Biome Bioplastics, one of the UK’s leading developers of natural plastics, is looking to lignin as a potential new source of organic chemicals for the manufacture of bioplastic, with the help of the University of Warwick’s Centre for Biotechnology and Biorefining.
BB’s parent company, Biome Technologies, was awarded a £150,000 grant by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), the UK’s innovation agency, as part of its ‘Sustainable high-value chemical manufacture through industrial biotechnology’ technical feasibility competition, which funds projects that apply sustainable bio-based feedstocks and biocatalytic processes in the production of chemicals.
The TSB has identified the potential of industrial biotechnology to help the chemical industry move away from a dependency on fossil resources to an economy based on renewable and biological compounds. Although bioplastics are often based on natural materials, Biome says some oil-based chemicals are widely used in their manufacture to convey properties including mechanical strength, tear resistance and durability. Deriving these chemicals from a plentiful, natural source could significantly reduce costs, expand functionality and increase performance in bioplastics, enhancing their ability to compete with, and ultimately replace, conventional oil-based plastics.
One of the most viable sources of these bio-based chemicals is lignin — the complex hydrocarbon that helps to provide structural support in plants, now mostly a waste product of the pulp and paper industry — which growth strategy firm Frost & Sullivan just last month projected could become the main renewable, aromatic resource for the chemical industry and allow petrochemists to secure an alternative, renewable source of raw material. Now Biome is supporting this assertion with its research into lignin as an abundant feedstock that could provide the foundation for a new generation of bioplastics.
Biome has partnered with the Centre for Biotechnology and Biorefining, which is pioneering academic research into lignin-degrading bacteria, to develop methods to control the lignin breakdown process to determine whether these chemicals can be extracted in significant quantities.
“The environmental and social concerns surrounding the use of fossil fuels and food crops make lignin a compelling target as a source of chemicals,” explains Professor Tim Bugg, Director of the Centre. “Often considered a waste product, it may provide a sustainable source of building blocks for aromatic chemicals that can be used in bioplastics.”
The TSB grant will support an initial feasibility project to isolate a chemical from lignin to replace the oil-derived equivalent currently used in a polyester that conveys strength and flexibility in some of Biome’s products. The production of such a bio-based polyester would reduce the cost and further enhance the sustainability of these products.
If the initial feasibility assessment is successful, building on this work, Biome will explore the possibilities for deriving a wide selection of bio-based aromatic chemicals from lignin, further reducing cost and expanding bioplastic functionality.
“The bioplastics market remains small compared to that of fossil-based polymers," comments Biome Bioplastics CEO Paul Mines. “Growth is restricted by the price of bioplastic resins being 2-4 times that of their petrochemical counterparts. We anticipate that the availability of a high performance polymer, manufactured economically from renewable sources would considerably increase the market.”
Industrial biotechnology is firmly supported by the UK government as a means of opening up new, emerging and established markets to developed less carbon-instensive products and processes. It poses a significant opportunity for the UK’s chemical sector to maintain and increase its competitiveness through the development of efficient and sustainable ways of satisfying our chemical and material needs. The total value to the UK of using industrial biotechnology is estimated to be between £4bn and £12bn by 2025.
Speaking of bio-based materials, last month INVISTA, owner of the LYCRA® brand, introduced the first commercial offering of a bio-derived spandex— the stretchy fabric commonly found in swimwear, sportswear and dancewear. The company says approximately 70 percent by weight of the new LYCRA® bio-derived spandex fiber comes from a renewable source made from dextrose, derived from corn.