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3 Things You Need to Know About Bioproducts
Welcome back to my blog! Today I want to dive deeper into a term that you’ve probably seen in my previous posts and is something I’ve seen a lot in class this year. I want to discuss bioproducts, so I’ve prepared a brief overview of what I think are three really important things for you to know.
1. Bioproducts can be almost anything!
Bioproducts are any substances that come from renewable resources. Whether is be woody or herbaceous biomass, we can create an incredibly wide variety of things from living organisms. Corn in particular, is an incredibly effective source of bioproducts. Corn is all around us, whether it be in food, fuel, medicine, or products we use everyday. Through the process of biochemical conversion, we can transform corn into sugar, and then into nearly any bioprodcut you can imagine. Afterall, glucose is the key to making bioproducts: if we can seperate it from biomass, we can use it in many ways.
2. Biochemical conversion is the name of the game
Biochemical conversion involves biomass going through milling, pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolosis, fermentation and distillation. After the biomass has been milled (chopped up) the pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolosis remove the sugars from the biomass. Then comes fermentation: a crucial part of the process that involves a “host-organism” (enzymes, yeast, or bacteria) breaking down the lignocellulose or starch into sugar. The host-organism is chosen specifically based on how efficiently it can produce whatever bioproduct we are looking to make. It’s then finally distilled, meaning any excess or unwanted substances are removed.
3. Bioplastics: are they good or bad?
The last thing I want to talk about is one of the most noteworthy bioproducts out there: bioplastics. Plastic pollution is a huge problem that our earth faces, and I feel like everyone as a society is pretty much aware of the issue. What people might not be as familiar with, are some of the alternative materials that can be used in the place of plastic. It isn’t easy to say if bioplastics are flat-out good or bad. Although the name sounds promising, there are some crucial facts to keep in mind. For one, not all bioplastics are biodegradable. According to Yalakom, only around 37 percent of bioplastics are biodegradable, and bioplastics represent only one three-hundredth of all plastics in circulation. Another one of the reasons we have such a problem with plastic pollution isn’t due to the plastic itself- it’s due to our lack of recycling as a population. Bioplastics need to be recycled (as shown in the graph above this post), or else they simply become more trash in a landfill. Unfortunately, only 9 percent of the plastic in the United States is recycled (Lesson 20). With this much plastic evading the recycling process and going to landfills, even with the complete implementation of bioplastics, we wouldn’t necessarily have solved the problem. We need to change our recycling habits if we want to stop plastic pollution or stop consuming so much in general.
Thanks for reading as always!
Sources:
European Bioplastics: Mechanical Recycling: https://www.european-bioplastics.org/bioplastics/waste-management/recycling/
Oceans of Plastic: Three reasons why we shouldn’t produce more plastic than we need: https://yalakom.org/2015/10/02/reduce-plastic-production/
L18 Engineered Wood Products, BBE 1002, UMN:https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l18-crops-to-sugar?module_item_id=7497962
L19 Paper Products, BBE 1002, UMN: https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l19-fermentation?module_item_id=7497968
L 20 Is Wood Good?, BBE 1002, UMN: https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l20-bioplastics?module_item_id=7497974
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Wood: The Good, The Bad, and The Neutral
Wood is a resource that we use all the time. It appears everywhere around us, whether it be the furniture we sit in or the buildings we stand in. Despite our heavy reliance on wood, I feel like a lot of people have misconceptions about whether harvesting the material is helpful or harmful to the environment. A few weeks ago, I wasn’t so sure myself. But recently I have learned all about the process of using wood as a resource, and the effects it has (or doesn’t have) on our environment. In short, using wood can be good, bad, or neutral! Let’s talk about how.
To me, it seems like people sometimes push the narrative that “cutting down trees is harmful to the environment”. It’s true that trees are incredibly beneficial, but this is such a broad statement it doesn't really make sense. Wood can be much more sustainable and environmentally friendly than other materials. It all comes down to what the wood is being used for, and how it’s being harvested.
