Per a recent science show on PBS, the subject of plant-based straw products drew my attention on new technologies. It was amazing how many products you could make out of straw since the last millennia besides the standard animal feed, various arts and crafts including basket weaving, bedding, dolls, drinking straws, Halloween mazes, mulching, scare crows, and summer hats.
Straw has been around since plants have been grown thousands of years ago. It is an agricultural product consisting of dried stalks from cereal-based crops. It was first discovered in China during 600 BC.
Now straw is being used for biofuels to reduce carbon-based fuels, briquettes for outdoor cooking, biomass for power plants, bioplastics in eliminating polystyrene and drinking straws, construction materials such as composite concrete, baled straw for insulation, composite lumber, straw blocks eliminating wood blocks, ground cover, new mulches for farming and gardening, burned area covering, and textiles for clothing.
New products include packaging to replace other packaging materials like plastic, paper, foam, and polystyrene; paper products; rope products, sandals, and shoes to name a few new products. Even the pharmaceutical industry is looking at straw for alkaloids, flavonoids, lignins, phenols, and steroids.
Who knows what new products will come from plant-based straw? As time progresses, it will be interesting to see what new straw products evolve. The worldwide market for the straw products has been estimated to be worth over $500 million with over several dozen major global vendors and eventually will be over several billion dollars by 2050 as new straw products evolve.
The health and safety of straw products has been a concern due to the flammability and allergens as byproducts, but mixed with other compounds may be a great solution. This is another great use of technology to support the human race. Bob Larson is a technologist and our Marketing Director for 50 Plus.