A process in
which bugs eat industrial sludge and convert it to plastics is moving close to
commercial reality in Sweden.
AnoxKaldnes
of Lund, Sweden, is commissioning two new facilities that are one step from
commercial production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) plastics from industrial
and municipal wastewater.
"Over the
last couple of years, we have operated a pilot-scale facility that has
successfully served to prove the concept of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)
production from wastewater treatment," says Simon Bengtsson, a research
scientist at AnoxKaldnes.
"In
particular, we have confirmed that our PHA produced by open mixed cultures
treating wastewater have similar or even superior material properties compared
to PHA produced from pure microbial cultures and refined substrates," adds
Bengtsson.
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There are many
commercial ventures under way to produce PHA bioplastics using pure microbial cultures,
a costly process. In fact, one of the biggest hurdles facing bioplastics is
their cost structure versus plastics made from petroleum and natural gas. Projected
PHA prices from current commercial
ventures
are in the $2.25 to $2.75 per pound range. The competitive oil-based plastics
are priced below $1 per pound. The prices from the new wastewater process are
expected to be closer to oil-based plastics.
Commercial
ventures scaling up PHA production using fermentation processes include Telles,
USA ; Biomer Biotechnology Co., Germany; PHB Industrial, Brazil; Mitsubishi Gas
Chemical, Japan; Kaneka, Japan; Biomatera, Italy; Jiangsu Nantian Group, China;
Tianan Biologic Material, China; and Lianyi Biotech, China.
PHA plastics
are biodegradable and could be used in packaging and even some molded
automotive components that do not require high temperature tolerance.
In the
AnoxKaldnes' approach, the feedstock is a biomass created from organic matter
that is removed from wastewater, such as what's left over from pulp and paper
production.
The sludge
is enhanced with nutrients and oxygen, and then the bugs go to work. The basic
idea is that bacteria and other organisms store PHA as a source of carbon and
energy for their survival.
Researchers
at AnoxKaldnes have been able to boost PHA content to 42 percent of sludge by dry
weight.
The
work
by the company has been partly supported by the European Union Neptune project,
which also includes as a partner the Advanced Water Management Centre at The
University of Queensland, Australia.
Production
of bioplastics is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate above 40
percent through 2015, according to a new
report from BCC
Research.
A California
company called
Micromidas
is also exploring the potential to produce bioplastics from wastewater.
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