Kalistani Major History

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Kalistani Scientists begin work on developing Biodegradable Polymers
New Program sponsored by KPN will convert sustainable plant oils to plastics
Yoshimi, Duchy of Suldanor
September 9, 5484


Dr. Brittney Giovani, Researcher at Yoshimi's University of Kalistan experiments with plant based polymers

Following KALNAPECO's (KPO) stunning announcement earlier this year that exploitable oil in the Ananto Strait will run out within 25 years, the National Government in Kalistan has committed to spending more than ₭25 Million to begin researching plant based polymers, with the aim of creating a renewable, sustainable formula of converting plant-based oils into polymers and plastics, to help reduce depletion of land-based oil reservoirs in Suldanor. The aim is to create renewable, biodegradable sources of plastics for everything from packaging to auto production, and allowing the Empire to further move away from fossil fuels.

"There are a number of plant-based sources of oils that can be converted to plastics," said Dr. Brittney Giovanni, who has been appointed to lead the main research team from the University of Kalistan in Yoshimi. The University has received a grant of ₭1 million from KPO to work as seed money to set up laboratories on campus and begin hiring staff to perform experiments. As part of the grant, that founded the Yoshimi Plastics Laboratory, the University of Kalistan has purchased several parcels of land in Suldanor north of the Lucid Morass to plant test crops.

"Our aim," said Dr. Giovani, "is to determine the oil content per acre of land of various crops, to see which crops yielded the highest volume of oils, whether those oils are amenable to conversion to polymers and plastics, and whether we would get better quality plastics by combining different varieties of plant oils." The laboratory will also research biodiesel production, for the purpose of supplementing and eventually replacing the diesel derived from petroleum and fossil fuels. "We will start by experimenting with biodiesel mixtures, and eventually seek to develop full replacement diesels."

The KPO grant will be matched by public money from the Ministries of Science, Energy, and Industry for a period of 25 years aimed at finding biodegradable alternatives to petroleum based products. "Some crops we will be experimenting with are the soybean," said Dr. Giovanni, "which we don't plant a lot of in Kalistan, the seeds from the Jatropha plant, which is a succulent that grows in drier parts of Suldanor, and the seeds of the Morninga plants, which are native to Indrala, but may grow in Kalistan. All of these plants have seeds and nuts that yield a huge quantity of oil per volume, and could successfully serve as sources of oil for plastics and biodiesel additives. We are also beginning to explore the use of seaweed, which is virtually inexhaustible in the Strait, and can already be converted, using existing science to plastics. All these crops offer the additional benefits of sequestering carbon dioxide, and helping to control climate destruction."

Deputies were excited about the potential for turning plant based oils into plastics. Grant Turner, Deputy for Yoshimi, stated "This will not only provide valuable scientific research for Kalistan, but could also be a game changer for countries who want to divest in fossil fuels and move to sustainable, renewable energy and industrial chemical sources which do not pollute as much as petroleum exploitation, and can lead the world away from oil. The KPO announcement is a blessing in disguise in that it gives us the political impetus to make the shift once and for all." Other deputies focused on the potential to create jobs in Kalistan. "The opportunities that this emerging industry, created out of necessity, will offer are breathtaking," said Melanie Waltrip, Deputy from Sulari. "We look forward to creating jobs as well as helping free our country of the outdated reliance on fossil fuels. According to KPO, we could see as many as 500 jobs created in my own home district alone around this new industry. I would be for it even without the potential to put food on the plates of 500 families in Sulari."

The jumpstarting of this research initiative, while being spearheaded by KPO, is also supported by the National Assembly, the Government, and KalEnCon, who has themselves committed ₭10 million over the next 10 years to help spur the research. The Government of Suldanor has officially welcomed the research program, as well as the adjacent agricultural operations in the southern part of the Duchy.