Did you know that wheat fiber in amenities products was invented thanks to a European project called Bugworkers ?
The project lasted 4 years and was completed on June 2014 under the coordination of AIMPLAS (ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH ON PLASTIC AND RELATED MATERIALS) with headquarters in Valencia, Spain. This project was titled by AIMPLAS as “Development of PHB-based nanocomposites for high-performance applications obtained through sustainable production methods.”
According to the statement for the project on the official website of the European Commission, the project objective was: “To develop a new cost-competitive and environmentally friendly bio nanocomposite material, based on the combination of a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) matrix with new chemical, structure produced by new fermentation culture technology with two types of nanofibres,cellulose whiskers and lignin-based, in order to have a true alternative to engineering materials in main sectors: household appliances, computers & telecommunications.”
The result is a new biopolymer material, called PolyHydroxyButyrate (PHB), obtained with the bacterial fermentation of agro-industrial waste, specifically the wheat straw. The reduced cost of wheat straw and an optimized fermentation process to increase productivity made it possible to obtain this additive to improve the sustainability of plastic based products.
This PHP polymer was extracted and purified using solvents from the wheat straw itself. The fermentation process during the tests was carried out in the rice fields of La Albufera in Valencia.
Currently, in the market, the plastic manufacturers offer this wheat fiber “bioplastic” for use in different sectors such as hotel amenities. The hotel amenities made with wheat fiber are, for example: sewing kit, shoehorn, shoe shine case, comb.
Check these welcome articles on our online store if you desire to incorporate them into the amenities line and collection for your clients.
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