Your chairs, synthetic rugs and plastic bags could one day be made out of cocoa, rice and vegetable waste rather than petroleum, scientists are now reporting.

Register now for 18th Annual Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference (GC&E), the longest running green chemistry conference in the United States, and save up to $100 on your registration when you sign up by May 16, 2014.

A growing partnership between the University of Michigan and a company in Dexter is a model for how university-to-business ties can produce significant mutual benefits.

On the scale of earth-friendly materials, you’d be hard pressed to find two that are farther apart than polyester (not at all) and cork (very). In an unexpected twist, however, scientists are figuring out how to extract a natural, waterproof, antibacterial version of the first material from the latter.

Porous silicon manufactured in a bottom-up procedure using solar energy can be used to generate hydrogen from water, according to a team of Penn State mechanical engineers, who also see applications for batteries, biosensors and optical electronics as outlets for this new material.

A waste product from making paper could yield a safer, greener alternative to the potentially harmful chemical BPA, now banned from baby bottles but still used in many plastics. Scientists made the BPA alternative from lignin, the compound that gives wood its strength, and they say it could be ready for the market within five years.

Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for companies and governments globally.

University of Idaho professor’s project turns cow manure into biodegradable plastic.

A dollar bill gets around, passing from hand to hand, falling on streets and sidewalks, eventually getting so grimy that a bank machine flags it and sends it to the shredder. Rather than destroying it, scientists have developed a new way to clean paper money to prolong its life.

“See this thread? It’s made from maize starch.” Michaëla van Leeuwen, scientist at Applied Plant Research (PPO – part of Wageningen UR), points to a red thread coming from a small 3D printer. The device is one of the eye-catchers in the Bio-Based exhibition which is currently touring the Netherlands.