It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Using AI to improve building energy use and comfort
New study from Waterloo researchers creating climate change-proof buildings with deep learning-powered inspections
UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO
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THE IMAGE SHOWS HOT SPOTS OF HEAT LOSS DETECTION FROM A MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL BUILDING USING DEEP LEARNING WITH BOUNDING BOXES.
University of Waterloo researchers have developed a new method that can lead to significant energy savings in buildings. The team identified 28 major heat loss regions in a multi-unit residential building with the most severe ones being at wall intersections and around windows. A potential energy savings of 25 per cent is expected if 70 per cent of the discovered regions are fixed.
Building enclosures rely on heat and moisture control to avoid significant energy loss due to airflow leakage, which makes buildings less comfortable and more costly to maintain. This problem will likely be compounded by climate change due to volatile temperature fluctuations. Since manual inspection is time-consuming and infrequently done due to a lack of trained personnel, energy inefficiency becomes a widespread problem for buildings.
Researchers at Waterloo, which is a leader in sustainability research and education and a catalyst forenvironmental innovation, solutions and talent, created an autonomous, real-time platform to make buildings more energy efficient. The platform combines artificial intelligence, infrared technology, and a mathematical model that quantifies heatflow to better identify areas of heat loss in buildings.
Using the new method, the researchers conducted an advanced study on a multi-unit residential building in the extreme climate of Canadian prairies, where elderly residents reported discomfort and higher electricity bills due to increased demand for heating in their units. Using AI tools, the team trained the program to examine thermal images in real time, achieving 81 percent accuracy in detecting regions of heat loss in the building envelope.
“The almost 10 per cent increase in accuracy with this AI-based model is impactful, as it enhances occupants’ comfort as well as reduces energy bills,” said Dr. Mohamad Araji, director of Waterloo’s Architectural Engineering Program and head of the Symbiosis Lab, an interdisciplinary group at the university that specializes in developing innovative building systems and building more environmentally friendly buildings.
The new AI tools helped to remove the element of human error in examining the results and increased the speed of getting the data analyzed by a factor of 12 compared to traditional building inspection methods.
Future expansions to this work will include utilizing drones equipped with cameras to inspect high-rise buildings.
“The hope is that our methodology can be used to analyze buildings and lead to millions in energy savings in a much faster way than previously possible,” Araji said.
More information about this work can be found in a research paper published recently by Energy Conversion and Management.
JOURNAL
Energy Conversion and Management
More efficient bioethanol production might be possible using persimmon tannin to help yeast thrive
Naturally derived antioxidants improve growth of yeast strain in presence of ethanol
OSAKA METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY
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THIS POWDER WAS USED TO CREATE THE SUPERNATANT THAT SHOWED SOME BENEFICIAL ANTIOXIDATIVE PROPERTIES THAT HELP YEAST GROW.
While ethanol in alcoholic beverages impairs drinkers’ motor functions, it is that same substance that can power motor vehicles in a cleaner, more sustainable manner. What is necessary for the production of ethanol is yeast, but ethanol is among the environmental factors that add stress to yeasts, hindering their growth. To promote efficient bioethanol production, scientists have been searching for substances that can help yeasts better withstand ethanol, but few effective ones have been found.
An Osaka Metropolitan University research team, including graduate student Ilhamzah and Professor Ken-ichi Fujita of the Graduate School of Science and Professor Akira Ogita of the Research Center for Urban Health and Sports, has found that tannin from persimmons improves the growth of the yeast strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae in the presence of ethanol.
“In this study, yeast cultures grown in a medium containing ethanol and persimmon tannin showed an 8.9-fold increase in cell number compared to cultures grown in an ethanol medium without persimmon tannin,” stated Professor Fujita.
The researchers explored persimmon tannin because it is known for its antioxidative properties.
“Persimmon tannin reduced ethanol-induced oxidative stress,” Fujita added. “However, persimmon tannin did not prevent ethanol-induced cell membrane damage. This indicates the potential of persimmon tannin as a protective agent to enhance the yeast’s tolerance to ethanol stress by limiting oxidative damage, rather than limiting damage to the yeast’s cell membranes.”
