I-Corps: Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) bioplastics produced from waste resources

Award ID: 2146711

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of biodegradable plastics from waste resources to replace petroleum-based plastics in packaging. Continually increasing demand for plastic packaging, coupled with the inevitable escape of plastic waste into the environment, is posing a monumental pollution issue for the world. Entities within the consumer goods value chain have a pressing need to address these issues, manifested in the form of changing customer demands and legislative pressures. Unfortunately, recycling is not a feasible global solution. Also, most currently available bioplastic alternatives are not considered viable due to issues of cost, sustainability, functionality, and/or biodegradability. The successful development and commercialization of novel biodegradable plastics for packaging may not only address an environmental need for sustainability, but also may create a stronger packaging economy driven by technologies that address both commercial and environmental problems. This I-Corps project is based on the development of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) copolymers produced from waste resources. Implementation of PHAs has long been hindered by lack of versatility in the material, as well as production technologies based on using food crops. Upcycling abundant waste streams into novel PHA copolymers and blends may overcome these hindrances and address the technical challenges required for PHAs to replace petroleum-based plastics in packaging. Basing production of PHAs on waste resources may significantly reduce the cost and improve the sustainability of production. Currently, commercialized PHA technologies are limited to incorporating only a handful of different PHA monomers, such as the 4-carbon polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and the medium chain length (MCL) 6-carbon PHA polyhydroxyhexanoate (PHHx). Important properties for industrial application of bioplastics, such as the melting temperature, crystallization kinetics, elasticity, and Youngs modulus, may be improved by incorporation of different monomer units into the biopolymer product. Research and development into this proposed technology has demonstrated feasible production of a whole family of PHB-co-MCL copolymers and blends, incorporating all monomer units from 4 to 14 carbons. This may allow for production of a diverse array of fully biodegradable bio-based packaging materials. 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.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman