The innovative ways one can utilize plastic never cease to amaze. From beer kegs to fiber optics, has plastic become man’s new best friend?

Beer lovers, rejoice! Thanks to the injection moulding expertise of RPC Bramlage, the DraughtMaster was born, Carlsberg’s revolutionary new system for draught beer. You can, ahem, tap into the story here but to cut to the chase, here’s an excerpt to sip on:

DraughtMaster represents an answer to the brewing industry’s Holy Grail – a cost-effective method of serving draught beer in smaller bars. Traditionally, such outlets have suffered because larger kegs cannot be consumed quickly enough to maintain product quality. Carlsberg’s solution, three years in development, uses a high barrier 20 litre plastic keg and a unique refrigerated chamber to deliver fresh beer from the tap for up to 21 days.

RPC Bramlage’s design consists of nine parts, including a durable seal to the keg, a connecting tube to the DraughtMaster chamber, and an “ingenious piercing” device that keeps the oxygen out. The closure itself is injection moulded in high impact polypropylene. The keg gradually collapses as the beer is dispensed and can be easily disposed of, providing further cost efficiency for small establishments. A five liter version is also available for the home. Pretty cool. Carlsberg retains worldwide patent rights to this new form of plastic keg technology. It will be interesting to see if it fazes out aluminum kegs.

From the joys of beer innovation, we move on to “plastofuel” nuggets which are talked about in this nifty American Farm piece. In a nutshell, researchers at Penn State University want to turn waste agricultural plastic into energy, seeing as it contains petroleum. The plastofuel nuggets can be burned with coal in a coal-fire boiler. Here’s how:

Unlike recycling programs in which cleanliness is a factor, the plastofuel production process is tolerant of dirt and debris. A prototype machine, demonstrated at an energy workshop Aug. 2 sponsored by the Maryland Greenhouse Growers Association at Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville, forces waste plastics through a heated extrusion die, melting a thin jacket which locks unmelted pieces within. A hot knife cuts the extruded material into easily stored and readily shipped chunks. A full-size machine will produce 500 pounds of nuggets per hour.

Looks like this plastofuel concept is yet another log to fuel to the alternative-forms-of-energy fire. But that’s the great thing about plastic. It’s flexible, durable and opens up new forms of innovation, just in time to quell beliefs that innovation is dead. Don’t agree? Maybe this Nikkei Electronics Asia piece will change your mind:

Traditionally made of glass or silica, optical fibers are expensive to produce, fragile and not very flexible, and therefore have limited practical application. But three researchers based at the University of Sydney’s Optical Fiber Technology Center (OFTC), have found a way to make polymer optical fibers that can perform competitively with silica while being far easier to manufacture. The technique of making fiber from plastics instead of glass is expected to revolutionize the use and manufacture of technology around the world.

Is plastic man’s new best friend?