund of $ 21.2 million from IRRRB (Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board). From the account of the Biomass magazine, this fund is to be use for buying operational materials, equipments and capital construction. The pilot plant of the company in Minnesota will be developed with this fund through utilization of optimization process. Know more about the matter here at -http://greenchemicalsblog.com/2014/06/09/segetis-gets-325k-grant-plans-commercial-facility/

According to the report, the company is currently planning for set up of a commercial plant in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota for the production of levulinic acid with the expected capacity of 35 million pounds of plasticizer. The company is currently receiving levulinic acid from China. Due to lack of the lignocellulosic feedstock, there are not many sources of levulinic acid in the world. The projected pilot plant of Segetis is expected for building within 18 months. With the expected investment of $105 million in set up of this commercial plant, Segetis declares to invest 70 percent of the fund for the project. Levulinic acid is known to be one among the top 12 biobased chemical building blocks.

Indian polymer researcher granted $100,000 for development of eco friendly condom

Lakshminarayanan Ragupathy, an Indian polymer research professional is getting $100,000 grant by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for his extensive development, biobased condom.  According to Raghupathy from Tamil Nadu, India, condom has not experienced much development from last 45 years. The researcher was first earlier on polyesters but late transformed into contraceptives. In his research wing in HLL Lifecare, he concentrated his efforts on development of eco friendly condoms. Read more on this matter here at - http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/green-condom-indian-researcher-gets-dollar-100000-grant-for-his-idea/1/365636.html

When an international contest, the Grand Challenges Exploration asked entries for advance ideas of manufacturing condoms, Raghupati became an entrant in the contest. Among thousands of participants, he was one among the final 11 contestants who won the grant of $ 100,000 for production of bio degradable condom. Raghupathy is pleased to get favor of the Foundation.

He developed the condom from plant derivatives while he was firstly working as a part of a team who used graphene for manufacturing of condom. Graphene is an ultra thin, heat conductor component to increase pleasure factor in males. GCE, the foundation who tackles projects that work for resolving health problems in the country, selected the idea of Raghupathy among top 50 ideas. His research will definitely promote sales of green condoms that will assure safety of environment.

Produce Aisle made Greener with Compostable Bags

Excellent Packing and Supply is introducing a new range of domestically manufactured, clear produce bags for use in grocery stores or other bulk food suppliers. The bags can be customized with branding messages and are composed of GMO-cornstarch which is fully compostable both domestically and commercially.

Compostable produce bags have always been available but came with a problem – their opacity made it difficult to see the contents within. Now, grocery managers are provided with another option. The bags, which are available on order from BioMass Packaging, provide good clarity of the contents, are manufactured with a better version of Mater-Bi and use 50% less raw materials and energy in the production.

The innovative dispensing system, Pull-N-Pak, provided for free by BioMass Packaging on the purchase of the compostable bags, helps reduce waste further by dispensing pre-opened bags for the customers. Moreover, the bags are capable of holding large objects and they have a wide opening.

The Natural Grocery Company has been doing its part for the environment by using solar energy, recycling products and diverting its waste stream to compost. It was one of the early adopters of the compostable bags. Bob Garner, general manager, states that it was not easier to shift to a more expensive product, but, the company wanted to reduce the number of plastic bags going into landfills. The source of this information can be found at:  http://www.packagedesignmag.com/content/compostable-bags-add-green-produce-aisle

Renewable packaging materials made of Braskem’s Green Plastic used for Surya Women products

Four new products are launched in the line of Sapien Women by a leading brand in vegan, organic and natural cosmetics, Surya Brasil. “Detox your Beauty” is the main concept behind the line and it offers environmentally sustainable products that are now even packed in renewable materials provided by Braskem’s Green Plastic. This plastic is produced with ethylene which is a derivation of sugarcane ethanol. The advantage of this product is the fact that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions by capturing the carbon dioxide during the manufacturing process. Braskem has created a seal which says “I’m Green” in order to allow people to acknowledge the green plastic and realize that it is completely renewable.

The Sapien Women line of products was developed for everyday use and includes items such as shampoos, leave-in combing cream, conditioners, and repair cream for split ends that use natural fragrances. The packaging was manufactured with the partnership of C-Pack which is a leading producer of flexible plastic tubes.

Founder and Director of Surya Brasil, Clelia Angelon, states that the natural products provide unprecedented results that are perfect for those women who are conscious of their beauty as well as the environment. For Braskem, these products are another way for them to follow their ideology of innovation and better service to the people. The source of this article can be found at –http://www.worldpressonline.com/PressRelease/surya-brasil-expands-its-cosmetics-line-using-braskems-green-plastic-42763.html