ISLAMABAD: A US company is converting greenhouse gases into daily-use items such as fuel, bottles and dresses.
LanzaTech’s carbon recycling technology uses bacteria – specialized to feed on polluted air – to turn pollutants into fuels and chemicals. It works in the same manner as sugars and yeast are used to make beer. Three Chinese factories are already using the company’s novel microorganisms for commercial purposes.
Using bacteria to manufacture goods from pollution
In its lab, LanzaTech turns pollution waste emissions into ethanol which then works as a chemical building block for goods like plastic bottles, athletic wear and even dresses.
The process is extremely flexible as the bacteria can ingest CO2, carbon monoxide and hydrogen, said Zara Summers, the company’s vice president of science. She added that waste materials such as garbage, biomass and gas from a factory can be used in the process.
The items manufactured by the process include plastic bottles, athletic apparel and even dresses, via tie-in arrangements with major brands such as Zara and L’Oreal.
Products already being sold include a line of dresses at Zara. Priced at around $90 – they are made of polyester, 20 percent of which comes from captured gas.