When we think about wood’s impact on the environment, it’s important to consider carbon emissions. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into biomass through the process of photosynthesis. This process is a good thing because it lowers our worldwide carbon emissions! But this is where another misconception can occur. This isn’t the end of the story. When a tree absorbs CO2, it isn’t permanent: the tree will eventually die or be chopped down, which will lead to the release of the carbon BACK into the atmosphere. Trees are carbon neutral. It isn’t really a matter of good or bad. Because of their neutrality, we need to factor in time. The more we can maximize the amount of time trees retain CO2, the better. That’s why forest fires are such a bad thing, they instantly release all the carbon dioxide stored in trees and we don’t get any resources in return, whereas when we use lumber for buildings, the carbon dioxide can be stored for up to 200 years.
This is one aspect of wood that I think is super cool: the construction potential. Although I don’t know very much about architecture, as a design major it’s always been something I’ve found super intriguing, and it appears that wooden buildings (even skyscrapers!) could be more prevalent in the future. According to architect Michael Green, steel and concrete account for “8 percent of our contribution to greenhouse gasses today”. Using wood for buildings as a substitute for these materials is a much more environmentally friendly solution, and it adds tremendous value to the lumber industry, making it more sustainable. See image in post above!
So that touches a bit on some good or neutral aspects of wood. You might be wondering about any bad sides to using wood. Well, there are plenty of negative impacts the environment can sustain when we make products from trees. Take paper as an example. If we look at a piece of paper’s entire life from cradle to grave, we can see that it can cause deforestation when the trees are cut down, pollution and carbon emissions when the pulp and paper are made at the paper mill, and of course waste at the end of its life. This is pretty concerning when you factor in statistics on how much we actually use paper. The printing website Toner Buzz reports that the average person in the U.S uses over 700 pounds of paper in a year.
Since the use of wood can vary in outcomes, I think it’s more important than ever to try to gain the best understanding possible of how this biorenewable resource can affect the environment. Hopefully, this post helped clear up any misconceptions any readers might have had or inspired you to dig deeper!
Sources:
L15 Engineered Wood Products, BBE 1002, UMN:
https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l15-engineered-wood-products?module_item_id=7497945
L16 Paper Products, BBE 1002, UMN:
https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l15-engineered-wood-products?module_item_id=7497945
L17 Is Wood Good?, BBE 1002, UMN: https://canvas.umn.edu/courses/289741/pages/l17-is-wood-good?module_item_id=7497955
Facts About Paper: How Paper Affects the Environment
https://www.tonerbuzz.com/facts-about-paper/
Image: https://www.upmtimber.com/whats-new/2019/09/the-rise-and-rise-of-timber/
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Stuff has to come from somewhere, even if it's biorenewable.
As I discussed in my last blog post, resources can be both renewable and non-renewable. One sub-category of renewable resources is biorenewable resources: resources that are obtained from living organisms. These resources are able to renew themselves quickly, but their consumption isn’t always sustainable, and there are a lot of different factors that go into the way that they are produced, extracted, and consumed.
A lot of the biorenewable resources we use are plants that come from forests, or farming. Plants grow through photosynthesis, the process in which they convert carbon dioxide and water into biomass. To maximize our resources, however, simply relying on natural plant growth isn’t always enough. Humans have taken matters into their own hands and have found ways to generate more biorenewable resources more efficiently, through methods such as fertilization, genetic modification, and more.
Through the past few weeks, I’ve learned a lot about forests, and have been really surprised to learn how not all forests are the same, and how forests are so crucial in the production of resources. I feel like we don’t always think about the fact that not all forests are natural. Over 34 percent of the United States is forest, and plantation forests make up about 10 percent of the forests in the country. (Check out the graph posted above)
These forests are man-made with the sole intention of maximizing wood production. They will probably be absolutely essential for wood production in the future, due to them being incredibly effective!
There are also downsides that come with plantation forests. In fact, forest maintenance in general can vary greatly in degrees of sustainability. Pesticides and fertilizers can be used on plantation forests, which greatly increases yield, but using pesticides can also be harmful as they can affect air and water quality.
