Fanuc to deliver 500 robots to Ford’s Cologne electric car factory

15 JUNE 2021 • In News

PES Media: Daily UK Manufacturing News and Insight


Fanuc has received a 500 robot order from Ford’s Cologne plant to assist in the manufacture of electric car bodies.

The Ford manufacturing facility in Cologne is currently undergoing transition into the Ford Cologne Electrification Center, a development and production site for electric vehicles that will serve the entire European market.

In 2023, the carmaker expects its first purely electric high-volume passenger model to roll off the plant’s production line. Ford has also announced that it will only offer battery-electric passenger cars in Europe from 2030.

“Fanuc has a lot of experience in robotics for e-mobility applications,” said Ralf Winkelmann, managing director of Fanuc Germany. “We are very pleased that we can accompany Ford in this forward-looking transformation.”

Headquartered in Japan, Fanuc operates in more than 100 countries worldwide, providing customers from a wide range of industries with exceptionally reliable customer service internationally. “In the USA, Fanuc has been working closely with Ford for many years,” added Mr Winkelmann. “We are now expanding this successful cooperation to Europe.”

Shinichi Tanzawa, CEO and president of Fanuc Europe added: “Our robots are known for their reliability and durability. Therefore, we are convinced that they will contribute to low downtime and maintenance costs at Ford’s Cologne plant.”

Fanuc
www.fanuc.eu/uk/en

Major obstacle to fusion energy cleared at Culham nuclear centre

17 JUNE 2021 • In News

PES Media: Daily UK Manufacturing News and Insight

UKAEA’s new MAST Upgrade experiment at Culham

One of the major hurdles in developing fusion energy has been cleared after successful testing at the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

Initial results from UKAEA’s new MAST Upgrade experiment at Culham, near Oxford, have demonstrated the effectiveness of an innovative exhaust system designed to make compact fusion power plants commercially viable.

With no greenhouse gas emissions and abundant fuels, fusion can be a safe and sustainable part of the world’s future energy supply.

Fusion energy is based on the same principle as stars creating heat and light. Using a machine called a tokamak, a fusion power station will heat a gas, or plasma, enabling types of hydrogen fuel to fuse together to release energy that can generate electricity.

A key challenge in getting tokamaks on the electricity grid is removing excess heat produced during fusion reactions.

Without an exhaust system that can handle this intense heat, materials will have to be regularly replaced – significantly affecting the amount of time a power plant could operate for.

The new system, known as a Super-X divertor, would allow components in future commercial tokamaks to last for much longer, greatly increasing the power plant’s availability, improving its economic viability and reducing the cost of fusion electricity. The concept for the Super-X divertor originally came from the Institute for Fusion Studies group at the University of Texas.

Tests at MAST Upgrade, which began operating in October 2020, have shown at least a ten-fold reduction in the heat on materials with the Super-X system.

This is a game-changer for achieving fusion power plants that can deliver affordable, efficient electricity.

UKAEA is planning to build a prototype fusion power plant – known as STEP – by the early 2040s, using a compact machine called the ‘spherical tokamak’. The success of the Super-X divertor is a huge boost for engineers designing the STEP device, as it is particularly suited to the spherical tokamak.

UKAEA’s lead scientist at MAST Upgrade, Dr Andrew Kirk, said: “These are fantastic results. They are the moment our team at UKAEA has been working towards for almost a decade.

“We built MAST Upgrade to solve the exhaust problem for compact fusion power plants, and the signs are that we’ve succeeded.

“Super-X reduces the heat on the exhaust system from a blowtorch level down to more like you’d find in a car engine. This could mean it would only have to be replaced once during the lifetime of a power plant.

“It’s a pivotal development for the UK’s plan to put a fusion power plant on the grid by the early 2040s – and for bringing low-carbon energy from fusion to the world.”

UKAEA
www.ccfe.ukaea.uk

Volvo to explore fossil-free steel with Swedish steelmaker SSAB
17 JUNE 2021 • In News

PES Media: Daily UK Manufacturing News and Insight

Car manufacturing underway at Volvo's Luqiao manufacturing plant

Volvo is teaming up with Swedish steelmaker SSAB to explore the development of fossil-free, high-quality steel for use in the automotive industry.

The collaboration makes Volvo the first car maker to work with SSAB and its HYBRIT initiative.

