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Category: News

Increasing circularity for organic waste to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Kat Gilmore on April 21, 2022

Organic waste. (Getty Images)
Organic waste. (Getty Images)

Walmart Foundation grant to UGA New Materials Institute will yield scalable strategies

Improving the circular systems related to collection, recovery and management of organic waste will help local communities lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the accumulation of food-contaminated packaging in their landfills. There is a growing need for new strategies to strengthen management in this waste category, as more localities ban food waste from landfills and/or extend producer responsibility for waste management to manufacturers, particularly for packaging.

Walmart.org logo

Researchers at the University of Georgia’s New Materials Institute will help their hometown and five other U.S. communities improve organic-waste management practices through a 2-year project funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Walmart Foundation. The research will yield organic-waste management strategies that communities can adopt and scale, based on their population and resources. Organic waste includes food scraps and food-soiled packaging, as well as yard waste.

Diverting food waste from landfills to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions is a high priority for the U.S. government, but local communities tasked with managing this waste stream currently lack the infrastructure and strategies needed to make improvements. To elicit current practices and conditions, the team will first conduct surveys and interviews with stakeholders in waste management, restaurant and business communities, as well as residents from apartments and single-family homes. For granular solutions that can be modeled for a variety of community sizes, the team will partner with two towns in each of three population densities: 400,000 and up, about 100,000, and under 40,000.

Utilizing the Circularity Assessment Protocol (CAP), developed at the New Materials Institute, the team will gain insight into local tipping fees, the types of waste management technologies used in a community, their associated costs and their availability to consumers. The CAP will also yield data on the most commonly used products in communities, local recycling trends and other consumer behaviors related to waste management. This assessment helps identify what type of waste leaks into local environments and why, and facilitates development of strategies to minimize leakage.

“We will investigate the root causes of landfilled organics in these communities to identify the collection gaps. The data will also drive our design of organics-waste collection technologies to address the gaps we find and accelerate the diversion of this waste,” said Evan White, a co-principal investigator on the project and director of the Institute’s Bioseniatic Laboratory, which studies degradation in simulated environments.

The second part of their project will focus on deploying and testing these safe, sanitary organic-waste collection technologies—bins that vary in size, complexity and operation, based on local needs. The researchers will also conduct workshops to help educate people on composting and better waste-management practices.

In the U.S., more food waste is landfilled than any other material. It makes up more than 24% of the municipal solid waste stream and is the nation’s third-largest generator of methane gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. By diverting landfill-bound food waste to composting sites, individuals can curb their own carbon footprint.

Currently four states—Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts and California—have passed legislation aimed at diverting food waste from landfills in order to lower GHG emissions. Maine and Oregon passed extended producer responsibility laws for packaging in 2021, and at least six states are considering similar legislation for their 2022 sessions.

Other principal investigators on the project include Jenna Jambeck, the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering and lead of the Circularity Informatics Lab in the New Materials Institute; Jason Locklin, director of the New Materials Institute, a Distinguished Faculty Scholar in the College of Engineering and professor of chemistry; and Branson W. Ritchie, a Distinguished Research Professor who is director of technology development and implementation for the institute and of the Infectious Diseases Laboratory.

Writer/Contact: Kat Yancey Gilmore, 706/542-6316, kygilmor@uga.edu

UGA New Materials Institute to conduct 6 projects for industry consortium

Kat Gilmore on January 10, 2022

Logo for CB2

The University of Georgia New Materials Institute will pursue six sustainably-related research projects in 2022 that were recently funded by the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites’ Industry Advisory Board.

The project selections were finalized at the annual Fall Meeting of the IAB. The meeting was held virtually and attended by representatives from all four university research sites for CB2: UGA, Washington State University, Iowa State University, and North Dakota State University. CB2 is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation. The research cooperative was recently granted a Phase II award.

The IAB voted to renew funding for “Investigation of the Marine Degradability of Polymers of Interest to IAB Members,” which launched in early 2021 under the direction of Dr. Branson W. Ritchie, a Distinguished Research Professor who leads the UGA Infectious Diseases Laboratory and heads Technology Development and Implementation for the New Materials Institute.

