Danimer Scientific upscales PHA biopolymer production in challenge to petrochemical plastics

23 Jun 2021 --- Danimer Scientific, a US-based bioplastics developer, has completed debottlenecking initiatives within its Winchester, Kentucky, manufacturing facility, enabling it to upscale production of its signature Nodax PHA biopolymer. 

The optimized processes and equipment will enable the output of 20 million pounds of finished product annually by the end of 2021, meeting global demand for PHA, a biodegradable alternative to petrochemical plastic.

“As expected, we have completed our debottlenecking initiatives on time, which will enable us to significantly scale up production from previous levels,” comments Danimer Scientific’s CEO Stephen Croskrey.

“After taking steps to optimize our processes and equipment, the facility was brought back online in late May, and we used early June to confirm that both fermentation and downstream processing of our material is running at the projected levels, which are higher than before these initiatives.”

“We look forward to delivering the high volumes of PHA our partners and customers need to create products that will help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics waste.”

Danimer Scientific’s development projects include packaging for PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay chips, a marine-degradable water bottle for Nestlé, and alcohol bottles for Bacardi. Meanwhile, Wincup has already brought Nodax straws to market.

More recently, Mars Wrigley and Danimer Scientific announced a two-year partnership to develop flexible and rigid home compostable packaging for confectionery products, starting with the Skittles brand in the US.Danimer Scientific will produce 20 million pounds of Nodax PHA annually after the debottlenecking initiatives.

Bio-based plastics
Unlike petrochemical-based plastics, Nodax is a PHA produced through natural fermentation processes using plant oil from crops such as canola.

The material is certified to degrade in various environments at the end of its lifecycle, including industrial composting facilities, backyard compost units, and soil and marine environments.

“Nodax is nature’s recycling effort. Plants capture carbon from the atmosphere, and we take that carbon from plants in the form of vegetable oil, feed it to a bacteria that converts the vegetable oil carbon into carbon for their metabolic processes, and that carbon is PHA,” Croskrey tells PackagingInsights.

“This is not scientifically correct, but the way to understand it is that if you continue to feed those bugs, they’ll continue to eat, and they’ll store that extra carbon as an energy reserve just like a human stores fat.”

“It’s not actually fat but that’s the analogy (we like to call it bug fat). We break the cell wall open and get the bug fat out, and that is the plastic resin.”

Nodax biopolymers can be used in a wide range of applications from drinking straws and flexible packaging to disposable cups and cutlery.

“With our Winchester facility primed to reach the height of its current capacity, we can further focus on expanding the facility over the next year,” explains Michael Smith, Danimer Scientific’s COO.

“As previously noted, the second phase of our construction process is ongoing, and we continue to expect the expansion to come online in the second quarter of 2022. We look forward to continuing our work to deliver sustainable solutions for the world’s plastic waste crisis.”Wincup has brought biodegradable Nodax straws to market.

A single-use savior
Danimer Scientific believes Nodax offers a better beginning-of-life and end-of-life cycle than any of today’s traditional plastics.

Croskrey stresses only 10 percent of conventional plastics are being recycled despite long-term industry efforts to improve recycling rates. He further highlights 30 percent of plastics produced today are going into the ocean, rivers, lakes and forests.

“That’s what we’re attacking here – if the product gets in the environment, it’s the preferred food source for bacteria and will disappear in a relatively short time. There are about 800 billion pounds of plastic produced every year and we think PHA can effectively replace 500 billion pounds.”

“Our specific focus is on single-use plastics, which is where we can add the most value because not only are we renewable but the material goes away. Snack food packaging, straws, cutlery, plates, take-home boxes, these are the kind of things that find their way into the environment and only used for a very short time, in some cases just minutes.”

PackagingInsights spoke in-depth with Croskrey at the start of the year, shortly after Danimer Scientific listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

By Joshua Poole