What’s Cool and What’s Hot Around the Globe

New ideas and new opportunities including: sustainable fuel from waste plant matter, using enzyme technology; plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources; developing technology to produce fuel from inedible biomass such as grass and wood chips; schoolchildren examining water quality and purification and plotting their results throughout the year on a global map.

AAP/Herald Sun (17 March 2011):

UNIVERSITIES in Australia and Britain have announced an $8.3 million program to develop sustainable fuel from waste plant matter, using enzyme technology.

“As oil supplies decline and petrol prices soar, alternatives such as biofuels could become economically very attractive,” Dr Alex Womhas, a director at the CSIRO, said.

The collaboration brings together the CSIRO, the Australian National University, RMIT University, the University of Queensland and the University of Manchester.

Source: www.heraldsun.com.au

Plant-based bottle created Chicago

Sydney Morning Herald (17 March 2011):

 PepsiCo says it has invented the world’s first plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based, fully renewable resources.

Down to the molecular level, it is a clone of today’s plastic bottles, made with the resin polyethylene terephthalate.

The biggest difference is that manufacturing the bottle requires the use of no petroleum. Instead, it is made from such renewable materials as switch grass, pine bark and corn husks (right).

The company expects to use other materials, such as orange peel, potato peel, oat hulls and other agricultural byproducts from its own food businesses, which includes the Frito-Lay, Tropicana and Quaker brands.

Source: www.smh.com.au

Reuters (19 March 2011):

The venture capital arm of Google Inc has invested in a start-up that is developing technology to produce fuel from inedible biomass such as grass and wood chips.

The process, deployed by CoolPlanetBiofuels, also produces a byproduct that can capture carbon and also be added to soil to improve crop yields, leading to what Google Ventures described as a “negative carbon fuel.”

“While we have made significant progress over the past couple of years, this new infusion of capital, coupled with the expertise of the Google Ventures team, enables our team to scale even faster,” Mike Cheiky, chief executive of Camarillo, California-based CoolPlanet, said in a statement on Thursday.

Google’s undisclosed amount of Series B funding follows a $42 million investment last month by Google and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla in a weather insurance start-up.

Also last month, Google Ventures invested in power-saving energy conversion technology firm Transphorm.

Source: www.sbs.com.au

Ninemsn (21 March 2011):

Australian school students will be the first to take part in the world’s largest-ever scientific experiment

The Global Water Experiment, announced on World Water Day last week, involves primary and high school students across the nation and throughout the world examining water quality and purification and plotting their results throughout the year on a global map.

The International Year of Chemistry 2011 activity is called Water: A Chemical Solution and will be conducted under a partnership between the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

Schoolchildren around the world will be involved in measuring the pH of the planet, assessing salty waters, participating in a Solar Still Challenge and studying clean and dirty water.

The experiment will be launched internationally in Brisbane on Monday morning, with experiments commencing simultaneously across Australia.

Source: www.news.ninemsn.com.au