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Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they break down.
Biodegradable materials, such as disposable cups and utensils, are broken down in landfills by microorganisms that then produce methane, says Dr. Morton Barlaz, co-author of a paper describing the research and professor and head of NC States Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. Methane can be a valuable energy source when captured, but is a potent greenhouse gas when released into the atmosphere.
And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only about 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture methane for energy use. EPA estimates that another 34 percent of landfills capture methane and burn it off on-site, while 31 percent allow the methane to escape.
In other words, Barlaz says, biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly when disposed in landfills.
Industrial engineer Paul Tasner spent most of his professional career making plastic, specifically blister packs, the plastic casing for consumer products. Then, one day, already on his way to becoming environmentally conscious, he had an epiphany that changed his life. “My wife came back from a big box retailer with a pair of industrial strength shears for opening packages," he recalled. "That’s what it said on the package: ‘For opening those hard to open plastic, blister packages.’ The shears were called, ‘Open it.’ And, the ludicrous, hysterical part of this scenario was that the shears were packed in a blister pack!” Laid off because of the recession, but far from ready to retire, the 64-year-old decided to start his own company. He would create biodegradable packaging that would offer the same quality as its plastic counterparts, but could be composted into a soil supplement - rather than ending up in trash dumps for thousands of years.
Mascara in plastic packaging (left), next to Pulpworks' compostable packaging
Architect Elena Olivari, who has a background in engineering and design, was looking for a challenge. She decided to take a chance and join Tasner’s start-up, because a family member’s death from cancer had made a strong impact. She explained, “There are links of plastic-related cancer, so even doing something that can reduce that number of people that are harmed by the plastic and reducing the amount of plastic in the world which is becoming absolutely too big to deal with, we’re doing something that made me feel like even if we can make a small difference, that’s better than nothing.” They named their company, launched in August, 2011, PulpWorks. Combining their strengths, Tasner and Olivari created a patent-pending product called Karta-Pack to replace blister packs.
Genera Energy's manufacturing plant in Tennessee, where Karta Packs will be produced.
Tasner, now 71, points to egg cartons as he stresses that the technology they use is not new, "but we take that technology and create what we think are a lot more attractive and sexier packaging than an egg carton. And, by using different materials -- egg cartons are made from recycled newspapers -- we use newspapers, corrugated [cardboard], but we also many different agricultural fibers that give a whole different look and color and feel to them. You wouldn’t recognize it as molded pulp.” Tasner set up deals with half a dozen of his old contacts who use agricultural fibers to create different textures and colors. Now his company has six partners in five countries on different continents who only use local materials. "Our partners in China have access to bamboo and sugar cane, our partner in Canada has access to wheat straw, and on and on and on. Any kind of fibrous material, cellulosic material, is fair game for molding into a package. So, by having a wide variety of geography, you have a wide variety of raw materials.”
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The most recent statistics suggest that about a billion tires wear out every year all around the world. The big problem with all of these old tires is that they're tough, and if they end up in a landfill, it's unclear how long it will take for them to decompose, especially if they're covered up by other garbage. If they're not covered up, they can also collect rainwater and become a breeding site for mosquitoes. And if they do eventually decompose, they contain some nasty chemicals that can leach into the soil. But, some new science released Monday may give old tires a new, environmentally-friendly future.
Biodegradable rubber
A research team led by Hassan S. Bazzi, at the Texas A&M University campus in Qatar (TAMU-Qatar) has come up with a way to make tires with easily biodegradable materials that might solve the myriad of problems that come with old tires. They presented their research at the 252nd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) being held in Philadelphia. Robert Tuba, one of the lead researchers on the project, says the goal was to create something "that is good for the community and the environment."
New research could result in tires that biodegrade and recycle easily.
So they went looking for what Tuba calls a "by-product of the petrochemical industry" that could be turned into "recyclable value-added chemicals." What they found was a molecule called cyclopentene, which is a by-product of the oil refining process. The researchers realized that they could string cyclopentene molecules together to make polypentenamers, which are similar to natural rubber. They are conducting experiments to see if the new synthetic rubber can be mixed with metal and other materials and fillers that go into the modern tire. If it works, the researchers might be able to create a new kind of rubber that is as strong as synthetics that are used in current tires, but that is easy to biodegrade and reuse.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
Not only is the new rubber biodegradable, but using an energy-efficient process at temperatures as low as 50 degrees Celsius, the researchers were able to decompose the material back into its original components. The team was also able to retrieve an astonishing "100 percent of their starting material from several polypentenamer-based tire additives they developed." The researchers say they have an industry partner. If everything goes according to plan, Tuba says they are willing to "bring the material to market," and the biodegradable rubber will eventually hit the road.
New Research Could Mean Biodegradable Rubber Tires
Now let's see. You are stating that it is false that CO2 is a GHG. Then you are claiming that CH4 is causing problems because it is a GHG? Perhaps you have a problem with logic?Rut-Roh Rorge...
Biodegradeable products release methane which is more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas
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Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they break down.
Biodegradable materials, such as disposable cups and utensils, are broken down in landfills by microorganisms that then produce methane, says Dr. Morton Barlaz, co-author of a paper describing the research and professor and head of NC States Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. Methane can be a valuable energy source when captured, but is a potent greenhouse gas when released into the atmosphere.
And the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that only about 35 percent of municipal solid waste goes to landfills that capture methane for energy use. EPA estimates that another 34 percent of landfills capture methane and burn it off on-site, while 31 percent allow the methane to escape.
In other words, Barlaz says, biodegradable products are not necessarily more environmentally friendly when disposed in landfills.
[/SNIP]
Just like CFL's create more problems to escape a false one...
