A waste product from paper-making could be a safer, greener alternative to using the harmful chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in plastic products.
BPA is banned from baby bottles due to its possible effects on the body and brain by mimicking the hormone oestrogen. Approximately 3.5 million tons of BPA are produced annually worldwide in sports equipment, glues and receipt paper.
Researchers have found that lignin, the compound that gives wood it’s strength, could be used as BPA alternative within five years. Paper-making and other wood-pulping processes produce 70 million tons of lignin byproduct each year, 98% of which is incinerated to generate small amounts of energy.
Read more at University of Delaware