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A specialist in the development of biodegradable polymers from natural sources is calling on the cosmetics industry to reduce its use of conventional polymers, which contribute towards global plastic pollution. The company, Teysha Technologies, is in talks with several global cosmetic brands to discuss the use of its biodegradable biopolymers as an additive to reduce environmentally damaging microplastics — and is now urging other companies to follow suit.

Despite legislation around the use of plastics in cosmetic products tightening in recent years, the industry still relies heavily on their use as additives. In products such as moisturising lotions, microplastics — polymer fragments that measure less than five millimetres in size — are commonly used as emulsifiers and viscosity regulators.

When such products are washed away, the microplastic fragments are introduced into the environment where they can remain for hundreds of years or be consumed by animals and enter the food chain. According to numbers presented by the UK Government in 2018, a single shower using a shower gel containing microplastics can lead to as many as 100,000 microbeads entering the ocean. Although exfoliating plastic microbeads have been banned in cosmetic products in the UK since 2018, microplastics from other sources are still present.

Teysha Technologies argues that there is little reason for cosmetic manufacturers to still be using environmentally harmful polymers, because greener alternatives are now available.

“Polymers play an important role in most cosmetic products, from stabilising formulations to helping products remain on the skin for longer,” explained Matthew Stone, managing director of Teysha Technologies. “However, there is no reason why many of those polymers need to be unsustainable or environmentally damaging.

“Teysha has been leading research into the development of biopolymers that are completely biodegradable, while still having all the properties needed to suit a range of uses. This led us to develop a tuneable biopolymer that we can tailor to specific applications. Cosmetics is one of these areas and we are working with a global cosmetic manufacturer looking into the use of our polymer platform to support the move away from environmentally damaging products.

“In the coming years, legislation will only continue to tighten around plastic use. The European cosmetics industry is already facing the issues this can present due to the imminent rollout of the European Chemicals Agency’s (ECHA’s) proposed microplastic restrictions in early 2022. Making the swap to biodegradable, environmentally benign alternatives now will save the regulatory cost and complications of product reformulation.”

In 2019, the ECHA proposed new restrictions on the use of ‘intentionally added microplastics’. Although there are some exemptions to the proposed restrictions, the proposal would mean significant reformulation costs for cosmetic manufacturers. Industry association Cosmetics Europe has been critical of the impact the restrictions would impose on the industry, claiming the proposal would be “extremely disproportionate in its effects” on cosmetics manufacturers.

Teysha Technologies developed a natural polycarbonate platform that can create fully biodegradable substitutes for existing petroleum-based plastics. The bioplastic, AggiePol, is derived from sustainable feedstocks and can be physically, mechanically and chemically tuned to suit the needs of its intended application, with degradation time also being tuneable. This means it can be made suitable for use not only in cosmetic products as a functional plastic, but also in cosmetic packaging.

“There’s a lot of pressure to move to alternatives [to plastics], which aren’t necessarily better from an environmental and climate impact point of view,” said a supermarket representative interviewed in the recent ‘Plastic Promises’ report, published by Green Alliance in January 2020.

Although spoken from a retail perspective, the comment summarises the challenge faced by packaging businesses around the world. The wider report also draws attention to the issues that surround substituting plastics, especially when there is consumer demand to accelerate the transition.

It goes without saying that planning, production design, packaging or manufacturing involving plastics should involve due consideration of their environmental impact, with engineering and scientific rigor. However, environmental decisions spurred on by public pressure — be they knee-jerk or well-meaning — have frequently led to sudden changes being made without sufficient consideration of their consequences or ramifications.

For example, many beverage brands have used conventional plastics in their processes for many years. As awareness of the plastic pollution problem increases, these processes have been adapted to use more bio-based polymers such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is recyclable but still majorly derived from petrochemical sources. Some manufacturers have moved further from plastics and adopted glass bottle packaging, which presents the first of several complications that arise when replacing plastics. Specifically, the carbon footprint.

The carbon footprint of packaging will vary depending on the manufacturing process, material, source and supply chain. As noted in a review published by the South African Journal of Industrial Engineering in 2016, the typical global warming potential (GWP) of producing one 500 ml PET bottle was approximately 2,858 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per hectolitre (gCO2e/hl). For 300 ml glass bottles, it was significantly higher at 22,249 gCO2e/hl. This would be only 14.2 g of CO2 emissions per 500 ml PET bottle, compared with 66.7 g per 300 ml glass bottle.

