Net clips from grape skins

Scion Science Leader Biopolymers & Chemicals Dr Florian Graichen talks about a novel new product made for the wine industry from its own waste streams.

Transcript

Dr Florian Graichen

In New Zealand, when we look at or when we think of biomass, we pretty much think of trees but that’s not all there is. There are also different materials such as from algae or from horticulture, viticulture types of industries.

One way of using biomass waste is where we combine them with biopolymers through our extruder capability into filaments. Our extruder technology has actually allowed us to use a number of biomass wastes such as grape skin. So what we are doing is compounding the skin from the wine grapes with the bioplastic into these net clips. And in New Zealand, you’re using nets to protect the ripening grapes, and non-degradable net clips are used for that purpose. And these nets get rolled up, the clips will break, fall to the ground and ultimately will break down into microplastics. We’ve got here now a much better option where these clips will ultimately biodegrade.