The Projects

Three new projects funded for 2022 will be conducted solely by the New Materials Institute faculty and students, along with mentors from industry; two others will be conducted jointly by UGA and Iowa State University, with the project mentors from industry. “Soybean-Derived Thermoplastics for Improved Bioplastic Performance” will be co-led by Jason Locklin, director of the New Materials Institute and CB2 site director for UGA, and Eric Cochran, CB2 site director for ISU.

The 2022 projects are:

Bio-Based Coatings for High-Performance Flexible Paper Packaging Application

Exploration of the Enzymatic Hydrolysis of PLA-based Polyester Blends Using Embedded Enzymes

Hemicellulose Derived Commodity Chemicals for Packaging and Coating Applications

Soybean-Derived Thermoplastics for Improved Bioplastic Performance

Little-Known Nylon: Nylon 59 Properties

  • Locklin, UGA
  • Cochran, ISU

About CB2

CB2’s IAB meets twice a year to review progress on current projects and, to pitch and assess proposals. IAB members share in the research and development costs, as well as in the intellectual property; additionally, IAB representatives work directly with university faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students to develop technologies that can be rapidly adopted by industry. The program provides hands-on training while ensuring funds and projects are focused on rapid development of tools needed by industry to further sustainability goals. Students and university researchers work under the mentorship of industry scientists and product developers from some of the biggest names in industry: Amazon, Ford, John Deere, ADM, Kimberly-Clark, 3M, BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sherwin-Williams, AkzoNobel,Danimer Scientific, NatureWorks, RWDC Industries, and Avery Dennison, among others. Projects are funded through IAB membership fees, with Center/Site support funding provided by the NSF.

For more information about CB2, visit https://cb2center.org/home.

UGA scientists find eco-friendly way to dye blue jeans

Kat Gilmore on September 21, 2021

Researchers from the University of Georgia developed a new indigo dyeing technology that’s kinder on the planet. The new technique reduces water usage and eliminates the toxic chemicals that make the dyeing process so environmentally damaging. And to top it off, the technology streamlines the process and secures more color than traditional methods.

“The textile industry is a classic example of an environmental polluter, and one of the major causes of pollution in the industry is coloration,” said Sergiy Minko, a corresponding author of the study and the Georgia Power Professor of Fiber and Polymer Science in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Originally, natural indigo was used to dye textiles. Introduced to the Colonies in the 1700s, indigo was an important cash crop for early America. But the discovery of a way to produce synthetic indigo almost entirely wiped the natural indigo market off the map.

Published in the journal Green Chemistry, the new method of dyeing uses natural indigo (though the streamlined process could also use synthetic) and completely eliminates the use of harmful chemicals used in conventional methods. It also requires only one coat of the indigo to secure over 90% of the color, significantly reducing the amount of water needed to dye the fabric.

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PHA-based microbeads biologically degrade in wastewater treatment facilities

Kat Gilmore on September 7, 2021


A diverse ecosystem of microinvertebrates and -fauna was witnessed by researchers at the UGA New Materials Institute during recent field and laboratory studies to evaluate the degradation of cosmetic microbeads made from a polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, polymer developed at the Institute. In the upper-right corner of this video, you can see a reddish-colored worm, or nematode. Smaller organisms are seen moving elsewhere within the microbeads and wastewater. As these organisms consume the carbon-based material, their digestive and metabolic processes degrade the microbeads ultimately into CO2. Microbeads in this study degraded in 15 weeks in laboratory conditions, and 13 weeks in field conditions, resulting in no micronized plastic particles. This video (magnified at 4X) was captured on day 62 of the respirometry studies conducted in the Bioseniatic℠ Laboratory.

Technology developed by the UGA New Materials Institute

Manufacturers of single-use personal care items—like body washes, toothpastes, cosmetics and wipes—that have historically contained environmentally-persistent abrasives can utilize a new drop-in technology with confidence that the new materials will biologically degrade in wastewater conditions, resulting in no micronized plastics. In a first-of-its kind study, research from the University of Georgia New Materials Institute demonstrates that cosmetic microbeads made from a naturally derived polymer—polyhydroxyalkanoates, or PHAs—developed by researchers at the Institute reached complete biological degradation in 15 weeks or less in municipal wastewater.

