Sugar hit for 'green' industry
University of Queensland and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have teamed up to develop and patent the technology to convert sugar cane into "˜green' plastics and chemicals.
Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie witnessed the signing of a UQ-KAIST agreement in Seoul. UQ Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Greenfield, who signed the agreement, said that the $2000 billion global chemical industry was expected to shift from reliance on oil to reliance on biomass in coming decades.
"Researchers from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and KAIST will aim to perfect the technology to use sugar cane instead of fossil fuel to manufacture plastics and chemicals," Greenfield said.
"As well as assisting economic growth and job creation in Australia, this will help Australians contribute to a better global environment.
"Replacing oil with sugarcane would reduce the use of non-renewable resources for chemicals by up to 90%. Chemical production currently accounts for 7% of the world's energy use."
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