polymerguru

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Microalgae convert CO2 into useful basic chemicals Researchers in Saxony are developing biotechnological cell factories that do not require agricultural land or fossil raw materials. Chemnitz University of Technology, Leipzig University, and Fraunhofer FEP are using microalgae to produce the important basic chemical glycolate from carbon dioxide and sunlight - a building block for medicines, preservatives, and polymers that is currently produced from partially toxic fossil raw materials. The interdisciplinary cooperation project PhotoKon could make a significant contribution to the regional bioeconomy by producing valuable chemicals directly from CO2 and light, bypassing the need for scarce agricultural land or fossil resources. The researchers utilize the microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which they are optimizing for industrial use with novel mutation methods and AI-based screening. The three project partners have already made significant progress...

 ✅Sunday's Thoughtful Post It's a wrap. A great idea meets a tough reality. I've just read the sad news that Great Wrap has ceased trading. With a great product idea, an alternative to the plastic cling film, & strong branding, why did it fail? Where did it go wrong? I didn't understand, so I did some research and found out what the lessons were for others in the purpose driven products & circular economy space. ✅ What the company was Great Wrap, founded in 2019 by Jordy Kay and Julia Kay in Melbourne, Australia, developed compostable cling wrap & pallet wrap made from foodwaste and plantbased polymers. It was positioned as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic stretch wrap, with strong media attention and investor support (inclu a A$24 million funding round in 2022). The business had ambitions to scale: in 2022 it expanded its production facility to allow manufacturing of up to 30,000 tonnes of compostable wrap per year. 🚨 Why it ended The comp...

  Food is your first productivity tool. Yet most people are using it completely wrong. Like others, I used to think about food in terms of numbers. Calories in, calories out. Eat less, move more. Job done. But it doesn't quite work like that. Especially when you're running a business or juggling different priorities. ➡️ Not all calories are equal. 500 from a fast food meal isn't the same as 500 from whole, nutrient-dense food. One fills you. The other fuels you. The shift is simple: → Eat for energy, not just fullness → Eat for clarity, not convenience → Eat for the long game, not the next 10 minutes Here are 5 ways your food choices impact how you show up every day: 1️⃣ Stable energy > Temporary highs ↳ Processed foods give you a quick high... then a crash. ↳ Whole foods keep you steady, which you need for high-performance. 2️⃣ Nutrients feed your brain ↳ Healthy fats, protein and real nutrients help you think clearly. ↳ Not just get through the day, but actually perfor...

  Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Once you’ve mixed a bucket of hemp-lime with your own hands, you’ll never look at concrete the same way again. That’s when you realize that hempcrete isn’t just a sustainable alternative; it’s a carbon-sequestering, thermally efficient, and vapor-permeable building material that challenges conventional construction norms. Unlike concrete, which emits significant CO₂ during production, hemp-lime absorbs carbon dioxide throughout its life cycle. The hemp plant itself captures CO₂ as it grows, and once built into walls, the lime binder continues to carbonate, locking that carbon in place for decades. The result? 🏡 Buildings that are healthier, longer-lasting, and energy-efficient, with thermal mass and breathability that reduce heating and cooling loads. At Hemp Town on Main, we focus on hands-on education and material innovation, showing how regenerative construction can help rebuild both communities and ecosystems from the ground up. 💚 Building a better ...