Established in Osaka as one of the largest public universities in Japan, Osaka Metropolitan University is committed to shaping the future of society through “Convergence of Knowledge” and the promotion of world-class research. For more research news, visit https://www.omu.ac.jp/en/ and follow us on social media: X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
Persimmon tannin promotes the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae under ethanol stress
Self-similar fractal stress is more suitable for destructive scenario earthquake simulation
SCIENCE CHINA PRESS
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HORIZONTAL PGV AND INTENSITY DISTRIBUTION UNDER THE FOUR MODELS, (A) THE HORIZONTAL UNIFORM STRESS MODEL, AND THE SELF-SIMILAR STRESS MODEL WITH (B) AC=50 KM, (C) AC = 40 KM, (D) AC =30 KM, WHERE AC IS THE CHARACTERISTIC LENGTH THAT DETERMINES THE STRESS ROUGHNESS.
Scenario earthquakes are practically useful in assessing earthquake hazards along active faults. However, determining the sources of destructive scenario earthquakes, particularly when dealing with heterogeneous stresses, can be challenging. Researchers from University of Science and Technology of China conducted a study on the Tanlu Fault, the largest strike-slip fault in eastern China, demonstrating that self-similar fractal stress is more suitable for characterizing the sources of scenario earthquakes.
The study concentrated on the Xinyi-Sihong segment of the Tanlu fault, an area known to potentially sustain a M7.5 earthquake. The hypocenter was placed near 10 km depth around Suqian, where a noticeable contrast between high and low velocities indicates a potential nucleation point. The team effectively constrained the fault rupture length and width according to the scaling laws that govern large earthquakes.
To have a better understanding of the physical process of the rupture propagation coupling with stress heterogeneity, researchers simulated the scenario earthquake rupture process using the finite difference method. A depth-dependent background normal stress is incorporated. They utilized the self-similar fractal stress perturbation to characterize the stress heterogeneity in the fault-strike direction. Compared with the horizontal uniform stress model, researchers shown that the source time function of the horizontal uniform stress model closely resembles that of the Haskell model. However, the self-similar stress model aligns more closely with those observed in real earthquakes.
The dynamic rupture simulations provided insights into how various stress conditions influence the rupture behavior and ground motion. Notably, the self-similar stress model, which incorporates a shorter characteristic length, suggests a rougher initial stress and a more heterogeneous slip distribution. To the north of the epicenter near Suqian, the models predict more intense vibrations due to the nearby low-velocity zone and high slip rates on the fault. This area is situated within the 9-degree intensity zone, highlighting the importance of targeted earthquake preparedness and building resistance capabilities.
The study underscores the importance of coupling self-similar fractal stresses in scenario earthquake simulations. By advancing our understanding of the stress heterogeneity effect in earthquake rupture propagation and ground motions, scientists can provide better guidelines for infrastructure development and disaster preparedness strategies.
See the article:
Hu F, Yao H, Yu H, Lu Z, Hou J, Luo S, Shao Z, Chen X. 2024. Influence of self-similar stresses on scenario earthquake construction: An example along the Tanlu Fault. Science China Earth Sciences, 67(5): 1687–1697, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1239-8
Now we know, what gets roots to grow: Can help in future droughts
PLANTS A biological mechanism familiar to people who fast helps plant roots grow strong. The discovery by University of Copenhagen scientists provides an answer to a long-unanswered question and a deeper understanding of the "mouths" of plants that can he
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN - FACULTY OF SCIENCE
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TO INVESTIGATE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF AUTOPHAGY, THE RESEARCHERS DEVELOPED A MUTANT ARABIDOPSIS (THALE CRESS) PLANT IN WHICH IT'S AUTOPHAGY WAS DISABLED WHICH IS SHOWN ON THE RIGHT. WITH AN ENZYME FROM FIRE FLIES THE RESEARCHERS MADE IT POSSIBLE TO DISTINGUISH THE NORMAL PLANT FROM THE PLANT WITH IT'S AUTOPHAGY FUNCTION DISABLED. THE PLANT TO THE RIGHT HOS FEWER LIGHT AREAS AND THEREBY FEWER POTENTIAL PLACES TO GROW NEW ROOTS WITH IT'S AUTOPHAGY FUNCTION TURNED OFF.
CREDIT: ELEAZAR RODRIGUEZ, DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN.
Now we know, what gets roots to grow: Can help in future droughts
A biological mechanism familiar to people who fast helps plant roots grow strong. The discovery by University of Copenhagen scientists provides an answer to a long-unanswered question and a deeper understanding of the "mouths" of plants that can help to develop climate-resilient crops.
Imagine eating with your feet and having half your body underground. Such is the life of most plants, with roots as the mouths through which they eat and drink. Roots also serve to anchor plants and keep them safe in wind and rain. Indeed, roots are critical for a plant's life.