HYBRIT was started by SSAB, iron ore producer LKAB and energy firm Vattenfall. It aims to replace coking coal, traditionally needed for iron ore-based steelmaking, with fossil-free electricity and hydrogen. The result is expected to be the world’s first fossil-free steelmaking technology, with virtually no carbon footprint.

As part of the collaboration, Volvo will be the first car maker to secure SSAB steel made from hydrogen-reduced iron from HYBRIT’s pilot plant in Luleå, Sweden. This steel will be used for testing purposes and may be used in a concept car.

In 2026, SSAB aims to supply the market with fossil-free steel at a commercial scale. Volvo Cars aims to also be the first car maker to use fossil-free steel for its own production cars.

“As we continuously reduce our total carbon footprint, we know that steel is a major area for further progress,” said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive at Volvo. “The collaboration with SSAB on fossil-free steel development could give significant emission reductions in our supply chain.”

“We are building an entirely fossil-free value chain all the way to the end customer,” Martin Lindqvist, president and CEO at SSAB, added: “Our breakthrough technology has virtually no carbon footprint and will help strengthen our customer’s competitiveness. Together with Volvo Cars, we aim to develop fossil-free steel products for the cars of the future.”

The global steel industry accounts for around 7% of global direct carbon emissions, due to the fact that the industry is currently dominated by an iron ore-based steelmaking technology, using blast furnaces depending on coking coal.

For Volvo, the CO2 emissions related to steel and iron production for its cars amount to around 35% in a traditionally powered car and 20% in a fully electric car of the total CO2 emissions from the material and production of the components going into the car.

Volvo
www.volvocars.com

‘Space Dream’: China astronauts blast off for new space station

FROM SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY 

TO SOCIALISM IN ONE SPACE STATION

China has launched its first crewed space mission in five years, sending three astronauts to a new space station.

In Pictures
Gallery

Astronauts Tang Hongbo, left, Nie Haisheng, centre, and Liu Boming wave during a departure ceremony before boarding the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft on a Long March-2F carrier rocket at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi desert in northwest China. [Greg Baker/AFP]

17 Jun 2021

China launched a spacecraft on Thursday carrying three astronauts to part of a space station still under construction for the longest stay in low Earth orbit by any Chinese national.

A Long March 2F rocket transporting the Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Vessel”, bound for the space station module Tianhe blasted off at 9:22am Beijing time (01:22 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern Gansu province.

Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 missions – four of which will be crewed – needed to complete China’s first full-fledged space station. Construction began in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of three modules.

The astronauts Nie Haisheng, 56, Liu Boming, 54, and Tang Hongbo, 45, are to work and stay on Tianhe, the living quarters of the future space station, for three months.

Since 2003, China has launched six crewed missions and sent 11 astronauts into space, including Zhai Zhigang, who carried out China’s first spacewalk ever on the 2008 Shenzhou mission.

Chinese astronauts Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming, and Tang Hongbo meet members of the media before the Shenzhou-12 mission to build China's space station. [Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

A worker holds an umbrella near the Shenzhou-12 spaceship covered up on its launch pad. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen on a billboard with the slogan "China Dream, Space Dream" at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Spectators cheer as Chinese astronauts prepare to board for liftoff. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Since 2003, China has launched six crewed missions and sent 11 astronauts into space. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Chinese astronauts wave as they prepare to board for liftoff at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They will be the first crew members to live on China's new orbiting space station Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]
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A spectator wearing a space-themed shirt and holding a Chinese flag at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Chinese astronauts prepare to board for liftoff. Shenzhou-12 is the third of 11 missions - four of which will be crewed - needed to coplete China's first full-fledged space station. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

March-2F Y12 rocket carrying a crew of Chinese astronauts in a Shenzhou-12 spaceship lifts off at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. [Ng Han Guan/AP Photo]

Stella McCartney calls for end to fur trade with protest

Stella McCartney campaigns with the Human Society International to urge the fashion industry to stop using fur

Stella McCartney


Stella McCartney has called for an end to the fur trade.

17 June 2021

The 49-year-old fashion designer, animal rights activist and environmentalist has insisted it's her "life mission" to give her industry "a conscience" when it comes to the materials they choose to use and how they source them.

Sir Paul McCartney's daughter voiced her stance as part of the Humane Society International's campaign.

