Print
Email
Print Edition StoriesThursday, October 8, 2009
Metabolix gains grant to research biobased resins
By Mass High Tech staff
Companies born in the recession
MHT's Julie Donnelly: Life science startups finding investments
MHT reporter Efrain Viscarolasaga on NECN: Green tech brings jobs back to Mass.
Cambridge bioscience company Metabolix Inc. has been awarded a $350,000 grant for research into how to make biobased and biodegradable resins suitable for the plastic beverage bottles and other containers.
The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service is aimed at helping to reduce the 2 million tons of HDPE plastic used for blow molded containers each year, according to Metabolix (Nasdaq: MBLX).
Metabolix co-founder and chief scientific officer Oliver Peoples said the grant will fund a program to produce advanced formulations of bioplastic suitable for use in commercial scale manufacturing equipment and operations. The research focuses on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) such as those contained in Mirel, a family of bioplastics being commercialized by a joint venture between Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland. PHA-based materials are produced by the biological conversion of agricultural feedstocks.
Earlier this year, Metabolix and ADM signed up their first customer for Mirel when a Minnesota company, Bioverse Inc., signed a deal to use the material in plastic spheres designed to help control pond scum in golf course ponds.
Comments
If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.
RSS Feeds
