• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update September 26, 2023
Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab September 25, 2023
Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie September 25, 2023
‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe September 25, 2023
Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout September 25, 2023
Next
Prev

Researchers Convert Used McDonald’s Fryer Oil to Biodegradable 3D Printing Resin

February 24, 2020
Reading time: 2 minutes

Jonathan Juursema/wikimedia commons

Jonathan Juursema/wikimedia commons

1
SHARES
 

Researchers at the University of Toronto say they’ve converted used fryer oil from a McDonald’s fast food restaurant into a biodegradable 3D printing resin.

The announcement is one of 10 bioplastics innovations that Biofuels Digest profiles in a recent survey article.

  • The climate news you need. Subscribe now to our engaging new weekly digest.
  • You’ll receive exclusive, never-before-seen-content, distilled and delivered to your inbox every weekend.
  • The Weekender: Succinct, solutions-focused, and designed with the discerning reader in mind.
Subscribe

“The reason plastics are a problem is that nature hasn’t evolved to handle human-made chemicals,” said André Simpson, a professor at U of T’s Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, in an interview with 3D Printing Media. “Because we’re using what is essentially a natural product—in this case fats from cooking oil—nature can deal with it much better.”

Simpson and his team came up with the approach after they “noticed molecular similarities between commercial resins and those found in cooking oils,” Biofuels Digest writes. “The team developed a one-step process and converted one litre of used fryer oil into 420 millilitres of resin. They then used the resin to print a 3D butterfly with good resolution. When buried, the material is quickly broken down in soil.”

The industry digest’s top-ten list of circular economy prospects also includes:

  • Fast fashion chain H&M planning to introduce dyes made from coffee and faux leather produced from wine waste;
  • Researchers at India’s Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute in Bhavnagar, Gujarat deriving a fertilizer component from human hair;
  • A Finnish consortium that produced yarn using nanoparticles from crab shells and seaweed;
  • Bottled water titan Perrier investing €1 million in three start-ups that it hopes will help it deliver more sustainable packaging by 2025, including a company in Africa that “produces bio-based and biodegradable plastic from agricultural waste and emphasizes job creation for women”;
  • A company in Georgia producing certified compostable produce bags that could represent a biodegradable alternative to petrochemical plastics;
  • UK researchers developing a new way to recycle plant-based plastics;
  • Two entrepreneurs in India introducing sanitary napkins made from kenaf stems that contain no petro-plastics and take six to eight months to biodegrade;
  • A commercial-scale green hydrogen plant recently announced in Belgium;
  • A national network of hydrogen filling stations taking shape in Switzerland.



in Africa, Bioenergy, Canada, India, Petrochemicals & Plastics, Research & Development, Supply Chains & Consumption, UK & Europe, United States

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation
Ontario

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
89
UNDP/flickr
Heat & Power

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
102
Wilson Hui/flickr
Oil & Gas

‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe

September 26, 2023
102

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

Jason Blackeye/Unsplash

BREAKING: Fossil Fuels Fall 25% by 2030, Renewables ‘Keep the Path Open’ in IEA Net-Zero Update

September 26, 2023
213
Cullen328/wikimedia commons

Manufactured Housing Could Dent the Affordable Housing Crunch with Energy-Efficient Designs

September 20, 2023
388
Wilson Hui/flickr

‘Apex Oil and Gas Lobby’ Undercuts Canadian Sovereignty, Laxer Tells Foreign Influence Probe

September 26, 2023
102
UNDP/flickr

Community-Driven Solutions Can Take Back Ontario’s Electricity Future: Torrie

September 26, 2023
102
Duffins Agriculture Preserve/North Country House Media via Greenbelt Foundation

Green Space Groups Gear for Bigger Fights After Ontario Reverses Greenbelt Land Grab

September 25, 2023
89
United Nations/Twitter

Momentum Builds Toward COP 28 as Countries Back Fossil Fuel Phaseout

September 26, 2023
80

Recent Posts

UniEnergy Technologies/wikimedia commons

Multi-Day Storage Can Deliver Cheaper Grid Reliability, Battery Maker Says

September 25, 2023
64
David Mellis/flickr

Top Food Brands Prepare for Supply Chains Disrupted by Climate Change

September 25, 2023
51
Power lines, Mississauga, Canada

Two First Nations Groups Vie to Build Northern Ontario Power Line

September 25, 2023
76
UN Climate Change/flickr

Don’t Attend COP 28 Unless You’re There to Help, Figueres Tells Oil and Gas

September 24, 2023
471
Jon Sullivan/flickr

Thorold Gas Peaker Plant Won’t Be Built After Unanimous City Council Vote

September 21, 2023
674
Rewat Wannasuk/Pexels

Virtual Power Plants Could Cut Peak Demand 20%, Save U.S. Grid $10B Per Year

September 20, 2023
128
Next Post
IRENA/Facebook

New U.S. Efficiency Bill Would Massively Cut Energy Waste, Save $51 Billion

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
The Energy Mix - Energy Central
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Cities & Communities
  • Electric Mobility
  • Heat & Power
  • Community Climate Finance

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}