The organisation "confronts cruelty to animals in all of its forms".

Stella told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Whether it's sold here in the UK or farmed globally, barbarism knows no borders, and this effort is key to my life's mission of bringing a conscience to the fashion industry. I am proud to partner with Human Society International. Please join us in ending this horrendous practice."

It comes after the activist vowed to "drive change" in the fashion industry to create a "cruelty-free society" for generations to come, and was among those to sign Prince Charles' Terra Carta Transition Coalitions for a sustainable future at the G7 Summit in Cornwall last weekend.

She said: “My goal is to drive change, encourage investments, and create lasting difference through incentives supporting the next generation. “I hope the G7 Summit will translate our message into policies bringing us closer to creating a cruelty-free society that is kinder to all creatures, Mother Earth, and each other.”

Stella was recently a guest at St. James Palace, where she urged global leaders to introduce new laws or legislation that will "put hard stops" on unsustainable practices in the industry.

She said: “I’m really here to ask all of these powerful people in the room to make a shift from convention to a new way of sourcing and new suppliers into the fashion industry. “One of the biggest problems that we have in the fashion industry is we're not policed in any way. We have no laws or legislations that will put hard stops on our industry… We need to be incentivized, [and] we need to have taxations looked at to work in a better way.”

CLASS CONCIOUSNESS

UK

Will Mellor: NHS staff should be country's top earners

'Coronation Street' star Will Mellor believes the NHS staff should be the country's top earners, and he was left fuming at the government's proposed pay rise of just one per cent this year.


Will Mellor believes NHS staff should be "the highest paid people in the country".


Will Mellor in Corrie

17 June 2021

The 'Coronation Street' star was left fuming with the government's proposed NHS pay rise of just one per cent this year - which Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who caught coronavirus in 2020, said was "as much as we can" - as he thinks the health service's staff should receive a bigger boost after their courageous work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He said: "All of us have needed the NHS at some point.

"Imagine this country without it. Where we would be now? I wasn’t happy at all with that one per cent rise they got. It p***** me off.

"They should be the highest paid people in the country.

"They saved his life. We spend billions and billions on track and trace and this and that, that don’t work, but we can only afford a one per cent pay rise for the NHS who saved lives and put their own lives at risk when this country was on its back."

As well as starring in 'Corrie', Will has recorded a new version of 1998 Fat Les classic 'Vindaloo', alongside stars such as Paddy McGuinness and Danny Dyer, to encourage the nation to get behind England during Euro 2020.

And the cobbles actor believes his father Bill - who died from cancer in April last year - would be "really proud" of him for 'Vindaloo Two'.

Will - who plays drug lord Harvey Gaskell in the ITV soap - added to the Daily Mirror newspaper: "He’d be really proud of me doing this, and getting behind it and getting his mates to sing it down the pub."

Dr Martens' profits fall by over half after the iconic bootmaker awards £49.1m in staff bonuses related to its IPO

Despite falling store sales, it managed to open 18 more shops during the year

A greater focus on digital sales helped the firm's online purchases jump by 73%

Dr Martens has now handed back £1.3m in furlough cash to the UK government

By HARRY WISE FOR THIS IS MONEY

PUBLISHED:  17 June 2021

Leather boot brand Dr Martens saw its profits fall last year despite rising online sales after it handed out tens of millions of pounds in staff bonuses following its public listing.

Shares in the group tumbled by 11.5 per cent today as it blamed the £80.5million in total costs arising from its initial public offering (IPO) in January for causing profits to fall by over half to £35.7million in the year to March 31.

Without these exceptional costs, which included a £49.1million one-off 'IPO bonus' for employees, the company said its operating profit would have been 25 per cent higher at £193million.

Staff bonuses caused profits to fall by over half to £35.7million in the year to March 31

The Northamptonshire shoemaker was further hit by store closures across the world, sending its retail sales plummeting by around 40 per cent to £99.7million, which particularly impacted its performance in Japan.

Yet it still managed to open 18 more shops across the period, including six in the United States and its first store in Rome, and it hopes to open another 20 to 25 during the current financial year.

Three stores were shut down in the UK though, leaving 34 overall; but due to 'resilient trading,' Dr Martens has now returned £1.3million in furlough cash that it claimed from the UK government.