But many things remain unknown about the life of plants. How they grow their roots big and strong has long been a question and there are key pieces missing to the puzzle.
In a new study published recently, researchers from the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Biology share their discovery of how plants control root growth.
It turns out that a beneficial clean-up mechanism in plant cells called autophagy plays a key role. The same mechanism exists in humans and is part of a popular health trend.
"Fasting has become popular as it seems to have a range of health-promoting effects in humans, as periods without food cause the body to activate a clean-up processes to dispose of various waste products in cells. In our study, we have proven that the same mechanism, which also exists in the plant kingdom, plays a vital role in the ability of plant roots to grow and absorb water and nutrients for the rest of the plant," explains Assistant Professor Eleazar Rodriguez from the Department of Biology, who led the study.
Roots have a heartbeat
It has long been known that auxin, a plant hormone, controls plant growth, root growth included. Auxin is a fuel for a kind of heartbeat that beats in each and every root tip of a plant. Roughly every four to six hours, auxin levels and the heartbeat in a plant’s roots reach a maximum that causes new roots to grow.
"The movement of a root is almost like watching a snake slithering forward in search of water and nourishment in the soil. And we can see that the heartbeat is strongest every time the root meanders forth," says Eleazar Rodriguez.
But how plants control its heartbeat so as to optimize root growth, has remained an unanswered question. This is where the plant's internal clean-up mechanism comes into the picture.
"In our experiments, we disabled the clean-up mechanism to understand its significance. Imagine if every garbage collector in Copenhagen went on strike – it wouldn’t be long before trash filled the streets. The same thing happened in the plant cells, as the heartbeats that drive root growth became much weaker and went out of sync," explains Eleazar Rodriguez.
Doing this allowed the researchers to conclude that the clean-up mechanism helps keep levels of different biochemical components in perfect balance to provide the most efficient root growth.
Can help germinate new climate-resilient crops
According to the researchers, the new knowledge about plant roots may prove important in the fight against climate change. Extended periods of drought and floods are a new normal that place greater demands on food security. As such, the roots of the crops, which must be able to grow even in these harsh conditions.
“Numerous methods to change the genetic characteristics of plants are available today. These can be used to get plants to develop longer roots, faster, and in doing so, become more resistant to droughts or floods. One of the methods enlists the help of bacteria that live in symbiosis with the plant and can cause the plant to change its growth pattern. Several companies in Denmark are working on this right now," explains Ph.D. student Jeppe Ansbøl who co-authored the study..
The new knowledge applies to all flowering plants and perhaps more, according to the researcher. In principle, crops like tomatoes, potatoes, rice, wheat and corn could be altered to grow more and denser roots, because we now know how plants get their roots to grow.
"The more roots the plants have the more water and nutrients they can take, so the plants grow better faster. We’re heavily dependent on plants because they feed us, extract CO2 from the atmosphere and produce the oxygen we breathe. As such, it is extremely important to understand them fully, to which end we have just taken a big step forward," concludes Eleazar Rodriguez.
More about the result: Causing the garbage collectors in cells to go on strike
Autophagy means 'self-eating' and is a key mechanism when plants develop roots. To investigate the significance of autophagy, the researchers developed a mutant Arabidopsis (thale cress) plant in which its autophagy was disabled.
At the same time, they made the ARF7 protein luminescent, which is the protein that controls the auxin responses and which the plant cell's garbage collectors clean up to provide optimal root growth. The plant's garbage collectors collect waste from cells and transport it to a kind of recycling station in the plant called a vacuole.
"When we disrupted the plant's autophagy, there was waste everywhere, and we were able to detect the ARF7 protein among the waste," says Eleazar Rodriguez.
The study was conducted in collaboration with Spanish researchers. The research team consists of: Elise Ebstrup, Jeppe Ansbøl, Ana Paez-Garcia, Henry Culp, Jonathan Chevalier, Pauline Clemmens, Núria Sánchez Coll, Miguel Anguel Moreno-Risueno and Eleazar Rodriguez.
CREDIT: ALFRED WEGENER INSTITUTE / JOAN J. SOTO-ANGEL
Climate change is putting countless marine organisms under pressure. However, jellyfish in the world’s oceans could actually benefit from the rising water temperatures – also and especially in the Arctic Ocean, as researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have now successfully shown. In computer models, they exposed eight widespread Arctic jellyfish species to rising temperatures, sea ice retreat and other changing environmental conditions. The result: by the second half of this century, all but one of the species in question could substantially expand their habitat poleward. The ‘lion’s mane jellyfish’ could even triple the size of its habitat – with potentially dramatic consequences for the marine food web and Arctic fish populations. The study was just released in the journal Limnology and Oceanography.
