BIA on the TF1 8 o'clock news!

Elastic, resistant, waterproof, nothing surprising for rubber, but this one wasn't made from petroleum, far from it. It started life as a tomato. More precisely, it comes from the skin of the tomato, as Johnny Beaugrand, Director of Research at INRAE Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), explains. Every year, the food industry throws away tonnes of tomato skins. This is a green mine for research. The work of the researchers consists of deconstructing the material, separating the molecules to make new products. Bits of plastic or a mixture which, when applied to plants, protects them from certain diseases. The aim is to minimise the use of pesticides. Their latest discovery concerns flax, and could well revolutionise the work of a small business in Normandy that manufactures car upholstery. The raw materials the company currently uses could be replaced by flax, a local product. It is less polluting to produce, less dangerous to handle and easier to recycle. In another innovation, an INRAE researcher and her team are currently working on a type of salad dressing. To mix oil and water, you need mustard; to make bitumen, cosmetics or paint, the ingredient that stabilises the mixture is petroleum-based. But they have succeeded in replacing this oil with cellulose. A French SME has seized on this discovery and is already marketing skin creams that are more respectful of the environment. TF1 | Report T. Jarrion, M. Simon.