Of course, that is just one review and further studies may vary. However, the findings do highlight the importance of considering environmental implications of carbon footprint when selecting plastic substitutes. Similarly, choosing alternatives requires careful consideration of the available recycling infrastructure.

When the fast food retailer McDonald’s launched its paper straws, it later admitted that there may be challenges in recycling them, whereas the previous plastic ones had been readily recyclable. Likewise, for several years, many areas of the UK faced significant challenges in recycling Tetra Pak composite cartons. Although these cartons were sold as being environmentally-friendly, issues arose due to aluminium foil liners and polyethylene caps on the packaging.

Today, similar challenges are encountered by drink manufacturers that are swapping plastic bottles for composite cartons with coated interiors. This is commonly done by many supermarket-owned brands, in recent years, in an effort to cut back on plastics. Most brands assume these can be recycled, but that often depends on the available recycling infrastructure that is a pressing issue in many countries.

This is all without considering the consumer convenience aspect. Although many consumers are well-intentioned, plastic packaging and single-use applications rose to prevalence because they are convenient. A fragile, glass bottle does not offer the same levels of versatility, or convenience, as plastic. It also presents a direct and immediate health risk if disposed of improperly — after all, approximately, only 45% of waste is recycled in the UK.

So, what’s the solution? Unsurprisingly, it’s not a simple question to answer. Many nuances must be considered in plastic substitutes, from their recyclability and global warming potential (GWP) to their versatility and suitability for applications. What we can say with some confidence, however, is that research into polymers is invaluable.

For example, at Teysha Technologies, we have spent years extensively researching biodegradable biopolymers. These polymers are derived from entirely natural feedstocks and, crucially, can degrade in natural environments within a relatively short period of time. One solution that we‘ve developed helps to overcome the challenges of versatility, which are traditionally faced by biodegradable and bio-based polymers.

This solution is a plug-and-play platform of sorts, where modified natural-product monomers and various co-monomers can be utilised. Additives can also be used to modify the properties of the polymer that’s being produced, which allows materials scientists to form materials that vary greatly in their thermal, mechanical and degradability properties.

In effect, these biodegradable biopolymers could be the ideal candidates to replace conventional plastics derived from petrochemical feedstocks. These polymers could be used without any sacrifice to the performance of a material in a given application, and without swapping to more carbon-intensive or non-recyclable alternatives.

One challenge that can’t be avoided is that these changes take time. However, if we can learn anything from the sudden plastic substitutions of recent years, it’s that transitioning to packaging materials that are truly more environmentally-friendly must be a process, rather than a leap. With true investment, in terms of engineering and materials science, there is no reason why environmental concernscannot be tackled head-on by developments in polymer technologies.

Look past the media hype around bioplastics and it’s difficult to know where to really start. What is a bioplastic? What is biodegradability? Are bioplastics ready for the mainstream? These may seem like innocuous questions, but the reality is not so straightforward. Here, Jonathan Wilkins, director at industrial parts supplier EU Automation, sheds light on what manufacturers should really know before embracing bioplastics.

Back in October 2018, following days of stormy weather and rough seas on the UK coastline, Brean Beach, in Burnham, Somerset was left littered with rubbish washed up with the tide. While this wasn’t exceptional — marine debris is often deposited on the beach following a storm — when one of the Burnham Coastguard Rescue Team posted a picture on Facebook of an old plastic bottle they’d found on the beach, it sparked a wider debate around plastic pollution.

You see, the bottle wasn’t any old bottle. It was a bottle of Fairy washing-up liquid from at least 1971. What’s more, the bottle was in pristine condition despite having weathered the seas for nearly fifty years. When you consider the fact that a typical plastic bottle can take up to 450 years to decompose in the ocean, and that 12.7 million tonnes of plastic seeps into our oceans every year, it’s clear to see why the incident struck a chord with so many people on social media.

Biodegradable or bioplastic?

While the terms bioplastic and biodegradable plastic have been widely used, they are somewhat of a misnomer. Bioplastics, as the name suggests, are plastics made entirely, or in part, from organic, naturally occurring feedstocks. Biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, are plastics that can be broken down naturally by microorganisms to accepted industry standards.