Overall sales grew by 15 per cent to £773million, as demand in China soared by 46 per cent, sales in Europe and the Americas grew 17 per cent, and Asia-Pacific sales tipped up 7 per cent.

However, higher digital investment and an accelerating shift towards customers purchasing their shoes on the internet helped the value of online purchases jump 73 per cent.

The share of online sales also grew by ten percentage points to 30 per cent, and Dr Martens aims for them to comprise 40 per cent of its revenues in the medium term, with the remaining 60 per cent coming from direct-to-consumer channels.


Retail weakness: Store closures sent Dr Martens's retail revenues falling 40 per cent last year

Chief executive Kenny Wilson said: 'People buy their first pair of Dr Martens in their late teens or early 20s. Those consumers have grown up in a world where digital is the norm, so our strategy has been for a long time to build the digital capabilities of business.

'When the pandemic actually hit, we were ready, and we were able to drive more of our demand to online. The trend towards digital was something we've been working on for years, so we were agile enough to move quite quickly.'

Meanwhile, wholesale revenue rose by 18 per cent to £437.9million thanks to sturdy demand from the United States and the company's focus on having fewer relationships but with 'quality partners.'

Most of its shoe categories recorded decent growth levels as well, including its sandals collection and classic shoe brands like its 1460 boot, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020.

Rock 'n' roll: More famous for being a popular fashion accessory among mods, punks, and grunge bands, bootmaker Dr Martens had its initial public offering in January earlier this year

It also announced new sustainability targets today, such as having zero waste in its value chain going to landfill by 2028, becoming a net zero firm by the end of the decade and having all shoes made from 'sustainable materials' by 2040.

Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell, said: 'While the aim is to increase web-based sales further in the future, some people will want to try their shoes and boots on first before buying, which could be an obstacle to these efforts.

'There may be some disappointment that, despite a robust sales performance, the outlook given by Dr Martens has remained unchanged. Newly listed firms often set the bar low on guidance so they can clear it early in their life as a public company.

'The company continues to push a strategy of increasing the amount of product it sells direct to consumers, something a lot of major brands are targeting as it gives them greater control over the way it engages with customers.'

From a German doctor to punks and rockers: How Dr Martens became THE iconic British boot

By Harriet Johnston for MailOnline

Klaus Märtens was a doctor in the German army during World War II. While on leave in 1945, he injured his ankle while skiing in the Bavarian Alps.

He found that his standard-issue army boots were too uncomfortable on his injured foot.

While recuperating, he designed improvements to the boots, with soft leather and air-padded soles made of tyres.

When the war ended and some Germans recovered valuables from their own cities, Märtens took leather from a cobbler's shop. With that leather he made himself a pair of boots with air-cushioned soles.


By the later 1960s, skinheads started to wear them, 'Docs' or 'DMs' being the usual naming

Märtens did not have much success selling his shoes until he met up with an old university friend, Herbert Funck, a Luxembourger, in Munich in 1947.

Funck was intrigued by the new shoe design, and the two went into business that year in Seeshaupt, Germany, using discarded rubber from Luftwaffe airfields.

The comfortable soles were a big hit with housewives, with 80% of sales in the first decade to women over the age of 40.

By the late 1970s, they were popular among punks, musicians and members of other youth groups (pictured Ian Dury in the shoes)

Sales had grown so much by 1952 that they opened a factory in Munich. In 1959, the company had grown large enough that Märtens and Funck looked at marketing the footwear internationally.

Almost immediately, British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group Ltd. bought rights to manufacture the shoes in the United Kingdom.

Griggs anglicised the name to 'Dr Martens', slightly re-shaped the heel to make them fit better, added the trademark yellow stitching, and trademarked the soles as AirWair.

By the later 1960s, skinheads started to wear them, 'Docs' or 'DMs' being the usual naming, and by the late 1970s, they were popular among punks, musicians and members of other youth groups.

The boots and shoes became increasingly popular in the 1990s as grunge fashion arose.

In 2003 the Dr Martens company came close to bankruptcy. On 1 April that year, under pressure from declining sales, the company ceased making shoes in the United Kingdom, and moved all production to China and Thailand. Five factories and two shops were closed in the UK, and more than 1,000 of the firm's employees lost their jobs.

Following the closures, the R. Griggs company employed only 20 people in the UK, all in the firm's head office.

