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Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by nostromo on Monday July 06, 2020 @05:23PM (#23752926)
> Their sales pitch was that the product was petroleum-free, a boon for spas that like to market being “natural.”

It's interesting that people see genetically modified yeast producing hydrogen peroxide as "natural" -- but not regular hydrogen peroxide.

Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by robbomacrae on Monday July 06, 2020 @06:41PM (#23753616)
I think this was just a bad summarization of the selling point for spas. This solution, coming from yeast, is carbon net negative (as they mention further down in the article) and reduces demand for a product of petroleum which might lead to more staying in the ground. The spa can then claim a lower carbon footprint which I imagine is very marketable.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by velox_io on Monday July 06, 2020 @06:30PM (#23753534)
The entire ad campaign around OxiClean: "usages the power of oxyzen" as if it natural and chemical free. It may be natural, but it isn't the [semi] friendly O2 variety that we breath.

Read some of the Q&As for Ozone Generators on Amazon, many people think it's safe for humans and pets. The internet is a dangerous place for information at times.

Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by verall on Monday July 06, 2020 @07:38PM (#23754017)
I really don't know how people think these are safe, I have a "ozone-free" UVC disinfectant light and it still produces enough ozone to smell pretty bad. I can only imagine how an O3 generator smells.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by vondur on Monday July 06, 2020 @07:36PM (#23754004)
Older laser printers were notorious for generating Ozone. I don't think people realize that Ozone is also bad for humans in addition to the atmosphere.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by taneq on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @12:12AM (#23755605)
Arrrrrgh oxygen is a chemical, everything is made of chemicals.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by freshpots on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @04:30PM (#23763674)
Oxygen is an element. Diatomic oxygen commonly known as O2 is a chemical. Everything is made of elements, including chemicals.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by taneq on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @11:48PM (#23766722)
Oxygen gas, colloquially referred to as 'oxygen', is a chemical.

If you want to be a smartypants I guess noble gases are elementary.

Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by freshpots on Thursday July 09, 2020 @02:31PM (#23783434)
I didn't start the pedantry.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by jimmySixDOF on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @08:12AM (#23758346)
Aquious Ozone is some of the safest and environmentally friendly disinfectant you can find. Only problem is that you need to use it right after making it.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by ponker on Monday July 06, 2020 @05:24PM (#23752935)
Well you can see the advantage here, the biological process that created this hydrogen peroxide from wastewater also created other compounds beneficial to the application. This isn't New Age chakra stuff, this has a direct chemical cause-and-effect.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by Alex3917 on Monday July 06, 2020 @06:01PM (#23753296)
> It's interesting that people see genetically modified yeast producing hydrogen peroxide as "natural" -- but not regular hydrogen peroxide.

If the yeast started producing too much hydrogen peroxide then presumably it would just die. Unlike when someone adds too much chemicals to a pool, which is common enough that probably most people have experienced it.

Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by three_seagrass on Monday July 06, 2020 @06:13PM (#23753405)
Their product sounds like pure hydrogen peroxide, not the actual yeast.

The yeast are in chemical reactors. The company harvests the peroxide from the reactors and sells it as a substitute to petroleum-produced peroxide.

Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by hoopleheaded on Tuesday July 07, 2020 @04:38PM (#23763773)
Vanillin is a good example of this. Vanillin produced by engineered yeast cost multiple times more than synthetic vanillin despite being identical products. This is because US packaging does not need to call the yeast-produced compound artificial vanilla flavor.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by maxerickson on Monday July 06, 2020 @05:49PM (#23753198)
They also buy waste from corn ethanol plants, which is nice, but there's a lot of natural gas and diesel implicated in those processes.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by frandroid on Monday July 06, 2020 @10:56PM (#23755254)
The ethanol plants are already in the greenwashing business so it makes sense to go all-in. :)
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by geitir on Monday July 06, 2020 @09:53PM (#23754829)
Hydrogen peroxide needs to be industrially synthesized and from googling a traditional synthesis route uses a palladium catalyst. That said I'm sure antiseptic hydrogen peroxide is highly regulated regarding trace metals.
Re:Two young scientists built a $250M business using yeast t... by three_seagrass on Monday July 06, 2020 @06:08PM (#23753353)
That's because GMO-free and the natural fallacy are marketing ploys.