It can be confusing when consuming products that come from biorenewable resources when trying to understand which ones are truly “green” and which aren’t as sustainable as they seem. That’s why environmental certification exists. There are multiple big organizations that certify the company's products as being sustainable. Forests are also certified by forest certification companies. The two main systems are the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). These organizations help certify plantation forests as being sustainable, but believe it or not, even a certification doesn’t always mean a product is sustainable. The SFI has actually caught a lot of attention and criticism for greenwashing and allowing pretty lax rules for what is okay when it comes to forest management. So it’s more important than ever to do thorough research as a consumer when buying pretty much any product.
I think it’s pretty interesting how there is such an economic side to biorenewable resources. I actually read that according to Boston Consulting Group, “The estimated total value of the world’s forests is as much as $150 trillion—nearly double the value of global stock markets”. At the end of the day we all want sustainability, but when it comes to the production of our most precious resources, some people prioritize money over what’s sustainable. Sometimes it’s unnecessary but other times, tough decisions need to be made regarding the balance between our consumption and our sustainability.
References:
Lesson 7 Plant Growth, BBE 1002, UMN
Lesson 8 Woody Biomass Production, BBE 1002, UMN
Lesson 9 Forest Trends, BBE 1002, UMN
Lesson 12 Environmental Certification, BBE 1002, UMN
The Staggering Value of Forests—and How to Save Them: https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/the-staggering-value-of-forests-and-how-to-save-them
Image from:https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation
Link to blog:
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Consumption, resources, and the environment: What you need to know
For all of my friends and family who are curious about what I’ve been learning in school, I’ve created this blog post to shine some light on what I’ve been learning lately, and hopefully get you familiarized with some concepts that I think are really important to understand. I’ve been learning all about how our consumption impacts the environment.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about what I consume on a daily basis. I feel like I’m a pretty frugal person, but when I started to add up everything I consumed in a day, I realized you don’t need to be swiping a credit card to be consuming. Whether it’s turning on a light switch, taking a shower, taking the bus, or eating some food, almost everything you do in a day has an impact on the environment. We are constantly consuming resources whether we realize it or not, and I think it’s critical to understand what types of resources there are.
Resources are either renewable or non-renewable. Non-renewable resources replenish themselves slowly over time if they even replenish at all. This category includes minerals and fossil fuels. Renewable resources are ones that regenerate quickly (or at least faster than a human lifetime). There is also a subcategory within the renewable resources category called bio-renewable resources. These are resources that come from living organisms, such as plants, animals, or algae.
Our population has grown, in fact, according to the University of Michigan, the U.S. population alone is expected to grow from 333 million in 2021 to 404 million by 2060. With this growth in population has come a growth in resource consumption. And no matter what type of resource is extracted, there is always at least some degree of environmental impact. Some of these impacts can be subtle, but a lot of our resource consumption is heavily factoring into climate change, which is a threat that is only getting worse. The graph I posted in the next post shows the rise of fossil CO2 emissions worldwide.
With the entire world burning through so many resources, it can be daunting as an individual to try and think about what you can do to stop global warming. The answer is actually pretty simple though: and it’s to consume less in all facets of your life. It isn’t easy but reducing the number of things you spend money on will lower your carbon footprint. You can calculate your carbon footprint through numerous websites, and I think simply looking at the categories on one of these websites will open your eyes to how many different things you consume.
Another way to quantify the impact you have on the environment is through conducting a life cycle assessment, or LCA. LCAs can help you understand the impact that a specific product is having on the environment. You can then use your newfound knowledge of the product to chose whether it’s something you feel is worth consuming. It isn’t easy to do an LCA, it requires a lot of data and knowledge concerning the product, but the idea is essentially to track the creation of a product from when the resources are acquired until the finished product has been used and discarded. This process is called cradle to grave.
Using your carbon footprint and LCAs, you can start to make positive decisions concerning your consumption, and lower your environmental impact. I hope this post has been informative and helpful, and I hope we can all try to be mindful of our consumption habits together.
Thanks for reading!
Works Cited:
Lesson 4 Carbon Cycle, BBE 1002, UMN
Lesson 6 Environmental Assessment Through LCA , BBE 1002, UMN
University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems: https://css.umich.edu/factsheets/us-environmental-footprint-factsheet
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