Packaging News South Africa

New technology makes bioplastics more feasible

Metabolix announced that in recently-completed greenhouse trials, switchgrass plants engineered using the company's multi-gene expression technology produced significant amounts of PHA bioplastics in leaf tissues. This result demonstrates a possible means of maximizing the potential of biomass crops for bioplastics.

“Metabolix has been developing technology to produce PHA polymer in switchgrass for over seven years,” said Dr. Oliver Peoples, Chief Scientific Officer. “This result validates the prospect for economic production of PHA polymer in switchgrass, and demonstrates for the first time an important tool for enhancing switchgrass for value-added performance as a bioenergy crop.”

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