The study is the first to cross-examine the biological degradation of PHA materials in both a field and laboratory setting. The microbeads reached 90% conversion to carbon dioxide after 15 weeks in controlled laboratory studies when compared to the cellulose control, indicating complete degradation of the microbead product within the time limit set for the study. In field tests, the microbeads degraded in 13 weeks.

“Numerous and diverse types of invertebrates and microfauna were observed inhabiting the microbead environment, suggesting the PHA microbeads supported healthy microbial biomass production as organisms consumed the microbeads,” said Evan White, first author on the study and director of the Institute’s Bioseniatic℠ Laboratory. “Most of the carbon from the microbead metabolized to CO2, and some was converted into the bodies of organisms in this vibrant ecosystem which can be seen in supporting microscopy videos.”

PHA microbeads day 6 of respirometry study.
A red nematode can be seen in the microscopic images captured on days 6 (above) and 37 (below) of laboratory studies. Nematodes were among a diverse ecosystem of microinvertebrates and -fauna witnessed by researchers at the UGA New Materials Institute during recent field and laboratory studies to evaluate the degradation of cosmetic microbeads made from a polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA, polymer developed at the Institute.
PHA microbeads day 37 of respirometry study.

Historically, personal care items made from environmentally-persistent materials have led to millions of micronized plastic particles escaping into the environment—daily—from wastewater reclamation facilities of varying age, technologies and filtration standards. This accumulation of plastic particles in sewage systems results in increased maintenance costs and system downtime, as well as costly capital improvements to wastewater infrastructure. Globally, the discharge of these micronized plastics into our streams and oceans has led to localized and regional bans on plastic microbeads, including in the United States in 2015.

In their study, the UGA-led research team said that PHA-based compostable materials are a better choice for manufacturers to use in products that are likely to end up in wastewater. Sewage sludge, said the authors, is naturally rich in microorganisms that have evolved to secrete enzymes that digest PHAs, a class of naturally derived polyesters.

PHA microbeads day 1 of respirometry study.
Digital microscopy of microbead biological degradation, from slide samples, under controlled respirometry. These images were taken on day 1 and day 63 of the studies. By day 63, the microbeads appear to have been reduced to a translucent shell.
PHA microbeads day 63 of respirometry study.

The researchers used field and laboratory settings to compare the degradation rates of PHA microbeads, PHA films and polylactide (PLA) films to cellulose controls. Field testing was conducted in a controlled setting at an operational wastewater reclamation facility in Athens, Georgia, with samples withdrawn over 13 weeks during the spring of 2019. Pulled samples were analyzed by Raman microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis/mass spectroscopy (TGA/MS), combined with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine biological degradation outcomes of the microbeads. To validate results from the field testing, activated sludge from this facility was used as inoculum for controlled respirometry studies in the Institute’s Bioseniatic℠ Laboratory.

These analytical methods are complementary, for a thorough review of the biological degradation of PHA materials, the authors noted. Respirometry provides a precise chemical signature of biological degradation of the microbeads to CO2; Raman microscopy measures PHA disappearance over time using spectroscopy; TGA/MS-DSC measures the polymer disappearance via a chemically specific thermal degradation product and correlative thermal transitions associated with PHA.

This is the first study to document biological degradation of PHAs in laboratory and field conditions using the final form of a product intended for commercial use. The microbeads tested are the first product tested to meet the Institute’s rigid Bioseniatic™ criteria, which includes respirometry to document microbial digestion; field degradation testing of the product; and absence of detectable micronized particles at the end of complete biological digestion in a respirometer, said White.

“Comparative Study of the Biological Degradation of Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate-co-3-Hydroxyhexanoate) Microbeads in Municipal Wastewater in Environmental and Controlled Laboratory Conditions” was published by Environmental Science & Technology on Aug. 12, 2021. Co-authors on the study are Jessica Horn, Shunli Wang, Benjamin Crawford, Branson W. Ritchie, Daniel Carraway and Jason Locklin. RWDC Industries supplied the microbeads and PHA films. Funding for this work was provided by the RWDC Environmental Stewardship Foundation and the Walmart Foundation.

New composite material has potential for medical use

Kat Gilmore on July 26, 2021

Professor Gajanan Bhat holds an elastic non woven material inside his lab at Riverbend Research Labs North.

University of Georgia researchers have developed a new material with properties ideal for medical products such as masks and bandages. It’s also better for the environment than the materials in current use.

Using nonwoven fabrics—fabrics produced by bonding fiber without weaving or knitting—the team led by Gajanan Bhat was able to make composite materials that are stretchable, breathable and absorbent, properties ideal for medical products. Incorporating cotton also makes the resulting material comfortable on the skin (an important factor in medical applications) and easier to compost, hence more sustainable compared to similar products currently in the market.

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CB2 looks forward: Membership growth, expanded research scope, greater opportunity

Kat Gilmore on May 21, 2021

Logo for CB2

Current project updates, seed concept pitches for 2022, and the future direction of the Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites were all in focus as the Center, an Industry & University Cooperative Research Center funded by the National Science Foundation, held its virtual spring Industry Advisory Board meeting in May. The UGA New Materials Institute serves as one of four university research sites for CB2, along with Washington State University, Iowa State University, and North Dakota State University.

CB2 leadership told members they currently await approval on a grant proposal, submitted late fall to the NSF, to elevate all four sites and the Center to a Phase II research cooperative. A Phase II IUCRC requires a larger industry consortium, which will yield a wider range of projects for annual consideration, thereby increasing opportunities for researchers and students, along with the output of shared intellectual property benefitting IAB member companies. CB2 expects an answer from the NSF later this spring.

Experiential learning

For students, CB2 opens doors to research experiences, professional mentorships, and potentially future jobs, working in collaboration with scientists and product developers from some of the biggest names in industry: Amazon, Ford, John Deere, ADM, Kimberly-Clark, 3M, BASF, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sherwin-Williams, AkzoNobel,Danimer Scientific, NatureWorks, RWDC Industries, and Avery Dennison, among others. When funded as a Phase II IUCRC, CB2 will expand its scope to include recycling/circularity and end-of-life scenarios for materials—both research strengths at the UGA New Materials Institute. Industry’s need to resolve problems in recycling streams and to increase circularity in their material supply chains was reflected in some of the projects pitched by IAB members.

Overall, 14 seed concepts were pitched and will be further defined through the coming weeks by IAB members and researchers. The IAB will vote this fall on what projects to fund for 2022. The seed concepts range from exploring new materials for coatings, packaging and textiles; to characterizing the properties of new polymer sources to gain a better understanding of potential applications for these materials; to improving the quality of materials that enter recycling streams by reducing contamination, and through better screening of the materials in these streams.

UGA project updates

In updates on existing projects, UGA researchers again got good feedback from IAB members on the progress made thus far and the plans toward completion of their projects, which are:

“Unlocking the Potential of Bidegradable Xylan-based Polymer Materials,” led by Breanna Urbanowicz, an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, who researches the structure and functionality of plant carbohydrate active enzymes. The first two years of this project were dedicated to exploring the potential of xylans, and later mannans, and the best routes to functionalize these polymers.  Now in year 3, the team is exploring catalysts, investigating functionalization for upstream and downstream uses, and continuing to build its saccharide library. Xylans and mannans are two of the most abundant polymers in nature and in agricultural waste streams.

“Investigating the Enzymatic Degradability of Glycolic-Urethane Linkages,” led by Evan White, an assistant research scientist and director of the New Material Institute’s Bioseniatic℠ Laboratory. This project, in its second year, aims to develop a rapid screening assay to evaluate materials for their ability to be deconstructed by enzymes at the end of their useful life, which may analyze hundreds of candidate materials compared to selective and time intensive in vitro testing such as respirometry or disintegration. White’s team has honed a test to provide reliable data within 8 hours. The team will validate the rapid screening assay with concomitant analyses such as respirometry, and aims to publish the analytical method to help expedite the discovery of new compostable materials.

