Agri-waste

Restoring post-agricultural land to tropical forest can be challenging, as the pasture grasses tend to choke out the native trees. A new study, however, indicates that waste from the coffee industry gives those trees a fighting chance.

Carbon fiber may be strong and light, but it's also expensive. South African scientists have developed a cheaper and more sustainable alternative, though, in which the carbon fibers are replaced with ones extracted from plantain plants.

Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a sort of “solar umbrella” which could radically reduce the amount of land needed for industrial evaporation ponds.

It takes a lot of raw material to manufacture a car, so if some of that material comes from eco-friendly sources … so much the better. European scientists are going one step further, utilizing agricultural waste that would otherwise be discarded.

The sodium chloride that's commonly used to de-ice highways is harmful to the environment, plus it corrodes both road materials and vehicles' metal bodies. There may soon be a kinder, gentler alternative, though – made from discarded grape skins.

The bananas that we buy in stores grow off of a central trunk-like structure, known as the pseudostem. And while that part of the plant is typically discarded during harvesting, it may soon find use in a plastic that biodegrades and is recyclable.

The burning of agricultural waste and the methane that's burped up by cows are two major sources of greenhouse gases. An experimental new type of animal feed, however, is aimed at reducing both the burning and the burps.

When a cotton gin is used to separate cotton fibers from their seeds, a lot of lint is produced as a waste product. Currently, much of that cotton lint is just burned or put in landfills. Thanks to recent research out of Australia, however, it may soon be converted into biodegradable plastic.

​Livestock manure may seem like a relatively "green" form of crop fertilizer, but unfortunately it's full of phosphorous that pollutes waterways when it's carried off the land in runoff water. That's why scientists have developed a phosphorous-removal system known as MAPHEX.

​Paper is typically made from cellulose fibers derived from wood, and wood isn't plentiful in places where there aren't many trees. In the near future, however, that may not be a problem, as scientists have devised a method of making paper from cow and even elephant manure.

​Sixteen years after a controversial biodegradation plan allowed 1,000 truckloads of orange peels to be unloaded onto a barren, deforested area of Costa Rican land, researchers have found a lush, overgrown forest with richer soil and more tree species than the adjacent land that was untreated.

Soon you may no longer have to choose between better-tasting and better-for-you. Scientists have developed a method of boosting the antioxidant levels of milk chocolate up to those of its dark counterpart, while also putting a waste product to new use.​