In Minnesota, TetraKO, maker of a cornstarch based fire suppressant, reports that Technology Council of the International Association of Fire Chiefs have published a white paper on their product. Based on two days of testing, the fire knockdown tests demonstrated that TetraKO yielded a significant advantage over water and foam.TetraKO is also the first fire suppression product to earn the EPA’s Design for the Environment program recognition under the new Industrial/Institutional product category “Fire Fighting Product”, satisfying the need for a highly effective, and environmentally safe fire suppression alternative.

Corn-starch based fire suppressant wins OK from fire chiefs

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# 2. Monomers Produced by Bacteria for Polymerization * Hydroxyalkanoic Acids * d- and l-Lactic Acid * Succinic Acid * 1,4-Butanediol * 1,3-Propanediol * Bioethylene * Biopropylene * Bioethylene Glycol and Bioaromatic Monomers for Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) and Its Mimics

# 3. Technologies for Polymerization of the Bio-Monomers * 3.1. Polymers Produced Completely by Biosynthesis Processes * 3.2. Polymers Produced Using at Least One Monomer from Bioprocessing o Polylactic Acid (PLA) o Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) o Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) o Polyethylene (PE) o Polypropylene (PP) o Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) o Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC)

# 4. Properties of the Bio-Based Polymers * 4.1. Thermal and Mechanical Properties * 4.2. Biodegradability and Biocompatibility

# 5. Environmental Assessment of Plastics Produced by Application of Biotechnology * 5.1. LCA Methodology and Specific Aspects Related to Bio-Based Carbon * 5.2. Results for NREU and GHG Emissions o Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) o Polylactic Acid (PLA) o Polyethylene (PE) o Polypropylene (PP) o Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) o Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) o Other Polymers

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cr200162d

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We present a solid-acid catalyzed one-pot method for the selective conversion of solid hemicellulose without its separation from other lignocellulosic components, such as cellulose and lignin. The reactions were carried out in aqueous and biphasic media to yield xylose, arabinose, and furfural. To overcome the drawbacks posed by mineral acid methods in converting hemicelllulose, we used heterogeneous catalysts that work at neutral pH. In a batch reactor, these heterogeneous catalysts, such as solid acids (zeolites, clays, metal oxides etc.), resulted in >90 % conversion of hemicellulose. It has been shown that the selectivity for the products can be tuned by changing the reaction conditions, for example, a reaction carried out in water at 170 °C for 1 h with HBeta (Si/Al=19) and HUSY (Si/Al=15) catalysts gave yields of 62 and 56 % for xylose and arabinose, respectively. With increased reaction time (6 h) and in presence of only water, HUSY resulted in yields of 30 % xylose + arabinose and 18 % furfural. However, in a biphasic reaction system (water + p-xylene, 170 °C, 6 h) yields of 56 % furfural with 17 % xylose+arabinose could be achieved. It was shown that with the addition of organic solvent the furfural yield could be increased from 18 to 56 %. Under optimized reaction conditions, >90 % carbon balance was observed. The study revealed that catalysts were recyclable with a 20 % drop in activity for each subsequent run. It was observed that temperature, pressure, reaction time, substrate to catalyst ratio, solvent, and so forth had an effect on product formation. The catalysts were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed desorption of NH3, inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and solid-state NMR (29Si, 27Al) spectroscopy techniques.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cssc.201100448

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1. Production of jet and diesel fuel range alkanes from waste hemicellulose-derived aqueous solutions
2. Chemical recycling of post-consumer polymer waste over fluidizing cracking catalysts for producing chemicals and hydrocarbon fuels

An energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) balance study was performed on the production of the bioplastic polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF) starting from corn based fructose…With an annual market size of approximately 15 million metric tonnes (Mt) of PET bottles produced worldwide, the complete bottle substitution of PEF for PET would allow us to save between 440 and 520 PJ of non-renewable energy use (NREU) and to reduce GHG emissions by 20 to 35 Mt of CO2 equivalents. If also substantial substitution takes place in the PET fibres and film industry, the savings increase accordingly. The GHG emissions could be further reduced by a switch to lignocellulosic feedstocks, such as straw, but this requires additional research.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C2EE02480B

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Glycerol carbonate is one the glycerol derivatives which attracts attention for industrial applications. This review compares strategies for its synthesis, and their analyses lead to the conclusion that (indirect) procedures starting from glycerol- and/or CO2-derivatives are the most attractive. These are described and compared, taking criteria of industrial feasibility into account. As a result, the transesterification of dimethyl carbonate or ethylene carbonate with glycerol using uncalcined CaO as catalyst appears to be currently the most suitable industrial process. Finally, potential applications of glycerol carbonate as a multifunctional compound are exemplified.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/op200369v

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1. New Promising and Cost Effective Pathway for Methane to Ethylene Catalyst Creation
2. ADM Adds Isosorbide, Green Alternative to Bisphenol A, to its Industrial Chemical Product Line

In its monolayer form, graphene is a one-atom-thick two-dimensional material with excellent electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties. Large-scale production of high-quality graphene is attracting an increasing amount of attention. Chemical vapor and solid deposition methods have been developed to grow graphene from organic gases or solid carbon sources. Most of the carbon sources used were purified chemicals that could be expensive for mass production. In this work, we have developed a less expensive approach using six easily obtained, low or negatively valued raw carbon-containing materials used without prepurification (cookies, chocolate, grass, plastics, roaches, and dog feces) to grow graphene directly on the backside of a Cu foil at 1050 °C under H2/Ar flow. The nonvolatile pyrolyzed species were easily removed by etching away the frontside of the Cu. Analysis by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy indicates that the monolayer graphene derived from these carbon sources is of high quality.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/nn202625c

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