SBIR Phase II: Soft Foam Polyurethanes from Algae Oil

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is to help address the issue of non-bio degradable plastics polluting the planet through the development of biodegradable urethane monomers, formulations yielding industry standard performance metrics for their application. There are 2,600 pounds of plastic trash accumulated for each living person today, with at least 18 billion pounds of plastic entering our oceans every year. Sustainable products have yet to be commercialized at scale due to high cost and low quality. We will change the urethane industry through the commercialization of high-performance biodegradable materials and development of high value consumer products. This project proposes to address the lack of biologically based materials in consumer products by utilizing algae polyols, and their formulation chemistries, to develop and optimize appropriate bio-based formulations, specifically polyurethane foams, for consumer use as footwear. The company will demonstrate biodegradability of the product. The company will also develop the supply chain and associated processes for their algae raw materials to produce algae polyols at scale. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.