Say what? Researchers at UC-Davis have developed yet another use for dairy products. They discovered polyhydroxyalkanoates can be made at a low cost from dairy byproducts and used in a wide range of applications, such as films, rigid packaging and single-use items like straws, utensils, compostable bags, cosmetics and biomedicine. Previously expensive and in short supply, the new method derives the PHAs from a byproduct of making cheese, whey permeate, a liquid waste usually discarded or used as animal feed.
Source: STGenetics, May 15, 2024. Link.
INSIGHTS: Kudos to Ruihong Zhang, PhD, and her research team! No doubt this advancement will mess with the carbon footprint calculations and net GHG emissions.