Navy Going Green & Dairy Packaging
Navy Going Green & Dairy Packaging. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Northwest Report.
The United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Navy yesterday announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to encourage the development of advanced biofuels and other renewable energy systems.
HASTINGS: From an energy standpoint we should look at all energy sources and not only exclusively at certain energy sources and I think the military recognizes that and I would say that’s probably why they have this memorandum of understanding.
From a strategic perspective the objective is to reduce reliance on fossil fuels from volatile areas of the world. Tactically, on the battlefield, the costs of transporting fuel is exponentially increased; in extreme cases a gallon of gasoline could cost up to $400.
Scientists are working to develop strong, biodegradable dairy-based films that are better oxygen barriers than petrochemical-based films. They have been focusing on films made from dairy proteins, with an emphasis on those based on casein and whey, the major proteins found in milk. It also covers research efforts to improve the proteins' mechanical and barrier properties so that these natural materials eventually could be used in a variety of future applications.
Now here’s today’s Washington Grange Report.
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That’s today’s Northwest Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