In the future, jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton could be some of the few organism groups to benefit from climate change. As numerous studies have confirmed, the transparent cnidarians, ctenophores and pelagic tunicates thrive on rising water temperatures, but also on nutrient contamination and overfishing. When combined, these factors could produce a major shift in the ocean – from a productive, fish-dominated food web to a far less productive ocean full of jellyfish. As such, many researchers are already warning of an impending ‘ocean jellification’, i.e., a worldwide rise in jellyfish populations.
“Jellyfish play an important part in the marine food web,” explains Dmitrii Pantiukhin, a postdoctoral researcher in ARJEL (Arctic Jellies), a junior research group specialising in Arctic jellyfish at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). “Now that climate change is putting more stress on marine organisms, it can often give the gelatinous zooplankton a leg up on their competitors for food, like fish. This in turn affects the entire food web and ultimately the fish themselves: many types of jellyfish feed on fish larvae and eggs, which can slow or prevent the recovery of fish populations already under pressure, which are often also heavily fished by humans. As such, anyone interested in how fish, an important food source for us, will develop in the future, needs to keep an eye on the jellyfish.”
Despite their importance for all marine organisms, the transparent gelatinous organisms are often forgotten or neglected in ecological studies and model-based simulations. The study just released by Dmitrii Pantiukhin and his team closes an important gap in our knowledge, while also concentrating on a hotspot for climate change. “Of all the oceans, the Arctic Ocean is warming the fastest,” says the study’s first author. “In addition, roughly 10 percent of global fishing yields come from the Arctic. As such, the High North is the ideal site for our research.”
A great deal is already known about the physiology of jellyfish, including the optimal temperature range for them to thrive. In the course of the study, the AWI team combined three-dimensional species distribution models with the oceanographic components of the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2). “Simulations of species distribution in the ocean are often two-dimensional, a bit like a map,” says Dr Charlotte Havermans, head of the ARJEL junior research group at the AWI. “But the distribution of jellyfish communities in particular is highly dependent on the specific water depth. Consequently, we made our species models three-dimensional. Once we coupled them with the MPI’s Earth system model, we were able to calculate how the distribution of eight major jellyfish species could change from the reference period, 1950 to 2014, to the second half of this century, 2050 to 2099. For future years, we applied the climate scenario ‘ssp370’, that is, a development path where greenhouse-gas emissions remain moderate to high.”
The results speak for themselves: seven of the eight species – including comb jellies (Beroe sp. / + 110%)andpelagic tunicates (Oikopleura vanhoeffeni / + 102%) – could expand their habitat poleward, in some cases massively, by the period 2050 to 2099, and also stand to gain from the progressive loss of sea ice. The hair jelly Cyanea capillata, colloquially known as the ‘lion’s mane jellyfish’, could especially expand northward, nearly tripling the size of its habitat (+ 180%). Only one of the species investigated (Sminthea arctica) would experience a minor decrease in habitat (- 15%), since it would have to retreat to greater depths to find its optimal temperature range.
“These results clearly show how dramatically climate change could affect the ecosystems of the Arctic Ocean,” says AWI expert Dmitrii Pantiukhin. “The projected expansion of the jellyfish habitats could have tremendous, cascading impacts on the entire food web.”
One question that remains open is how fish stocks in the Arctic would be affected by a jellyfish expansion. “There are many indications that key Arctic fish species like the polar cod, whose larvae and eggs are frequently eaten by jellyfish, will feel the pressure even more,” says ARJEL Group Leader Charlotte Havermans. “Therefore, our study offers an important basis for further research in this field. And management plans in the fishing sector urgently need to bear in mind this dynamic development in order to avoid the collapse of commercially exploited stocks but manage them sustainably.”
Original publication:
Dmitrii Pantiukhin, Gerlien Verhaegen, Charlotte Havermans: Pan-Arctic distribution modeling reveals climate-change-driven poleward shifts of major gelatinous zooplankton species; Limnology & Oceanography (2024). DOI: 10.1002/lno.12568
Pan-Arctic distribution modeling reveals climate-change-driven poleward shifts of major gelatinous zooplankton species
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
15-May-2024
How will climate change affect the distribution of jellyfish and other gelatinous zooplankton in the Arctic Ocean?
