The Urethane Blog
Everchem Updates
VOLUME XXI
September 14, 2023
Everchem’s exclusive Closers Only Club is reserved for only the highest caliber brass-baller salesmen in the chemical industry. Watch the hype video and be introduced to the top of the league: — read more
August 17, 2020
UC San Diego research lab to make environmentally friendly flip flops from algae
By Reuters
Researchers at University of California, San Diego hope to make future beach visits both environmentally and fashion-friendly, with a new formula for biodegradable flip flops.
Mike Burkart, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the public research university in San Diego, California, has developed a polymer from algae, which decomposes naturally.
“We begin by growing algae and we grow them in raceway ponds where we can grow them up to very high density,” said Burkart during a tour of the a lab for Reuters. “At that point when they are fully grown, we take the water out of them…and basically we’re able to get the algae down to a very viscous paste.”
“Then what we do is extract all the lipids out of that algae and it’s those lipids that we’re making our materials out of,” he said.
The laboratory initially made gasoline from algae before turning its attention to surfboards, and now the humble flip flop.
“Almost every major shoe manufacturer has come to talk to us about the possibility of using our materials in their products,” Burkart said.
The simple footwear is affordable and popular around the world, and therefore makes up a significant portion of discarded plastics polluting oceans and seas. But Burkart is hoping his algae-based shoe-wear will change that.
“We’re also talking to other companies, for example, for things like food packaging or other types of materials that we don’t want to live forever in the environment,” Burkart said.
“We really want those to be able to decompose or be able to be recycled,” he said.
17 Renewable and biodegradable polyurethane made from algae and turned into a flip-flop is shown at a lab on campus at UC San Diego, in San Diego, California.
August 17, 2020
UC San Diego research lab to make environmentally friendly flip flops from algae
By Reuters
Researchers at University of California, San Diego hope to make future beach visits both environmentally and fashion-friendly, with a new formula for biodegradable flip flops.
Mike Burkart, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the public research university in San Diego, California, has developed a polymer from algae, which decomposes naturally.
“We begin by growing algae and we grow them in raceway ponds where we can grow them up to very high density,” said Burkart during a tour of the a lab for Reuters. “At that point when they are fully grown, we take the water out of them…and basically we’re able to get the algae down to a very viscous paste.”
“Then what we do is extract all the lipids out of that algae and it’s those lipids that we’re making our materials out of,” he said.
The laboratory initially made gasoline from algae before turning its attention to surfboards, and now the humble flip flop.
“Almost every major shoe manufacturer has come to talk to us about the possibility of using our materials in their products,” Burkart said.
The simple footwear is affordable and popular around the world, and therefore makes up a significant portion of discarded plastics polluting oceans and seas. But Burkart is hoping his algae-based shoe-wear will change that.
“We’re also talking to other companies, for example, for things like food packaging or other types of materials that we don’t want to live forever in the environment,” Burkart said.
“We really want those to be able to decompose or be able to be recycled,” he said.
17 Renewable and biodegradable polyurethane made from algae and turned into a flip-flop is shown at a lab on campus at UC San Diego, in San Diego, California.
August 17, 2020
Humans have slept on beds for their entire existence: cave discovery
By Ben Cost
August 17, 2020 | 10:51am Enlarge Image
Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains. A. Kruge
It was so easy even a caveman could make it.
Humans have been sleeping in beds for nearly as long as they’ve been roaming the earth, according to a new study published in the journal Science.
In South Africa’s world-renowned Border Cave excavation site, archaeologists uncovered evidence of grass sleeping mats that date back to 200,000 years ago — more than 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to the study. Researchers say the discovery demonstrates “cognitive, behavioral and social complexity” more commonly observed in much newer civilizations, Science Alert reports.
Indeed, the prehistoric slumber sacks employed a surprisingly sophisticated system of grass stacked atop ash from a fireplace or burned plants, which was reportedly used to deter pests.
