Bengaluru firm creates biomaterial platform to tackle climate change

Bengaluru firm creates biomaterial platform to tackle climate change

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate change

Context- Bengaluru based start-up Mynusco has created a biomaterials platform for a circular bioeconomy helping farmers create value out of their crop residues and companies to manufacture finished products using sustainable biocomposite materials.

Concept-

• Mynusco is manufacturing wide range of biomaterial pellets using crop residue such as coffee husk, paddy straw and husk and bamboo waste sourced from agarbatti manufacturers among others.
• The creation of a biomaterials platform would help scale up its operations and connect to more converters, who create various various products using its biocomposite materials.

Reducing carbon footprint:

• The products made using such biocomposite materials are used in automotive, houseware and furniture industry among others displacing plastics and thereby reducing carbon footprint and helping fight climate change.
• India produces over 500 million tonnes of crop waste every year and about two- thirds of this is either burnt or discarded resulting in pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

About Biomaterials:

• A biomaterial is a substance that has been engineered to interact with biological systems for a medical purpose, either a therapeutic (treat, augment, repair, or replace a tissue function of the body) or a diagnostic one.
• Biomaterials science encompasses elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science.
• A hip implant is an example of an application of biomaterials.
• Note that a biomaterial is different from a biological material, such as bone, that is produced by a biological system.
• Additionally, care should be exercised in defining a biomaterial as biocompatible, since it is application-specific. A biomaterial that is biocompatible or suitable for one application may not be biocompatible in another.
• Biomaterials can be derived either from nature or synthesized in the laboratory using a variety of chemical approaches utilizing metallic components, polymers, ceramics or composite materials.
• Biomaterials are also used every day in dental applications, surgery, and drug delivery. For example, a construct with impregnated pharmaceutical products can be placed into the body, which permits the prolonged release of a drug over an extended period of time.