However, this is where we need to do some myth-busting. While all biodegradable plastics are bioplastics, not all bioplastics are biodegradable. Take Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle, for example, which is partly plant-based. The bottle is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), created through the polymerisation of a mixture of organic and petrochemical-based compounds. So, while it can be called a bioplastic owing to its bio-based feedstock, it will never biologically break down.

This is not to say that bioplastics made entirely from plant-based compounds don’t exist. In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of bioplastics made from starches derived from corn and sugar cane, that are converted into polylactic acid (PLA), a type of plastic that is becoming popular for food packaging and other single-use plastics.

It’s important to note that while entirely plant-based bioplastics are biodegradable, they are not necessarily all compostable at home. This brings us onto our second misnomer: biodegradability. Although bioplastics may biodegrade in industrial composters that offer the high levels of heat, pressure, pH and microbial environment necessary for degradation, these conditions are rarely, if ever, present in the natural world. This means that even bioplastics derived from entirely natural sources, may still never break down in the sea.

What this means for industry

As a manufacturer, you may be considering playing your part in tackling the plastic crisis by addressing the use of plastics in your products or in the parts you use in your manufacturing operations. Bioplastics may seem like a tempting option, but if they’re no better for the environment, it may not be worth the cost of adapting your infrastructure to adopt them.

Breakthroughs in bioplastics are happening as we speak. For example, biopolymer specialist Teysha Technologies has developed a bioplastic whose properties can be tuned to break down in the natural environment shortly after entering the sea.

Professor Karen L. Wooley, inventor and CTO at Teysha explains: “Over the past couple of decades, we’ve become keenly aware of the potential negative impacts that may occur for polymer materials that persist beyond their useful lifetime. This has led us to consider the full lifecycle of plastics at the initial design stage.

“A significant advantage of our technology is the use of natural, sustainable feedstocks to generate polycarbonate materials with the ability to tune the physical, mechanical and chemical properties by controlling the chemistry, formulation and polymerization conditions.

“The strength, toughness, durability and longevity of our polymers are dependent on the properties of the specific monomers used in polymerization and can be tuned for various applications. Our material properties range from flexible to rigid, with degradation occurring over a period of weeks to years, depending on the polymer composition and the environmental conditions.

“The main mechanism of polymer degradation is through hydrolytic degradation, allowing for breakdown in any environment containing moisture and does not require microbial activity, anaerobic conditions or industrial composting.”

Managing obsolescence

Truly flexible biopolymers may still be years from commercialisation. In the meantime, if obsolescence management is your priority, then using industrial parts made from existing plastics may offer a way of extending the useful lifetime of the part in question. Even after they break, these parts can be repaired, refurbished and returned to operational use. This philosophy or repair, reuse, recycle should continue even once more viable bioplastics enter the marketplace.

It seems that embracing bioplastics is not as straightforward as it first seems. For those in industry, understanding the mechanics of materials will go a long way in allowing manufacturers to embrace not just bioplastics, but engaging with materials more sustainably altogether.

Link to the original article – https://www.memuk.org/manufacturing/composites-plastics/why-manufacturers-should-really-know-what-it-means-to-embrace-bioplastics-52672

Bioplastics company Teysha Technologies has successfully raised £1.2m of investment, supported by Angel Investment Network (AIN), the world’s largest online angel investing platform.

London-based Teysha has created a patented, renewable, fully biodegradable plastic substitute, using waste from landfill to creating polymers for hundreds of different applications.

The fundraise was carried out on the AIN platform, with the investment being used to deliver prototypes and secure contracts. For each contract Teysha conduct specific prototyping to ensure the material needed for that application is suitable for the job. Teysha, which launched in 2017 own two patents already with more planned.

Duncan Clark, Director of Operations at Teysha Technologies said: “”We are delighted with the interest we have received from AIN investors. Made from all-natural and inedible agricultural waste streams, Teysha`s second-generation bioplastic is the result of decades of R&D. One of the biggest challenges facing bioplastics, as this new industry evolves, concerns the fate of the products when their use has ended, our product tackles this by breaking down to its constituent earth-friendly organic building blocks.

“Our patented tunable system means we can make a large range of materials for multiple applications with different properties and hugely varied lifespans. We’re looking forward to the exciting applications we can develop alongside multiple industry sectors with this technology.”

