Breakthrough technology to transform algae into bioplastics

22-Oct-09

A breakthrough technology to transform algae into bioplastics that could replace 50% or more of the petroleum content used in traditional plastic resins; has been developed by Cereplast, Inc., manufacturer of proprietary bio-based sustainable plastics. Cereplast plans to launch a new family of algae-based resins that will complement it's existing line of Compostables® & Hybrid® resins made from renewable material such as starches from corn, tapioca, wheat and potatoes and Ingeo® PLA. Algae from a typical photo-bioreactor is harvested daily and may be treated as biomass, which can be used as biofuel or as a raw material source for biopolymer feed stock. Chemical conversion companies are exploring a process to convert the algae biomass into viable monomers for further conversion into potential biopolymers. The process is still in the development phase, but we this breakthrough technology is expected to result in a significant new line of business. However, for the algae-based resins to be successful, substantial quantities of algae feedstock will be required. Recently, several big players have forayed into the algae production business, including Exxon's US$600 mln investment in Synthetic Genomics and BP's US$10 mln investment in Martek Biosciences.