FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | May 25, 2010

New American Chemical Society video podcast examines making plastics without oil

WASHINGTON, May 25, 2010 –— With the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and growing concern about the global oil supply, the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) latest ChemMatters video podcast couldn’t have a timelier topic: Using food crops instead of petroleum to make plastics.

The high-definition video podcast, entitled “Plastics Go Green,” is based on an article about bioplastics featured in ChemMatters, the ACS’ award-winning high school chemistry magazine. It is available at www.bytesizescience.com and on the Bytesize Science podcast on iTunes.

Viewers can expect an entertaining and educational saga about an important facet of green chemistry. The episode explains how scientists are making plastics with sugar from corn, sugar cane or sugar beets as a substitute for oil. These natural, renewable crops make bioplastic production more environmentally friendly than traditional plastics manufacturing as well as save petroleum.

Media Contact:

Michael Bernstein
202-872-6042
m_bernstein@acs.org

Michael Woods
202-872-6293
m_woods@acs.org

ChemMatters has been demystifying the chemistry in our everyday lives for more than 25 years. Released quarterly, each issue contains readable articles about the chemistry used in everyday life, and is of interest to high school students and their teachers.

For additional entertaining video podcasts from the ACS, go to www.bytesizescience.com.

  • Subscribe to Bytesize Science and ChemMatters in iTunes (requires iTunes software)
  • No iTunes? No problem. Check out recent episodes of ChemMatters and Bytesize Science at www.BytesizeScience.com

ChemMatters and Bytesize Science are produced by the ACS Office of Public Affairs.

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Scenes from the ChemMatters
video podcast.
Credit: American Chemical Society
(High-resolution version)