Sunglasses made from Transparent Biosourced Polyamide

On the occasion of the last outdoor Retailer Summer exhibition in Salt Lake City (US), the French material producer Arkema and the American company Smith Optics unveiled the latest Smith Optics ‘Evolve’ sunglasses collection, which is made using an Arkema bio-renewable sourced thermoplastic i.e. Rilsan® Clear G830 Rnew. The new ‘Evolve’ collection includes 20 new sunglass frame models that are all made entirely from this Rilsan® grade that is a transparent polyamide material stemming from castor oil. In fact the Rilsan® Clear G830 Rnew grade includes 54% bio-based raw material. It provides the required characteristics for the Smith Optics sunglasses i.e. good impact resistance, high durability, good flexibility as well as lightness and optimal comfort. Moreover it offers good chemical resistance and is easily processed.

New York will have 475 new compressed natural gas buses

Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has awarded New Flyer of America Inc., a contract for the acquisition of up to 475 buses. The company is dedicated to CNG fuel systems, it first delivered CNG buses to San Diego and has delivered more than 3,500 CNG buses over the past 15 years.

These CNG buses will be operated by the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) and the MTA Bus Company (MTA Bus), the largest transit agency in North America that is responsible for public transportation in the state of New York.

The contract is for 135 40-foot CNG heavy-duty transit buses with options for up to an additional of 340 CNG buses. Since 1996, New Flyer has delivered 823 buses to the MTA. These 475 CNG buses will join the 190 pre-existing NGV’s. This figure will exceed the current fleet of diesel units running on New York City streets.

Two pilot buses will be delivered to the MTA in May 2011, with the balance of the base order delivered in the last part of 2011 and early 2012.

Scotland creates new industry for whiskey-based biofuel for cars

The whiskey industry could soon have a new product that has nothing to do with giving drinkers their desired buzz, but rather provide clean fuel for vehicles.

Scientists from the Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland filed a patent on Tuesday for a new biofuel derived from the byproducts of whiskey distillation that can be used in ordinary vehicles minus the usual modification to become biofuel-ready.

The new biofuel, a result of a two-year research project by the university’s Biofuel Research Center, uses two main byproducts in the whiskey production process – pot ale, the liquid that comes from the whiskey production copper stills and draff, the spent grains – to create butanol that can be used as fuel.

Biobutanol is believed to be the next-generation biofuel, with scientists claiming they can give 30 percent more output power than ethanol. It can also be used to make other green renewable biochemicals such as acetone.

“The most likely form of distribution of the biofuel would be a blend of perhaps 5 percent or 10 percent of the biofuel with petrol or diesel, but 5 percent or 10 percent means less oil, which would make a big, big difference,” said Martin Tangney, director of the research center and leader of the project.

“The new biofuel is made from biological material which has been already generated. Theoretically it could be used entirely on its own but you would have to find a company to distribute it,” he said.

The university plans to create a spinoff company to leverage the commercial opportunity of the new biobutanol in a bid to make it available at petrol pumps.

The £4 billion ($6.2 billion) whiskey industry is one of Scotland’s biggest markets, and with 1.6 billion liters of pot ale and 187,000 metric tons of draff produced by the industry annually, there is enormous potential for biofuel to be available at petrol pumps alongside traditional fuels, the researchers said.

Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, Scotland’s main economic, enterprise and investment agency, has pledged support for the project.

“By proactively taking innovative ideas from the laboratory to the global market place, Scotland can continue to compete at the highest level and successfully boost its economic recovery,” Ms. Wilson said. The £260,000 biofuel research project was funded under the Scottish Enterprise’s proof of concept program.

The European Union said biofuels should account for 10 percent of total fuel sales in the bloc by 2020. At the same time, the new biofuel could help Scotland achieve its own renewable energy target.

Algae biofuels start-up space triples as pilot projects get underway

The number of algae biofuels start-up companies more than tripled between 2005 and 2009, leading to a sharp rise in the number of pilot and commercial-scale facility projects, according to new research.

Before 2000, there were roughly ten companies around the world pursuing the development of algae biofuels as their sole business area or in relation to other business operations such as algae production or renewable fuels.

By 2009, the number of companies involved in the development and implementation of algae biofuels technologies had grown to more than 60 worldwide, the Algae Biofuels Production Technologies Worldwide report said.

In addition, involvement in the algae biofuels industry as a whole increased by 550 per cent between 2005 and 2007, fuelled by environmental concerns and high crude oil prices.

Robert Eckard, analyst at SBI Energy and author of the report said algae can be cultivated and harvested in support of a wide array of biofuel products.