“Life Cycle Assessment Tool for Sustainable Bio-based Coating Material Design,” led by Ke Li, an associate professor based in the College of Engineering. This is the first LCA tool to be developed for CB2’s IAB. To date, results from LCAs have been contradictory for the environmental benefit of bio-based plastics, making it difficult for manufacturers to thoroughly evaluate a proposed material’s overall sustainability and compare it to the overall life cycles of other materials. In the early months of his project, Li identified factors that have historically contributed to uncertainty in LCAs of bio-based materials, and identified various hot spots for different bio-based products.  In the months ahead, he will develop an approach to quantify the uncertainty and collect the data accordingly to reduce the uncertainty of LCA and develop a streamline tool for industries of bio-based plastics.

“Investigation of the Marine Degradability of Polymers of Interest to IAB Members,” led by Dr. Branson W. Ritchie, a Distinguished Research Professor who leads the UGA Infectious Diseases Laboratory and heads Technology Development and Implementation for the New Materials Institute. This project will start in mid-year 2021 and involves both respirometry and field testing.

The UGA New Materials Institute’s participation as a research site for CB2 is supported by NSF Award #1841319.

Study: PBG-PLA blends are less brittle, degrade faster in industrial composting

Kat Gilmore on March 9, 2021

AFM image (3D height) of 15% PBG + 85% PLA, from UGA New Materials Institute.
AFM image (3D height) of 15% PBG + 85% PLA, courtesy of the Locklin Group at the UGA New Materials Institute.

Manufacturers that utilize polylactic acid (PLA) in products and packaging are well aware of the polymer’s drawbacks, including brittleness and slow degradation at end-of-life. Researchers the University of Georgia’s New Materials Institute have found a way to overcome these negatives of working with PLA, by blending the material with cost-effective poly(butylene glutarate) (PBG). The results of their new study offer manufacturers an alternative to utilizing petroleum-based additives that also improves upon the mechanical properties of PLA, and the PBG-PLA blends degrade at a faster rate in an industrial composting setting.

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What do you know about composting? Take UGA’s survey by March 31.

Kat Gilmore on February 19, 2021

Do you compost food or gardening waste? Do you know what compostable certification labels look like and what they mean when you see them on packaging? Regardless of your answers, if you live in the U.S., the University of Georgia’s New Materials Institute wants to know what you know about composting, and is asking members of the public to voluntarily complete a survey by March 31st.

“While access to municipal or private composting services is increasingly common in the U.S., public knowledge of how composting works and what people are composting is not well known,” said Jenna Jambeck, who is leading the research team conducting the survey. Jambeck is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor in Environmental Engineering, and co-founder of the UGA New Materials Institute. “Individual municipal programs may be able to track levels of participation in composting programs, but disposal of compostable packaging and compostable products has not been a focus of many past surveys of consumers.”

This survey seeks to understand consumer activities around composting, especially related to food waste and compostable food serviceware and packaging. It also seeks to gauge the level of consumer awareness of bio-based, biodegradable and compostable certification labels; disposal actions that consumers associate with those labels; and whether these certification labels influence consumer perception of consumer brands and products.

Members of the public should be able to complete the survey in less than 10 minutes, and can take it from their cell phone or other device connected to the internet. All responses will remain completely anonymous. The researchers request that only one individual from a household take the survey on behalf of the household. Data gathered may be used in research publications or presentations given by UGA researchers, students, or UGA’s research partners.

The deadline to complete the survey is March 31, 2021.

“Thank you to everyone who takes time to complete the survey. The data will help inform the design of materials before they become waste,” said Jambeck.

Click here to take the Composting survey

About the UGA New Materials Institute:

The UGA New Materials Institute is committed to preventing waste through the design of materials and systems that adhere to Green Engineering principles. The Institute partners with industry and businesses to design materials for their use that are bio-based, fully biodegradable, or completely recyclable, and safe for people, animals and our planet. In addition, it works with businesses and governments, foundations and other organizations to redesign systems so that they generate less waste and promote circularity in materials management. The New Materials Institute is also shaping the future by training the next generation of scientists and engineers on the importance of considering Green Engineering design principles in everything they do. For more information, visit newmaterials.uga.edu.