WILEY
Gelatinous zooplankton, including jellyfish and other diverse, nearly transparent organisms, play important roles in marine ecosystems. Climate change is expected to significantly alter their populations and distributions. New research published in Limnology and Oceanography examines their fate in the Arctic Ocean, one of the fastest warming oceans on Earth.
Investigators coupled three-dimensional species distribution models with oceanographic variables from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6. The analyses allowed the team to identify gelatinous zooplankton species with expanding or contracting habitat ranges in response to climate change in the Arctic Ocean.
Seven of the eight modeled species are predicted to move further north in response to changing ocean conditions. The impacts of these changes on Arctic Ocean fish populations and overall ecosystem dynamics warrant further investigation.
“Our findings reveal the dramatic potential for climate change to reshape Arctic Ocean ecosystems,” said corresponding author Dmitrii Pantiukhin, a postdoc at the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research and the University of Bremen, in Germany. “These shifts in gelatinous zooplankton populations could have cascading effects throughout the entire food web.”
Additional Information NOTE: The information contained in this release is protected by copyright. Please include journal attribution in all coverage. For more information or to obtain a PDF of any study, please contact: Sara Henning-Stout, newsroom@wiley.com.
About the Journal Limnology and Oceanographypublishes research articles, reviews, and comments about all aspects of the sciences of limnology and oceanography. The journal’s unifying theme is the understanding of aquatic systems. Submissions are judged on their originality and intellectual contribution to the fields of limnology and oceanography, whether physical, chemical, or biological in nature, empirical or theoretical in method, and from elemental to geological, ecological to evolutionary, species to ecosystem, or system to global in scale.
About Wiley Wiley is a knowledge company and a global leader in research, publishing, and knowledge solutions. Dedicated to the creation and application of knowledge, Wiley serves the world’s researchers, learners, innovators, and leaders, helping them achieve their goals and solve the world's most important challenges. For more than two centuries, Wiley has been delivering on its timeless mission to unlock human potential. Visit us at Wiley.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Lifespan caps for passenger vehicles have limited effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and could drive up costs and material use finds a new study published in Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability. The research shows that although Light-Duty vehicles (LDVs) contribute 17% to the annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, imposing a 15-year lifespan cap on LDV fleets under a business-as-usual scenario will not lead to any meaningful reductions in GHG emissions.
To combat delayed uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs), some have argued for limits on the vehicle’s serviceable years, called a lifespan cap. However, this study finds that life span caps to drive the adoption of EVs could amplify some of the negative effects of EVs including increased usage of critical materials and increased ecotoxicity related to battery production. Also, the costs of accelerated EV deployment are estimated to be very high and often exceed current estimates for the social costs of carbon.
According to the study, lifespan caps are only effective when implemented alongside complementary strategies, such as electricity grid emissions intensity reductions, vehicle fuel consumption improvements, and vehicle production emissions reductions to boost the GHG emissions benefits, while reducing abatement costs.
The team, led by researchers at the University of Toronto, used the Fleet Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Estimation (FLAME) model, coupled with comprehensive cost calculations and sensitivity analyses for electric vehicle survival curves and battery degradation, to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of vehicle lifespan caps in reducing the GHG emissions of LDV fleets in the US.
Heather MacLean, Professor at the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto, says: “Lifespan caps can be a powerful tool to accelerate the benefits of new vehicle technologies, particularly when it comes to reducing GHG emissions, however they can also accelerate the costs. Our results show that while they may be suitable in some situations, lifespan caps are best positioned as part of a larger integrated strategy for tackling transportation GHG emissions.”
JOURNAL
Environmental Research Infrastructure and Sustainability
Are vehicle lifespan caps an effective and efficient method for reducing US light-duty vehicle fleet GHG emissions?
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
15-May-2024
Businesses unintentionally discourage diverse ideas
ESMT BERLIN
Prof. Linus Dahlander from ESMT Berlin, alongside Prof. Henning Piezunka and PhD candidate Sanghyun Park from INSEAD, analyzed 1.44 million ideas to understand how organizations unknowingly shape the ideas they receive. Data came from organizations that asked visitors how they could improve their websites before choosing which ideas to use. Chosen ideas were communicated for all to see.
The analysis reveals that organizations with higher consistency in selection tended to favor similar ideas. Over time, contributors adjusted their proposals to align more closely with perceived organizational preferences, enhancing their likelihood of acceptance but also resulting in reduced diversity in the ideas submitted. Individuals who felt their ideas were less likely to be selected gradually ceased making suggestions. Consequently, while the relevance of the ideas submitted may have increased, their diversity diminished.