‘In addition, algae biofuels systems hold promise to enable rapid production of high quality, high throughput biofuels systems in support of carbon emissions reductions targets, and in support of clean fuel production.

‘The US Department of Energy’s recent $24m commitment to a trio of research groups determined to bring algae biofuels to market indicates just how much potential this industry holds.’

The algae biofuels market is currently pursuing pilot and demonstration-scale algae cultivation projects and the report said these pilot schemes are expected to continue through to 2015.

To date, most development is within the US with small peripheral markets in the European Union (EU) and Asia are expected to emerge through collaborations with companies based in that country, the report said.

The US dominance is forecast to represent more than 80 per cent of the global market for open pond algae cultivation from 2010 to 2015, with the EU expected to gain a market share of 11 per cent and Asia the remaining seven per cent.

The report said through to 2015, cultivation technology sales are expected to hold most of the total algae biofuels production technologies market. Alongside this, the remaining market segments will be held by a combination of harvesting, extracting and fuels production facilities, with a total projected market value of more than 1.6bn in 2015.

With a market size of about $271m for 2010, the report said this increase is significant and underscores that this is a quickly changing and evolving industry, expected to show an annual growth rate of almost 43 per cent.

Cardia Bioplastics Compostable "Bio-film" wins Global Hygiene Products Contract

Cardia Bioplastics will supply major Chinese manufacturer Ben's Land Baby Articles Corp Ltd with a new compostable moisture barrier film ("Bio-Film") for the manufacture of a range of baby diaper/nappy and feminine hygiene products. The Australian sustainable resins and finished products supplier, Cardia Bioplastics was approached by Ben's Land to collaborate in the development of this specialist film product following demand from United States and European customers for more environmentally friendly hygiene products.

Testing confirmed that, compared to conventional plastic films, Cardia Compostable "Bio-Film" provides the required high performance moisture barrier to prevent leaking, facilitates breathability to keep skin drier, and is soft for comfort. "Bio-Film" is part of the patented Cardia Compostable resins range. These resins are manufactured from renewable resources and are certified as fully compostable to international standards, including Europe's EN 13432, the USA's ASTM D 6400, Japan's GreenPla, and Australia's AS 4736.

Cardia Bioplastics Chairman Pat Volpe said this contract reflects the continuing shift away from conventional fossil fuel based plastics by global suppliers and consumers. "Parents with babies and women are concerned about the environment, as well as product performance. They want products that offer sustainable solutions to their needs," he said.

"Achieving the right film for these personal hygiene applications was challenging. We worked closely with Ben's Land to bring this application of Cardia Compostable "Bio-Film" to market. Ben's Land will supply the new product to its main customers in the USA and European markets.

"This important product development confirms Cardia's confidence that the baby nappy and feminine hygiene categories will increasingly switch to environmentally friendly and compostable products. This contract will be the first of many for us in the personal hygiene sector and will contribute AU$1.5m to our annual sales revenue," said Pat Volpe.

Through its ongoing industry collaboration activities, Cardia Bioplastics has several other products under confidential development agreements with a number of global companies, or under its own accord.

Rensselaer Researchers Develop Coating That Safely Kills MRSA on Contact

Building on an enzyme found in nature, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have created a nanoscale coating for surgical equipment, hospital walls, and other surfaces which safely eradicates methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the bacteria responsible for antibiotic resistant infections.

"We're building on nature," said Jonathan S. Dordick, the Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Director of Rensselaer's Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies. "Here we have a system where the surface contains an enzyme that is safe to handle, doesn't appear to lead to resistance, doesn't leach into the environment, and doesn't clog up with cell debris. The MRSA bacteria come in contact with the surface, and they're killed."

In tests, 100 percent of MRSA in solution were killed within 20 minutes of contact with a surface painted with latex paint laced with the coating.

The new coating marries carbon nanotubes with lysostaphin, a naturally occurring enzyme used by non-pathogenic strains of Staph bacteria to defend against Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA. The resulting nanotube-enzyme "conjugate" can be mixed with any number of surface finishes - in tests, it was mixed with ordinary latex house paint.

Unlike other antimicrobial coatings, it is toxic only to MRSA, does not rely on antibiotics, and does not leach chemicals into the environment or become clogged over time. It can be washed repeatedly without losing effectiveness and has a dry storage shelf life of up to six months.

The research, led by Dordick and Ravi Kane, a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Rensselaer, along with collaboration from Dennis W. Metzger at Albany Medical College, and Ravi Pangule, a Chemical Engineering Graduate Student on the project, has been published in last month's edition of the journal ACS Nano, published by the American Chemical Society.

