Biobased Plastic Flexes Its Muscle
Washington - Electroactive polymers--plastics that expand or contract when stimulated by electricity--can now be made from plants rather than petrochemicals, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Peoria, Ill. There is now significant interest in the possible use of electroactive polymers in many industrial and biomedical applications, from light-emitting diodes and controlled-release devices to artificial muscles and environmental sensors. The material is typically petroleum-based, but ARS researchers Victoria Finkenstadt and J.L. Willett showed that plant polysaccharides like starch can work just as well. Use of the polysaccharides in certain types of conductive polymers could leapfrog some of the pitfalls associated with using petroleum feedstocks, such as U.S. reliance on foreign suppliers, according to Finkenstadt, a chemist, and Willett, a supervisory chemical engineer with ARS' National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria. full article <http://www.alternate-energy.net/N/news.php?detail=n1133597214.news> Get your daily alternative energy news Alternate Energy Resource Network 1000+ news sources-resources updated daily http://www.alternate-energy.net Next Generation Grid http://groups.yahoo.com/group/next_generation_grid/ Tomorrow-energy http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tomorrow-energy/ Alternative Energy Politics http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Alternative_Energy_Politics/ _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
