Biotransformation Technology

• A UK-based business has made the claim that it has created a biotransformation technology that might change the nature of plastics and facilitate biodegradation.
• They claim that the method uses bacteria to organically degrade used plastic packaging and break it down into biodegradable components without accumulating microplastics.

About Biotransformation Technology

• A UK-based firm called Polymateria has been working with Imperial College in London to develop a technology called biotransformation.
• Plastics can be modified through technology to change their nature and become biodegradable.
• Biotransformation technology is a revolutionary strategy to guarantee that plastics that escape trash streams are digested and broken down effectively.
• Using this technology, plastics are produced for a predetermined period of time during which they appear and feel like ordinary plastics without sacrificing quality.
• When a product step to its expiration date and is exposed to the outside environment, it is self-destructs and turns into bioavailable wax.
• Microorganisms then eat this wax, transforming the waste into biomass, CO2, and water.
• With the help of biotransformation technology, polyolefins completely biodegrade in the open without producing microplastics.

Time Taken

• The manufacturer asserts that once a product has expired, the biotransformation of plastic in nature begins quite swiftly. Within two to four months, it will begin to change plastic into wax. Depending on the weather, this period could change.

Need for this technology

• Recent years have seen a significant increase in the amount of plastic garbage produced by human activity. A staggering 3.5 billion kg of plastic garbage are produced annually in India alone, with packaging waste making about a third of this total.
• Over the past five years, the amount of plastic garbage produced per person has doubled, underscoring the need for quick solutions to this issue.In 2018, the Indian government had imposed restrictions on the export of biofuels soon after imposing similar conditions on its imports.
• According to Statista, the global amount of plastic packaging trash generated by e-commerce companies in 2019 was anticipated to be over a billion kilogrammes.
• Given the massive amount of plastic trash that exists and poses a threat to biodiversity, technologies must be developed to stop the Plastic Menace.
• The two main industries that may employ this technology to cut waste are those that package food and those that provide medical care.
• Compared to typical plastic that does not include, the cost increase is rather minimal.

Alternative to plastic

• The use of jute or paper-based packaging is one substitute that is gaining popularity. With this substitute, the paper industry might increase sustainability while potentially reducing plastic waste by a large amount. Moreover, the cost of importing ethylene solutions could be reduced by using packaging made of jute or paper.
• Moreover, hardwood packaging could be an option, although it would increase the cost and size of the package. Finding strategies to lower the price and weight of hardwood packing will help to solve these problems.
• To increase awareness of alternatives to single-use plastics, the Tamil Nadu government held a National Exhibition and Conference of Startups in Chennai.
• Coir, bagasse, rice and wheat bran, plant and agricultural waste, banana and areca leaves, jute, and cloth were used to make the alternatives on display.
• Waste materials from the manufacture of rice and wheat, such as bran, can be used to create biodegradable packaging.

Government initiative

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): A policy on EPR has been published by the government. The Guidelines specify requirements for EPR, recycling waste plastic packaging, reusing rigid plastic packaging, and using recycled plastic. The suggestions include transitioning to more environmentally responsible plastic packaging and reducing its plastic impact.
• Plastic Waste Management Rules: India led the way with a resolution at the 4th United Nations Environment Assembly in 2019 to combat pollution from single-use plastic products, recognising the urgent need for the international community to concentrate on this crucial issue.

Way ahead

• A revolutionary method for ensuring that plastics are efficiently digested and broken down without producing any microplastics is biotransformation technology.

• Jute or paper-based packaging can potentially reduce plastic waste as well. To combat the ever-growing issue of plastic pollution, however, sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics must be promoted and adopted.

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Biofuel Export

• The government changed the rules for exporting biofuel from special economic zones (SEZs) and export-oriented units (EOUs), allowing it to be exported without restriction for both fuel and non-fuel uses as long as the biofuel is made using an imported feedstock.
• After placing similar limitations on their imports, the Indian government restricted the export of biofuels in 2018.

Highlight

• The notification from August 2018 limited the export of biofuels and mandated licences for both imports and exports. Ethyl alcohol, petroleum oil, oils derived from bituminous materials, bio-diesel, and mixtures are examples of biofuels.

• The amendment maintains the ban on the export of biofuel for uses other than gasoline outside of SEZs and EOUs. Even so, when manufactured utilising just imported feed stock inside SEZ and EOU, export is permitted for both fuel and non-fuel purposes without any restrictions.

About Biofuel

• Vegetable oils, waste feedstock, or biomass such as maize or sugar can be used to make biofuels.

• As biofuels emit less carbon dioxide (CO2) than traditional fuels, blending them with current fuels is a practical solution to cut CO2 emissions in the transportation sector.