Dordick said the nanotube-enzyme coating builds on several years of previous work embedding enzymes into polymers. In previous studies, Dordick and Kane discovered that enzymes attached to carbon nanotubes were more stable and more densely packed when embedded into polymers than enzymes alone. "If we put an enzyme directly in a coating (such as paint) it will slowly pop out," Kane said. "We wanted to create a stabilizing environment, and the nanotubes allow us to do that."

Having established the basics of embedding enzymes into polymers, they turned their attention to practical applications. "We asked ourselves - were there examples in nature where enzymes can be exploited that have activity against bacteria?" Dordick said. The answer was yes and the team quickly focused on lysostaphin, an enzyme secreted by non-pathogenic Staph strains, harmless to humans and other organisms, capable of killing Staphylococcus aureus, including MRSA, and commercially available. "It's very effective. If you put a tiny amount of lysostaphin in a solution with Staphylococcus aureus, you'll see the bacteria die almost immediately," Kane said.

Lysostaphin works by first attaching itself to the bacterial cell wall and then slicing open the cell wall (the enzyme's name derives from the Greek "lysis" meaning "to loosen or release"). "Lysostaphin is exceptionally selective," Dordick said. "It doesn't work against other bacteria and it is not toxic to human cells." The enzyme is attached to the carbon nanotube with a short flexible polymer link, which improves its ability to reach the MRSA bacteria, said Kane. "The more the lysostaphin is able to move around, the more it is able to function." Dordick said.

They successfully tested the resulting nanotube-enzyme conjugate at Albany Medical College, where Metzger maintains strains of MRSA. "At the end of the day we have a very selective agent that can be used in a wide range of environments - paints, coating, medical instruments, door knobs, surgical masks - and it's active and it's stable," Kane said. "It's ready to use when you're ready to use it."

The nanotube-enzyme approach is likely to prove superior to previous attempts at antimicrobial agents, which fall into two categories: coatings that release biocides, or coatings that "spear" bacteria. Coatings that release biocides - which work in a manner similar to marine anti-fouling paint - pose harmful side-effects and lose effectiveness over time as their active ingredient leaches into the environment. Coatings that spear bacteria - using amphipatic polycations and antimicrobial peptides - tend to clog, also losing effectiveness. The nanotube-lysostaphin coating does neither, said Dordick. "We spent quite a bit of time demonstrating that the enzyme did not come out of the paint during the antibacterial experiments. Indeed, it was surprising that the enzyme worked as well as it did while remaining embedded near the surface of the paint," Dordick said.

The enzyme's slicing or "lytic" action also means that bacterial cell contents disperse, or can be removed by rinsing or washing the surface. Kane also said MRSA are unlikely to develop resistance to a naturally occurring enzyme. "Lysostaphin has evolved over hundreds of millions of years to be very difficult for Staphylococcus aureus to resist," Kane said. "It's an interesting mechanism that these enzymes use that we take advantage of."

"DuPont's market-driven innovation is helping to enable a more sustainable future for urban societies,"

DuPont Apollo thin-film photovoltaic modules

• are used for commercial rooftop and large-scale applications. The solar modules can generate more wattage output under diffuse lighting conditions and consume only about 1/200 the silicon of traditional crystalline silicon solar cells, resulting in shorter energy payback times.
  



• DuPont™ Tyvek® Weatherization Systems are part of a system created to seal buildings from the inside and out. Tyvek® is an ENERY STAR partner that helps enhance the energy efficiency, indoor air quality and overall comfort of a home or commercial building. Tyvek®, which combines properties of paper, film and fabric, also is an ideal choice for reusable bags by environmentally conscious customers.



• DuPont™ Energain® decreases the amount of energy used in a building by controlling temperature levels and thus reducing the need for cooling and heating. The result is major cost savings and reduced carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

• DuPont™ Sorona® renewably sourced polymers are made partially with agricultural feedstocks instead of petrochemicals, thus reducing dependence on oil. In addition to fibers and fabrics, Sorona® can be used in films, filaments, engineering resins and other applications. Sorona® contains 37% renewably sourced ingredients by weight.



• DuPont™ Corian® solid surfaces, made from natural minerals and high-performance acrylic, are non-porous, helping to resist stains and growth of bacteria. Available in more than 100 colors and all fulfilling the U.S. National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 51, Corian® is safe for food contact.

• DuPont™ SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers help create lighter, safer, more structural glass that can stand up to greater loads and higher threat levels.



• DuPont™ Teflon® FEP anti-flammable cable provides excellent fire resistance characteristics without producing toxic smoke in the event of fire, thus gaining valuable time for evacuation of personnel. In addition, it can be recycled.