Five million pairs of Dr Martens were sold during 2003, which was half the 1990s level of sales.

In 2004 a new range of Dr Martens was launched in an attempt to appeal to a wider market, and especially young people.

The boots and shoes became increasingly popular in the 1990s as grunge fashion arose. (pictured, the band Madness wearing the boots)

The shoes and boots were intended to be more comfortable, and easier to break in, and included some new design elements.

Worldwide sales of Dr Martens shoes grew strongly in the early 2010s, and in 2012 it was the eighth-fastest-growing British company.

In 2018 ten million pairs of Dr Martens shoes were produced, only one percent in the UK and in 2019, Dr Martens announced plans to double the production of shoes and boots in the UK, to 165,000 pairs annually in 2020.

The boots have a trademark yellow stitching which was added by the British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group

Cargill and Nestlé welcome US Supreme court ruling rejecting Ivory Coast child slavery case



Posted: 17 June 2021

Cargill and Nestlé have welcomed a landmark US Supreme Court ruling in favour of the two major companies, rejecting a claim of child slavery within Ivory Coast cocoa farms, reports Neill Barston.

According to Reuters, the decision was an 8-1 result in favour of the businesses in a high-profile case brought on behalf of former child slaves from Mali, who had reportedly originally put their case forward in 2005.

The hearing was told that their claim was not possible under the US legal frameworks that have enabled non citizens to bring legal action within American courts.

As previously covered by Confectionery Production, the strongly disputed court case had been brought on the basis of allegations that the two corporations had failed to take a duty of care to those working within the supply chain.

Speaking following the court decision, a Nestlé spokesperson strongly refuted the case, and believed that the right verdict had been reached.

He said: “Child labor is unacceptable. That is why we are working so hard to prevent it. Today, all nine Supreme Court Justices unanimously agreed there is no basis for this lawsuit to proceed against Nestlé. Nestlé never engaged in the egregious child labor alleged in this suit, and we remain unwavering in our dedication to ending child labor in the cocoa industry and to our ongoing work with partners in government, NGOs and industry to tackle this complex, global issue.

“Access to education, modernising farming methods, and improving livelihoods are crucial to combatting child labor in cocoa production. Addressing the root causes of child labor is part of the Nestlé Cocoa Plan and will continue to be the focus of our efforts in the future.”

Similarly, Cargill was also firm in its belief that the case reached the correct decision, but added that there remained significant work to be done on the issue.

“The Supreme Court’s ruling today affirms Cargill’s analysis of the law and confirms this suit has no basis to proceed. Regardless, Cargill’s work to keep child labor out of the cocoa supply chain is unwavering. We do not tolerate the use of child labor in our operations or supply chains and we are working every day to prevent it. We will continue to focus on the root causes, including poverty and lack of education access. Our mission is to drive long-lasting change in cocoa communities and to lift up the families that rely on cocoa for their income. This is part of Cargill’s Cocoa Promise, which guides all of our work and reinforces our commitment to a sustainable cocoa sector into the future.

 

Developing countries pay steep economic & health costs because of high car air pollution

Some of the world's most vulnerable cities suffer disproportionate economic losses because of the health consequences of in-car air pollution, finds a new study.

UNIVERSITY OF SURREY

Research News

 

In an international study published by the journal Environment International, the University of Surrey led an international team of air pollution experts in monitoring pollution hotspots in 10 global cities: Dhaka (Bangladesh); São Paulo (Brazil); Guangzhou (China); Medellín (Colombia); Cairo (Egypt); Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Chennai (India); Sulaymaniyah (Iraq); Blantyre (Malawi); and Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania).

Surrey's Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) set out to investigate whether the amount of fine air pollution particles (PM2.5) drivers inhaled is connected to the duration drivers spend in pollution hotspots and socio-economic indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP).

Across all the cities in the study, researchers found that drivers only needed to spend a short amount of time in high-pollution hotspots to inhale a significant amount of PM2.5 particles. For example, drivers in Guangzhou and Addis Ababa spent 26 and 28 per cent of their commute in hotspot areas, which contributed to 54 and 56 per cent of the total amount of air pollution inhaled on their trip.

The researchers found that the cities where drivers were exposed to the highest levels of PM2.5 pollution - Dar-es-Salaam, Blantyre and Dhaka - also experienced higher death rates per 100,000 commuting car population per year. The low PM2.5 levels in Medellín, São Paulo and Sulaymaniyah corresponded with very low death rates.

