Other innovations and discoveries
useful for our planet!
bioMASON
bioMASON offers the lowest carbon footprint cement in the form of tiles (more than 99% less). Their concrete tiles are available for interior and exterior applications.
Their prefabricated materials come from a mixture between an aggregate and microorganisms present in a solution. These tiles respect the physical properties required by ASTM for compressive strength, absorption, freeze-thaw and adhesion …
Advantages: these tiles are lighter than natural stone, their performance exceeds that of traditional materials and their raw materials are easily available waste.
IPPO (isotactic polypropylene oxide)
Fishing nets and ropes are currently made from three types of polymers: isotactic polypropylene, high density polyethylene and nylon 6,6, none of which degrade easily.
Cornell chemists developed isotactic polypropylene oxide. This new polymer has the particularity of combining sufficient strength for commercial fishing gear and degradation under ultraviolet. It could be used in fishing nets to avoid ghost nets.
Hempcrete (hempime or hemp concrete)
The Hempcrete is a hemp-based bio-composite. It is used as a building and insulation material. This hemp concrete is easy to work with: light, insulating and moisture regulating. It has been used in France since the early 1990s.
Being composed of plants, these absorb CO2 from the atmosphere during their growth, which effectively reduces the carbon footprint of your home.
IoT solution, micro-plastic filter
IoT solution is a micro-plastic filter for your washing machine. These microplastic filters are capable of filtering 90% of microfibers.
The filter is also connected to an application that allows users to check the status of the filter and make the data available to water boards.
Larva Galleria
Highlighted by scientist Federica Bertocchini larva Galleria mellonella is able to degrade polypropylene, at the base of plastic bags, which pollute the oceans.
Usually marketed as fishing bait, it could mark a real turning point in the fight against plastic pollution, The challenge now is to identify the molecular process responsible for the degradation of plastic and determine how to isolate it responsible enzyme, to then be able to produce it on an industrial scale.
The enzym that destroys plastic
Like the discovery of the Galleria mellonella larvae that can degrade polypropylene, American and British scientists have developed an enzyme (PETase) that can destroy plastic in record time.
It is by working on a bacterium discovered in Japan a few years ago, Ideonella sakaiensis, (which feeds only on a type of plastic, polyterephthalate ethylene) that their experiments have led to a much more effective than the naturally occurring PETase in this bacteria.
The closed loop shower
A shower lasting four to five minutes consumes 30 to 80 liters and a bath of 150 to 200 liters. Sweden’s Mehrdad Mahdjoubi has created a self-sufficient shower that recycles water.
It is by joining NASA and its program “Journey to Mars” that the designer then thought of this innovation: a shower capable of making significant water savings. The “Oas” shower, – with the Swedish name meaning “oasis” – was born.
Oleo Sponge
Invented in 2017 by the Argonne National Laboratory in the USA, Oleo Sponge is a sponge capable of absorbing oil on the surface of the ocean, without loss, and without holding water.
This sponge could serve to limit the spread of oil spills, but also to clean the ports.
Do you know other innovations or discoveries to add to this list?
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