Alternative and Commercially Viable Biosurfactants from Agricultural Byproducts

Surfactants are a category of chemicals that perform cleaning, shelf-life stability, and enhances texture. These essential chemicals are widely used to power consumer and household products, from laundry detergents, liquid soap, and shampoo, to paints and food ingredients. They are also used in a broad range of industrial applications such as coatings, adhesives, lubricants, and textile processing, as well as agricultural crop protection and pest control. 20 million tons of surfactant are produced each year, representing a $50B global market. The average person in the United States consumes more than 20 pounds of surfactant per year in consumer care products and foods.Historically, surfactants were manufactured from petroleum, and in recent decades they have been made from natural sources such as palm and coconut oil. Many of the most commonly used surfactants - such as detergents and textile processing aids - are extremely harmful to the environment and irritating to the skin. Surfactants are implicated in the bleaching of coral reefs, and they can even be found in drinking water. In addition the feedstocks and chemical synthesis processes can be very harmful to the planet.Ruby Bio has developed a novel biotechnology platform that uses naturally occurring yeast to produce chemicals such as surfactants through fermentation. The manufacturing process is analogous to fermenting beer, but the yeast is selected and tuned for the production of specific chemicals of interest. Because the platform's surfactants are naturally occurring, they tend to have extremely low skin irritation, low toxicity, high biodegradability, and low ecotoxicity. In addition, they perform better than conventional surfactants in mainstream applications such as laundry, food ingredients, and personal care products.The proprietary platform manufactures surfactants using a sugar feedstock. The first products were designed to run on commercially available sugar derived from corn or sugarcane, which are friendlier to the environment than conventional petrochemical or natural oil surfactants. The platform can also accept sugar from other sources, including up-cycled and renewable waste sources, such as agricultural byproducts. This work will extend the platform into up-cycled waste feedstocks, enabling surfactants with top performance and low toxicity to be manufactured with the best possible efficiency and use of the US's agricultural industry.