Released: 11-Mar-2020 8:55 AM EDT
Wood-based catalyst to keep fruit fresh
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology

If different types of vegetables and fruits are stored together, they influence each other in the ripening process. This is due to ethylene, which is emitted by some plant-based foodstuff and accelerates ripening. To prevent excessive food waste due to accelerated ripening Empa and ETH Zurich researchers are developing a new catalyst that degrades ethylene into water and carbon dioxide.