Sam Louis, Head of Consultancy, who led the fundraise added: “Teysha’s technology creates an incredible opportunity for how we produce materials. The investors on our platform were really drawn to its ability to answer the growing demand for sustainable plastics. The product’s inherent versatility and the ability to create so many different products depending on need.

“It’s exactly the sort of company we love to be involved with and we have seen a significant rise in interest among investors for impact-led businesses of this type.”

Teysha is one of the companies featured on the new SeedTribe website. SeedTribe, powered by AIN, is an online community connecting profit-with-purpose startups with expertise and investment.

Link to the original article – https://www.uktech.news/news/london-based-teysha-technologies-raises-1-2m-20191115

Plastics pose a problem for the planet – from the fossil fuels used to produce them to the harmful chemicals released during their slow degradation. But plastic is so ubiquitous that giving it up presents a complex challenge.

Plastic has become such an integral part of life in the Western world that it’s often easy to forget that the material was only invented in the 19th century. This is just as well, as many of the durable plastics in single-use products, such as bottled water and six-pack rings, can take up to 450 years to degrade. Today, we could probably find remnants of the first plastics ever manufactured still laying in landfill or floating in our oceans.

The longevity of plastics wouldn’t be as acute a problem if it weren’t for the scale of their use. Polymers are remarkably versatile materials, boasting wide-ranging characteristics from durability and stiffness to tensile strength and flexibility, depending on the specific polymer used. This versatility means plastics feature everywhere from structural reinforcement to disposable packaging.

In March 2019, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation published its New Plastics Economy report, which noted that 8 million tonnes of plastic packaging is produced every year by 30 global brands. Almost 50% of this packaging was produced by Coca Cola, totalling three million tonnes. Much of this packaging will be single use, so the majority of the eight million tonnes produced this year will be plastic pollution next year.

The problem goes much further than just a build-up of waste plastic cluttering the land and sea. Because plastic is a man-made material, it is generally difficult to break down naturally. For most naturally occurring materials, decomposition occurs because bacteria consume the larger material and break it down into smaller, useful compounds.

Breaking the chain

Unless they are recycled or incinerated, plastic products that are discarded end up in one of two places. They are either disposed of with general waste and destined to reside in landfill, or are thrown away as litter, which can then wind up in the oceans. According to figures published in Science in 2015, anywhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million tonnes of plastic finds its way to sea every year.

“For the tonnes of plastic that are washed away into the ocean, ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the main factor influencing degradation,” explains Dr Ashlee Jahnke, director of research at renewable polymer producer Teysha Technologies (pictured). “The decomposition process of plastic involves the long, complex polymer chains of the material being separated into smaller chains through a process known as chain scission, whereby the linkages holding the atoms of the material together break.”

Although it can take more than 450 years for plastic to fully degrade, the process of chain scission happens at a much faster rate, with the first chains breaking in under one year.

In our oceans, this poses two fundamental problems. The first is that the smaller the polymer debris is, the easier it is for organisms to ingest. The second problem posed by plastic degradation in our waters is that of the chemicals produced during chain scission.

For the plastics that stay on land and are buried in landfill, the process of degradation is similar. As many pieces of plastic waste in landfill will not be exposed to sunlight or UV radiation in the same way as sea plastics, the factor affecting degradation is heat.

“As a dumping ground for waste, landfills contain a mix of many types of solid waste, most of which does not have the same trouble degrading that plastics do,” Dr Jahnke continues. “As these products deteriorate, the chemical reactions that occur lead to an elevated temperature, which can contribute to polymer breakdown. However, the same problem of potentially toxic chemical leakage persists, which can easily enter soil and make its way back into our food chain over time.”

Nature finds a way

Plastics and plastic pollution are among the top problems facing the planet and life as we know it today. As such, researchers around the world have been vehemently searching for a solution, which led to the development of bioplastics and biodegradable plastics.

Dr Jahnke says: “Often confused, bioplastics are based on naturally occurring components, either entirely or in part, whereas biodegradable plastics are any plastic that can be completely broken down naturally to accepted industry standards. Generally, all biodegradable plastics are bioplastics, and that is why naturally occurring microorganisms can consume them, unlike fossil-fuel derived plastics.