• Biofuels are any hydrocarbon fuels, such as solid, liquid, or gas, that are created quickly from organic material, including live or formerly living material.

Significance of biofuel

• Rural areas will see an increase in infrastructure investment as a result of the addition of 2G bio refineries around the nation.

• Economic Security: Using biofuels instead of fossil fuels can lower reliance on them and lower the cost of refuelling homes, companies, and cars.

• Environmentally friendly: Compared to fossil fuels, biofuels are renewable, emit less hazardous levels of carbon dioxide, and cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65%.

• Energy security: By producing biofuels on a big scale, we may save money on foreign exchange and lessen our reliance on imported crude oil.

• A substantial amount of feedstock is needed to produce biofuel, which might open up a new revenue stream for farmers.

• Also, this could aid in boosting agricultural output and rural development.

Challenges:

• Efficiency: Certain biofuels are less efficient than fossil fuels at producing energy. For instance, 1 gallon of ethanol provides less energy than 1 gallon of petrol (a fossil fuel).

• Food Shortages: There are worries that exploiting valuable cropland for fuel crops could raise the price of food and possibly cause a food crisis.

• Water Use: The production of biofuel and the correct watering of biofuel crops both demand enormous amounts of water, placing a strain on local and regional water supplies.

Classification of Biofuel

• The term conventional biofuels also applies to first-generation biofuels.

• They are made directly from food crops by removing the oils for biodiesel production or by fermenting the bioethanol to make it.

• Advanced biofuels are a common name for second generation biofuels.

• They are created from biomass crops, such as wood, organic waste, food crop waste, and other non-food crops.

• Algae are the source of third generation biofuels.

• In order to serve as a low-cost, high-energy, and totally renewable feedstock, algae are grown.

• The goal of fourth generation biofuels is to capture and store CO2 in addition to creating sustainable energy.

• Carbon dioxide is caught at every level of production using techniques like oxy-fuel combustion, and it is subsequently geo-sequestered by being kept in abandoned oil and gas fields or saltwater aquifers.

Government policy

• By encouraging the development of biofuels from domestic feedstock, the National Policy on Biofuels 2018 seeks to increase the use of biofuels in the energy and transportation sectors.

• Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana, 2019: to foster R&D in the 2G ethanol industry and to establish a supportive environment for the establishment of commercial initiatives.

• The GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) DHAN project is centred on managing and converting solid farm waste, such as calf dung, into compost, biogas, and bio-CNG.

• Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO): It was started by the FSSAI with the intention of creating an ecosystem that will allow for the collection and conversion of wasted cooking oil into biodiesel.

Atmospheric Rivers

Since late December 2022, 11 atmospheric rivers have pounded California, making it an unusually wet winter.

About atmospheric rivers

• The Long, slender bands of moisture in the air that travel from the tropics to higher latitudes are known as atmospheric rivers.
• When the moisture goes inland from the ocean and climbs over the mountains, it produces rain and snowfall. Despite the fact that many fire-weary Westerners anticipate these downpours, atmospheric rivers can also result in other catastrophes like catastrophic flooding and debris flows.

• There are atmospheric rivers all over the planet, and they have an impact on the west coastlines of the major land masses, including Portugal, Western Europe, Chile, and South Africa.
• They come in a variety of flavours, with the so-called "Pineapple Express" storms that transport moisture from Hawaii to the US West Coast just one of them.
• In the 1960s, storm tracks that began close to Hawaii and brought warm water vapour to the coast of North America were dubbed the "Pineapple Express" by meteorologists.
• Mostly found in the extratropical North Pacific/Atlantic, Southeast Pacific, and South Atlantic oceans, atmospheric rivers frequently make landfall on the west coastlines of North and South America. Greenland, Antarctica, and the south-central United States are other areas where atmospheric rivers make ashore.

Formation:

• Over tropical areas is where atmospheric rivers typically start. Ocean water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere as a result of warm temperatures. To move the water vapour through the atmosphere, there must be strong winds
• The water vapour ascends higher into the atmosphere as atmospheric rivers pass over land. Water droplets form as it cools, and they eventually fall as precipitation.

Significance

• AR (Atmoshperic river )-related heavy rainfall may result in mudslides, landslides, and flooding.
• Moreover, they have the potential to create drought-like conditions and impair the water supply.
• Not all atmospheric rivers are destructive; the majority are frail systems that frequently produce helpful precipitation or snow that is essential to the water supply.
• Particularly in the mid-latitudes, climate change is predicted to increase the frequency and intensity of ARs in several parts of the world.
• In terms of managing water supplies, preventing flooding, and other aspects of public policy, this might have a big impact.

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