The international study assessed economic losses by measuring a city's death rate caused by PM2.5 car exposure against its GDP per capita. It found that, for most cities, lower GDP linked directly to more significant economic losses caused by in-car PM2.5 exposure - with Cairo and Dar-es-Salaam being impacted the most (losses of 8.9 and 10.2 million US dollars per year, respectively).

The team also found that, except for Guangzhou, cities with higher GDP per capita have less hotspot areas during an average route trip, thus decreasing the risk to drivers.

Professor Prashant Kumar, Principal Investigator of CArE-Cities Project, Associate Dean (International) and Founding Director of GCARE at the University of Surrey, said: "Our global collaborative project has confirmed that air pollution disproportionately affects developing countries. Many countries are caught in a vicious cycle where their low GDP leads to higher pollution exposure rate for drivers, which leads to poorer health outcomes, which further damages the economy of those cities. This is discouraging news - but it should galvanise the international community to find and deploy measures that mitigate the health risks faced by the world's most vulnerable drivers."

Professor Shi-Jie Cao, a collaborative partner from the Southeast University, said: "If we are ever to make a world where clean air is available to all, it will take a truly global collaborative effort - such as CArE-Cities. We hope to continue to work closely with Surrey and other global partners, sharing knowledge and expertise that will make a cleaner future a reality."

Professor Adamson Muula, a collaborative partner from formerly University of Malawi and now Head of Public Health at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS), said: "If developing countries are to not be left behind in the struggle against air pollution and climate change, it is important that we build the capacity and knowledge to gather on-the-ground data. This project is a small but a significant step in the right direction for Malawians; a direction which will lead to better decisions and cleaner air for Malawi."

###

Note to editors

The study was part of the Clean Air Engineering for Cities (CArE-Cities) project and builds upon our previous work around car exposure. CArE-Cities is a seed funding project awarded by the University of Surrey under the Research England's Global Challenge Research Funds. CArE-Cities involves 11 Development Assistance Committee (DAC) listed countries and aspires to bring cleaner air to cities by building a knowledge exchange platform. Its activities include joint workshops, researchers exchange and pilot studies to address urban development and health impact assessment agendas in ODA countries.

Reference

Kumar, P., Hama, S., Abbass, R. A., Nogueira, T., Brand, V. S., Abhijith, K. V., de Fatima Andrade, M., Asfaw, A., Aziz, K. H., Cao, S. J., El-Gendy, A., Khare, M., Muula, A. S., Nagendra, S. M. S., Ngowi, A. V., Omer, K., Olaya, Y., Salam, A., 2021. Potential health risks due to in-car aerosol exposure across ten global cities. Environment International 155, 106688. Online link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106688

 

Can biodegradable polymers live up to the hype?

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY

 

As consumers and corporations alike become more environmentally conscious, the chemical industry is working to find solutions to the plastic waste crisis. One idea is to use biodegradable polymers known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) as replacements for traditional plastic packaging and other materials. A feature article in Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, explores the possibilities and pitfalls of PHA.

PHA is not a new human invention; this class of polymers can be found in nature and is used to store cellular energy, writes Senior Editor Alex Tullo. Commercially, it is manufactured through the industrial fermentation of sugars or lipids. As cities around the world ban single-use plastic products, such as straws and bags, companies are working to commercialize PHA as a viable alternative. The main selling point is rapid biodegradability in a variety of environments. Demand has increased for PHA in recent years, with several companies opening or planning commercial plants in the U.S. and beyond. In addition, major food and beverage brands are planning to switch their packaging to PHA-based materials soon.

Despite its much-touted promise, there's reason to believe PHA might be too good to be true. Several companies have tried and failed to bring it to market in recent years, and PHA is much more expensive than its traditional plastic counterparts. Beyond that, some experts have published findings saying the biodegradability of PHA is overstated, and that the rapid degradation time is based on optimized laboratory conditions rather than real-world ones. However, PHA's boosters say that it's still a better alternative to non-biodegradable plastics, and that the industry may be on the cusp of a breakthrough.

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The article, "Will the biodegradable plastic PHA finally deliver?," is freely available here.

The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world's scientific knowledge. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.