“Theoretically, developing biodegradable plastics means that it’s easy to solve the plastics problem. We simply need to move away from unsustainable plastics and adjust manufacturing processes to use naturally occurring, safely biodegradable polymers instead. Of course, this is not the pragmatic approach.”

The reason why plastic in its current form has proven so popular is its versatility. It can be soft, flexible and malleable where the application needs it, or it can be developed in a way that makes it highly durable and rigid. Biodegradable plastics have so far lacked this versatility, limiting the scope of their application.

“But now, we’re on the precipice of change in the industry,” Dr Jahnke says. “Following years of research, Teysha Technologies has achieved a landmark breakthrough in creating a viable substitute for existing petroleum-based polycarbonates.

“The breakthrough is more of a platform than a single polymer system, providing inherent versatility in the properties that can be achieved. It can be thought of as a plug-and-play system where various modified natural-product monomers and various co-monomers can be used. In addition to co-monomers, various additives can be used to modify the properties of the final polymer produced. This versatility allows for the formation of a variety of materials that can vary greatly in their thermal and mechanical properties.”

Because the platform facilitates the use of various components, everything from strength and toughness to thermal stability and even the degradation rate of the material can be controlled.

“This is the pragmatic solution for consumers, material scientists and design engineers alike,” Dr Jahnke states. “Not only does it accommodate for the existing lifestyle of the end user, but it also allows materials scientists to create something that serves as a desired, drop-in replacement for petroleum-based plastics.

“Traditional plastics might pose a problem for the planet, but tuneable plastics could offer a viable solution that lets us sustain life as we know it.”

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Engineering Materials

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As perhaps is the case with several of you, our team returned from K 2019 last week with quite a bit of news both in terms of trends in the plastics industry—namely, sustainability and the ‘Circular Economy’—as well as actual product launches. The latter, when it came to materials and additives, oftentimes was directly linked to these leading trends. For example, SABIC commercially launched what is reportedly the first renewable feedstock polycarbonate—60% of this PC is made from tall oil derived from pulp waste.

Last December, we featured a blog after being contacted by U.K. start-up Teysha Technologies regarding their ‘plug-and-play’ bioplastic platform that results in different grades of PC. Here is an update and further clarification on the origins of this technology and where it’s heading. This came to us through Texas A& M University, which announced that a recent sponsored research agreement between it and Teysha Technologies has brought together top international research scientists and elite process and commercialization experts dedicated to a common cause: developing unique intellectual property aimed at solving the world’s plastics pollution problem.

Texas A&M chemist Karen Wooley and her multidisciplinary research group within the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry have been working over the last decade to perfect chemical approaches capable of changing the game where plastics and the related global glut are concerned. They have succeeded in synthetically transforming sugars and other renewable bio-sourced feedstocks into sustainable polycarbonates that degrade in water to regenerate their natural building blocks and are customizable to fit a variety of applications.

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, as we reported previously, an enterprising group of technologically savvy industrialists with the scientific acumen to match had been searching the past few years for versatile bioplastics that could form the basis of a potential commercial foundation. As clarification, then, it turns out the two teams eventually met and joined forces, resulting in Teysha Technologies, which licensed Texas A&M University System intellectual property surrounding the bioplastics technology.

In addition to the efforts underway with administrative support from the Texas A&M Division of Research, Wooley and Texas A&M Assistant Research Scientist Ashlee Jahnke assist with industrial translation and commercial adoption as chief technology officer and head of research and development, respectively.

Explains Wooley, “Teysha was founded by Matthew Stone, Teysha’s managing director, and Ashlee and I were added to the board later to help with the technology development, which is supported through continued research here at Texas A&M through the sponsored research agreement. It ensures that further research and development can now be done, providing a pathway to translate the chemical technologies that began at Texas A&M to deliver real societal benefit.”

Jahnke describes the team’s technology as a plug-and-play system in which various additives can be used to modify the properties of the eventual polymer produced, allowing for tunable durability and biodegradability, setting it apart from other bioplastics solutions currently under development. The polymers are characterized by a diversity of shapes, sizes and fabrication methods and feature different chemical, physical and mechanical properties best suited to the situation or need and desired outcome.

As previously reported, Jahnke concedes that all the plastics they are producing are polycarbonates, but many also contain ester bonds. As such, they can also produce simple polyesters using their technology platform. “We can produce a wide range of plastics because our plug-and-play platform allows us to use various natural product monomers as polymer building blocks, and our current focus is on various grades of polycarbonates.”