“We speculate that laying grass bedding on ash was a deliberate strategy, not only to create a dirt-free, insulated base for the bedding, but also to repel crawling insects,” said lead study author Lyn Wadley, professor of archaeology at Johannesberg’s University of the Witwatersrand, said in a news release.
The Flinstone-evoking inventions also likely doubled as workspace — as evidenced by the fact that the beds contained stone shards from the tools used in their making.
Beyond being multifaceted, the ancient mattresses also provide important clues about early humans’ decorative habits. Wadley noted that “many tiny, rounded grains of red and orange ochre were found in the bedding where they may have rubbed off human skin or colored objects.”
From this one discovery alone, we can deduce that for almost as long as they’ve been alive, humans adorned their homes with ochre; knew the best spots to sleep; used their beds as work stations; and could produce fire at will and employ it as insect repellent.
“Such strategies would have had health benefits that advantaged these early communities,” said Wadley.
This isn’t the first discovery to shift modern perceptions of early people. In December, a spelunker happened across an Indonesian cave painting of a hunting scene that could be the world’s oldest story.
August 17, 2020
Humans have slept on beds for their entire existence: cave discovery
By Ben Cost
August 17, 2020 | 10:51am Enlarge Image
Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains. A. Kruge
It was so easy even a caveman could make it.
Humans have been sleeping in beds for nearly as long as they’ve been roaming the earth, according to a new study published in the journal Science.
In South Africa’s world-renowned Border Cave excavation site, archaeologists uncovered evidence of grass sleeping mats that date back to 200,000 years ago — more than 100,000 years earlier than previously thought, according to the study. Researchers say the discovery demonstrates “cognitive, behavioral and social complexity” more commonly observed in much newer civilizations, Science Alert reports.
Indeed, the prehistoric slumber sacks employed a surprisingly sophisticated system of grass stacked atop ash from a fireplace or burned plants, which was reportedly used to deter pests.
“We speculate that laying grass bedding on ash was a deliberate strategy, not only to create a dirt-free, insulated base for the bedding, but also to repel crawling insects,” said lead study author Lyn Wadley, professor of archaeology at Johannesberg’s University of the Witwatersrand, said in a news release.
The Flinstone-evoking inventions also likely doubled as workspace — as evidenced by the fact that the beds contained stone shards from the tools used in their making.
Beyond being multifaceted, the ancient mattresses also provide important clues about early humans’ decorative habits. Wadley noted that “many tiny, rounded grains of red and orange ochre were found in the bedding where they may have rubbed off human skin or colored objects.”
From this one discovery alone, we can deduce that for almost as long as they’ve been alive, humans adorned their homes with ochre; knew the best spots to sleep; used their beds as work stations; and could produce fire at will and employ it as insect repellent.
“Such strategies would have had health benefits that advantaged these early communities,” said Wadley.
This isn’t the first discovery to shift modern perceptions of early people. In December, a spelunker happened across an Indonesian cave painting of a hunting scene that could be the world’s oldest story.
August 17, 2020
Casper Scares Off Investors as Suppliers Can’t Keep Up With Demand
Investing.comAugust 11, 2020
By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com — Casper Sleep Inc (NYSE:CSPR) dropped 7% after it said Covid-19-related constraints were hindering product delivery.
The mattress maker went public in February at $12 a share, and the stock hasn’t yet climbed back up to that level.
Casper’s loss per share of 61 cents beat the 76-cent estimate on sales of $110 million, which came in higher than the forecasted $104 million. Direct-to-consumer sales increased 5%, which was partially offset by the loss of sales in retail stores.
“Certain of our suppliers and logistics providers have temporarily experienced supply constraints or labor shortages due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” the company said in a statement. “As a result, we have been impacted by industry-wide capacity constraints which have led to increased delivery times for certain of our products through our e-commerce platform and impacted order fulfillment capabilities for certain of our retail partners.”
The company is “actively qualifying and on-boarding new suppliers” and expects inventory constraints to ease within the upcoming quarter.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/casper-scares-off-investors-suppliers-123320471.html
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