The researchers also found that idea diversity increased when new contributors, less aware of past organizational choices, made suggestions. Increased diversity of ideas was also observed after established contributors, who would have been influenced by earlier selections, stopped suggesting. However, when contributors interacted more, attention to a company’s preferences heightened, causing an increase in similar ideas.
Professor Dahlander explains, “The result of external searches often yields a more limited set of ideas than commonly perceived, representing a trade-off between fit and diversity. Organizations tend to favor ideas that align closely with their current interests, which can be beneficial.” He adds, “However, this preference for fit can incur costs: It may prevent organizations from encountering ideas that diverge from their usual practices, inadvertently narrowing the creative scope of external contributors. By not constructively engaging with diverse perspectives, organizations risk losing access to innovative ideas and may miss out on pivotal breakthroughs.”
As interactions among external contributors direct their attention toward existing ideas and away from novel ones, managers seeking diverse ideas may benefit from limiting interactions among external contributors. Reducing the visibility of ideas selected could also prevent contributors being influenced by what they think companies want.
Scientists invent method to transform near-unbreakable plastic into biodegradable polyester
Polyethylene, PE, is a very important and widely used plastic and it is also incredibly difficult to break down in nature. A new project will enable the recycling and upcycling of PE by converting it into biodegradable polyester via a 3-stage process.
AARHUS UNIVERSITY
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ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR BEKIR ENGIN ESER (RIGHT), PROFESSOR ZHENG GUO (CENTRE) AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PATRICK BILLER (RIGHT) TOGETHER FORM THE CORE OF THE DANISH RESEARCH TEAM SPEARHEADING THE INTERNATIONAL PROJECT ACTPAC, WHICH AIMS TO COMBAT ENVIRONMENTALLY PROBLEMATIC PLASTIC. PHOTO: ANDERS TRÆRUP.
Plastic is hard to break down in nature. Polyethylene (PE) is particularly tough because its strong molecular structure is highly resistant to oxygen, sunlight and biodegradation. PE is also the most important and widely used plastic, accounting for approximately 34 per cent of all plastic produced. Today, only 12 per cent of PE is recycled and only one per cent is converted into high-value products.
But PE can actually be broken down, transformed and recycled. Though it requires a combination of chemical and biological technologies including highly specific catalysts, recombinant microbial systems and the right enzymes.
An international team of researchers, led by Aarhus University, has now been granted € 4.8 million (DKK 35.5 million) from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, to develop an industrially viable method to convert PE into biodegradable polyester and other high-value products. The project is called ACTPAC, short for “A complete transformation Path for C-C backboned plastic wastes to high-value chemicals and materials”.
"It’s usually very difficult to degrade PE due to the strong carbon bonds that form the molecular backbone of this type of plastic. But in collaboration with a wide range of other researchers, we have identified enzymes, microorganisms and chemical processes that can do this. In the ACTPAC project, we will demonstrate a fully industrially viable method to convert PE first into alkanes and then into biodegradable polyester and high-value products for the chemical industry," says Professor Zheng Guo from Aarhus University's Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering, who is leading the project.
A full 80 per cent of all plastics produced today contain these strong carbon bonds, which is why incineration and landfill are the most common methods of plastic disposal. However, the production of plastic has only increased in recent decades, making plastic waste a huge problem – especially when only such a small fraction is converted into high-value products.
In the ACTPAC project, 11 partners across eight different countries will develop a system with a three-part technology that can (1) convert PE into alkanes, then (2) into high-value chemicals (monomers) through bio-based processes and finally (3) convert these into fully biodegradable polymers via enzyme-catalytic processes.
The ACTPAC project will then upscale the entire system for demonstration at pilot scale.
"This project is a major milestone in bio-based and catalytic degradation of plastics and a big step towards a zero-waste solution to what is currently a huge pollution problem, namely managing plastic waste," says Zheng Guo, and he continues:
"Today, there’s a huge need to develop new ways for innovative upcycling of plastic waste. With ACTPAC, we’re establishing the most profitable upcycling scenario for a pollution-free solution for PE and we’re moving towards a paradigm shift in the plastics economy."
The Horizon Europe-funded project started in January 2024. The project is being led by Professor Zheng Guo from Aarhus University, but it involves researchers from a wide range of disciplines. The project has 11 partners besides Aarhus University: Utrecht University, the University of Münster, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), the University of Groningen, AIMPLAS, Krechnologies (Biolynx), Innovaplast, Minds & Sparks, B4PLASTICS and CTCR.
