Scientists produced painkillers from waste paper

Recent studies show that the amount of carbon produced by the pharmaceutical industry is much higher than that of the automobile industry. For this reason, scientists are looking for an alternative method to produce medicine. Researchers recently used paper waste to produce drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

According to Tekna technology and technology news service, researchers from the University of Bath in Italy say that with the help of a process, they were able to turn β-pinene, which is known as one of the components of turpentine, into the raw materials of some medicines. Currently, medicinal painkillers are produced using chemicals obtained from crude oil. Turpentine is a waste product from the paper industry, which is produced annually on a large scale equal to 350,000 tons per year. Also, these researchers claimed to have produced another substance called Hap4 from turpentine, which can be used in asthma-related drugs such as salbutamol. It is also used in many household cleaning materials.

Researchers have said about this new method, in addition to environmental sustainability, the drug production process will become more stable with the help of a process called biorefining. Of course, the use of the new method will cost more than the use of materials derived from crude oil. According to published reports, despite the fact that the automotive industry is smaller than the pharmaceutical industry, the amount of carbon produced in the pharmaceutical industry is 13% more.