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Tag: Algae

Pleasant extract

Sustainable toilet paper made from oranges and aloe vera is helping to seed flowers. Meanwhile sanitary towels and pantyliners can be manufactured using banana fibres. And now, a female-led startup in Berlin is making nappy liners and tampons from seaweed. Dried brown algae is ground into powder and an off-white substance extracted from it. It is free from heavy...

Minimising mix

Waste from breweries is a breeding ground for sustainable livestock feed. But the methane produced by these animals during the digestive process has a significant impact on the environment. For a female-led startup in Hawaii, however, the solution lies in a particular species of red algae called Asparagopsis taxiformis (instead of kangaroo babies). According to tests conducted on livestock,...

Colourful salvation

Seaweed can be used as a fire retardant. In Berlin, meanwhile, a female designer has developed a thin algae-based film and coated it with a natural dye. The aim? To stop still edible food being wasted. Her film changes colour according to the pH value of what it’s covering, reacting upon contact with gases like ammonia, produced when fish...

Deepening freedom

Recycled glass is saving beaches from erosion; while a remote-controlled buoy could rescue those in peril at sea. Seaweed’s high CO2 uptake means that it is contributing significantly to climate rescue. Still, Sargassum, a brown algae that spreads rapidly (see the 5,000 mile long slick in the Atlantic) has unwanted side effects. It deprives marine life of vital light...

Inked in

Fire retardants and soft drinks can help reduce CO2 levels. Why? Because they are made from algae. Now, a US startup is using the environmentally-friendly plant to produce organic, black printing ink. The algae is grown using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide from air. First, the natural blue pigment phycocyanin is extracted for use in food. Applying a process...

Natural winner

Documenting fish stocks makes commercial fishing more sustainable. But certain organisms such as fast-growing algae create havoc for aquatic ecosystems. They deprive fish of their basis for life. Water fleas feed on algae, however, and thus have a positive impact on the natural order of things. Selecting four different genotypes of water flea, a female student from Canada examined...

Refreshing cycle

Artificial intelligence has helped create new kinds of beer. The brewing process could be more sustainable. Now, a Dutch startup has developed a blue drink that won’t make you feel blue the morning after. The new lemonade is made from Spirulina, an algae that is rich in Vitamins C and B2, as well as calcium, iron, magnesium and chlorophyll....

Coating’s new flame

They really can do everything: algae. We’ve seen them as plastic alternatives, vegan shrimp, even as a new kind of burger. Now comes an ecological fire retardant made from seaweed. As part of a recent competition, two students at Waterloo University, Canada, set about trying to extract biopolymers from algae. The biopolymers’ natural fire-resistant properties were strengthened by the...

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