Source: WESTERN REGIONAL RES CENTER submitted to NRP
PRODUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY PHA BIOPOLYMERS FROM WASTE BIOGAS DERIVED FROM UNDER-VALUED BIOMASS FEEDSTOCKS
Sponsoring Institution
Agricultural Research Service/USDA
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
USDA INHOUSE
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0442420
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Jun 16, 2022
Project End Date
Jun 15, 2027
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
WESTERN REGIONAL RES CENTER
(N/A)
ALBANY,CA 94710
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
(N/A)
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
40%
Applied
50%
Developmental
10%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
5021510202010%
5111520200010%
4031530202020%
5021549200050%
4031310200010%
Knowledge Area
511 - New and Improved Non-Food Products and Processes; 403 - Waste Disposal, Recycling, and Reuse; 502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1310 - Potato; 1510 - Corn; 1549 - Wheat, general/other; 1520 - Grain sorghum; 1530 - Rice;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering; 2000 - Chemistry;
Goals / Objectives
The objective is to produce environmentally friendly, commercially-viable Poly (HydroxyAlkanoate) (PHA) biopolymers from waste biogas, thus producing PHA blends that can be solvent-cast or thermoformed into consumer products. Commercial validation of the Mango Materials is to be demonstrated at scale using biogas from various sources, including ag-derived feedstocks, municipal solid waste (MSW) or wastewater-derived methane. While use of waste biogas from anaerobic digestion decreases the cost of raw feedstocks required to make Mango Materialsâ¿¿ bioplastics, major hurdles will be addressed, including lowering the cost of polymer isolation.
Project Methods
Jointly, Mango and ARS will maintain and improve methanotrophic microbes, cell lines that produce PHA using methane as a primary source of carbon. They will work to optimize fermentation conditions, polymer separation protocols, and downstream processes, including extrusion into useful resins. Mango and ARS will work jointly to optimize the potential commercial viability of commercial products by developing prototypes using a wide-range of PHA products from an array of feedstocks, exploring the mechanical properties of end-products. This includes measuring PHA rheology, film strength, flexibility, adhesive properties, crystallinity, melting properties, and clarity. The goal is to determine the quality/end-use mechanical properties of the biopolymers produced, which, coupled with market analysis, will be used to optimize the cost-benefits of potential consumer products.