circular economy – mycolab.ai

The Food–Materials Nexus: Next Generation Bioplastics and Advanced Materials from Agri‐Food Residues

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This review explores how food waste and agricultural byproducts can be transformed into useful bioplastics and advanced materials. By breaking down food residues into their component building blocks—like cellulose, pectin, and proteins—scientists can create eco-friendly plastics suitable for packaging, medical devices, and electronic applications. This approach supports a circular economy where waste becomes a valuable resource rather than an environmental burden.

Fungi as source for new bio-based materials: a patent review

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Researchers reviewed patents from 2009-2018 on using fungal mycelium to create eco-friendly materials. Instead of petroleum-based plastics, scientists grow fungi on agricultural waste like corn stalks and wood chips, where fungal threads bind the materials together into strong, biodegradable products. These fungal materials are being developed for packaging, car interiors, textiles, and insulation, offering sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics.

Therapeutic and Nutraceutical Potential of Sargassum Species: A Narrative Review

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Sargassum is a type of ocean seaweed that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries and contains compounds that may help fight inflammation, oxidative stress, viruses, and bacteria. Scientists have discovered that different Sargassum species produce nearly 200 different bioactive compounds with potential health benefits ranging from reducing arthritis symptoms to supporting immune function. While Sargassum can accumulate harmful heavy metals like arsenic from seawater, researchers have developed effective cleaning methods to remove these contaminants while preserving the beneficial compounds. This makes Sargassum a promising sustainable source of natural medicines and health supplements.

Renovation of Agro-Waste for Sustainable Food Packaging: A Review

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This review explores how agricultural waste can be transformed into eco-friendly food packaging materials. Researchers are finding ways to extract valuable compounds like cellulose from crop residues and chitin from shrimp shells to create biodegradable packaging films that preserve food while reducing environmental pollution. These sustainable packaging alternatives perform as well as conventional plastics while being completely biodegradable, representing an important step toward a circular economy and reducing agricultural waste.

Applications of Natural Polymers in the Grapevine Industry: Plant Protection and Value-Added Utilization of Waste

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Grapevines face significant challenges from drought, extreme temperatures, and fungal diseases. Natural polymers like chitosan, alginate, and cellulose can create protective coatings on grapes that help them retain water, resist pests, and stay healthy. Additionally, waste from grape processing can be recycled into valuable compounds and encapsulated in these polymers for use as plant strengtheners or in food and pharmaceuticals, creating a more sustainable wine industry.

Whey—A Valuable Technological Resource for the Production of New Functional Products with Added Health-Promoting Properties

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Whey, the liquid left over from cheese-making, has been transformed from unwanted waste into a valuable ingredient for healthy foods and beverages. Instead of polluting the environment, modern technologies extract useful proteins, lactose, and other beneficial compounds from whey that can be used in sports drinks, infant formulas, and other nutritious products. By using whey effectively, dairy companies can reduce environmental pollution significantly while creating profitable, health-promoting products that benefit consumers.

The Silent Revolution of Brewer’s Spent Grain: Meat/Food Innovations Through Circularity, Resource Recovery, and Nutritional Synergy—A Review

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Brewer’s spent grain is a leftover from beer production that can be transformed into nutritious ingredient for meat products and other foods. When added to burgers and sausages, it increases protein and fiber content while reducing fat, making healthier versions of these foods without sacrificing taste. This approach helps reduce food waste from breweries while providing consumers with more nutritious meat products in a sustainable way.

A Biorefinery Approach Integrating Lipid and EPS Augmentation Along with Cr (III) Mitigation by Chlorella minutissima

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This research demonstrates that a common freshwater microalga called Chlorella minutissima can effectively remove toxic chromium from contaminated water while simultaneously producing high-quality biodiesel fuel and useful plant compounds. The microalga survives chromium exposure by activating powerful internal defense systems that protect it from oxidative stress. This integrated approach offers a sustainable solution to environmental contamination while generating renewable energy, supporting the transition to a circular economy.

Breaking Down Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) Using Fungal Mycelium (Part A): A Path Towards Sustainable Waste Management and Its Possible Economic Impacts

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Researchers discovered that certain fungi, especially Schizophyllum commune, can effectively break down plastic waste called LLDPE through their natural enzymes. In laboratory tests, this fungus degraded plastic about 20 times faster than samples without fungal treatment over 30 days. This fungal approach is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than traditional methods like incineration or landfilling, and could help solve plastic pollution while creating jobs and using agricultural waste productively.

Exploring the Potential of Fungal Biomass for Bisphenol A Removal in Aquatic Environments

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Researchers discovered that mushroom fruiting bodies can effectively remove bisphenol A (BPA), a harmful plastic component, from water. Five mushroom species were particularly efficient, removing between 72-82% of BPA from solutions. The mushroom biomass works best at room temperature and neutral pH, can be reused multiple times after treatment with ethanol, and could potentially clean enormous volumes of contaminated water using small amounts of material.

Research Keyword: circular economy