Pine needles from old Christmas trees could be turned into paint and food sweeteners in the future

摘要

Abandoned Christmas trees could be saved from landfill and turned into paint and food sweeteners according to new research by the University of Sheffield.1.7 million UK Christmas trees end up in landfill after the festive period.2.Pine needles can be broken down to create new products such as sweeteners and paint.3.New process could lead to reduction in the UK's carbon footprint.Christmas trees have hundreds of thousands of pine needles which take a long time to decompose compared to other tree leaves.When they rot,they emit huge quantities of greenhouse gases which then contribute to the carbon footprint of the UK.Cynthia Kartey,a PhD student from the University of Sheffield's Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering,has found that useful products can be made from the chemicals extracted from pine needles when processed.The major component(up to 85 per cent)of pine needles is a complex polymer known as lignocellulose.The complexity of this polymer makes using pine needles as a product for biomass energy unattractive and useless to most industrial processes.