SBIR Phase II: A Novel Biodegradable Biopolymer from Waste Methane Gas

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will use waste methane gas (biogas) as a feedstock to produce pellets of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), a valuable polymer that is converted into a variety of high margin or high volume, eco-friendly plastic products such as childrens toys, electronic casings, water bottles, and food packaging containers. The current plastics market is dominated by petroleum-derived, non-biodegradable, energy-intensive plastics, which often persist in the environment upon disposal. Alternative plastics are derived from rapidly renewable biological resources (biobased) and consumed by microbes when no longer needed (biodegradable). Unfortunately, these alternative plastics are often costly to produce and their manufacturing process requires significant amounts of energy. Mango Materials has a novel, patented, energy-efficient method to produce a biodegradable, biobased polymer at a price competitive with petrochemical-based polymers. Phase II involves scaling the Mango Materials process to produce samples for customers to test while addressing associated challenges. Key goals are to optimize the production process and to verify that customers can process the product on existing manufacturing equipment. Key results include a more optimized process, customer validation of samples, a thorough understanding of polymer characteristics, and an updated cost and yield comparison. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will ultimately be the widespread production of low-cost bioplastics from waste biogas and the eventual displacement of petroleum-based plastics. Bioplastics have the potential to capture an increasing fraction of the plastics market, thereby giving consumers the choice to purchase affordable, environmentally friendly, bioplastic-based products. When products made from Mango Materials bioplastic are disposed in modern wastewater treatment plants or landfills, they biodegrade anaerobically (without oxygen) to methane. This methane can be cycled back and re-enter the process as feedstock to produce more PHA. Thus, the life cycle may be closed, creating a cradle to cradle system. This use of biogas will provide a strong economic incentive for facilities to capture their methane, rather than releasing or flaring it, which will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and reduce corresponding impacts on global warming. The innovation will enhance scientific understanding by studying the production of bioplastic from waste biogas and by characterizing the microbial species responsible for this conversion. This project represents one of the first times that waste biogas will be used commercially as a feedstock for bacteria to produce a valuable product.