Sums up Wooley, “It is quite rewarding that this Texas A&M research is leading to globally impactful technological developments and solutions that appeal to an international market. At the same time, our key missions are to advance fundamental knowledge, train the next-generation work force and inform the public, all while harnessing the distinct scientific competencies and advantages within Texas A&M’s broader infrastructure that makes it all possible.”

Link to the original article – https://www.ptonline.com/blog/post/texas-am-teysha-technologies-team-up-to-advance-research-into-sustainable-polycarbonate

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX) – Researchers at a lab in the Texas A&M College of Sciences are teaming up with Teysha Technologies in the United Kingdom to expand research and production of biodegradable polymers.

Jahnke explains on First News at Four that, unlike plastics common today, this Texas A&M-developed plastic can degrade simply with moisture.

“So, if you drop this in the ocean, it would dissolve completely within 5-10 years,” said Jahnke—and with no environmental harm done to the species around it. Plus, each plastic sample can be developed differently to last a different amount of time, or “for its useful life.”

Research and development will continue, however, Jahnke says it’s time for the product to start its journey to the marketplace. That’s where Teysha Technologies comes in, working to eventually put Texas A&M’s biodegradable plastic into the things we buy every day.

For the full conversation with Jahnke, see the video player above. For more on the researcher, see the article from Texas A&M Today in the Related Links.

Link to the original article – https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/Texas-AM-seals-partnership-to-reduce-plastics-pollution-563876811.html

Research from Texas A&M and Teysha Technologies aims to reduce plastics pollution through the development of biodegradable polymers.

Imagine a plastic that’s as good for the environment as it is for business and personal convenience.

It’s a dream with the potential to become reality, thanks to a recent sponsored research agreement between Texas A&M University and United Kingdom-based Teysha Technologies that brings together top international research scientists and elite process and commercialization experts dedicated to a common cause: developing unique intellectual property aimed at solving the world’s plastics pollution problem.

For the past decade, Texas A&M chemist Karen Wooley and her multidisciplinary research group within the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry have been working to perfect chemical approaches capable of changing the game where plastics and the related global glut — an estimate in excess of 10 million metric tons and growing — are concerned. They have succeeded in synthetically transforming sugars and other renewable bio-sourced feedstocks into sustainable polycarbonates that degrade in water to regenerate their natural building blocks and are customizable to fit a variety of applications.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, an enterprising group of technologically savvy industrialists with the scientific acumen to match had been searching the past few years for versatile bioplastics that could form the basis of a potential commercial foundation. The two teams eventually met and joined forces, resulting in Teysha Technologies, which licensed Texas A&M University System intellectual property surrounding the bioplastics technology.

In addition to the efforts underway with administrative support from the Texas A&M Division of Research, Wooley and Texas A&M Assistant Research Scientist Ashlee Jahnke assist with industrial translation and commercial adoption as chief technology officer and head of research and development, respectively.

“Teysha was founded by Matthew Stone, Teysha’s managing director, and Ashlee and I were added to the board later to help with the technology development, which is supported through continued research here at Texas A&M through the sponsored research agreement,” Wooley said. “It ensures that further research and development can now be done, providing a pathway to translate the chemical technologies that began at Texas A&M to deliver real societal benefit.”

To accelerate those development activities, Peter Hai Wang also joined the Texas A&M research team, providing additional valuable expertise.

Teysha’s global expertise was on full display this spring at the 2019 Texas A&M New Ventures Competition (TNVC) hosted by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES). After attending the 2018 event as observers, Teysha took fourth place and also won an investor award. Around the same time, the European Union Parliament approved a ban on single-use plastics, stepping up the pressure on businesses across the globe to find new, Earth-friendly bioplastics sources for their future products.

“The plastics pollution problem and the need for sustainable sourcing of feedstocks for plastic production, together with in-built mechanisms for plastic degradation, are of critical importance,” Jahnke said. “We’ve become keenly aware of the potential negative impacts that may occur for polymer materials that persist beyond their useful lifetime. This has led us to consider the full life cycle of plastics at the initial design stage.”

Jahnke describes the team’s technology as a plug-and-play system in which various additives can be used to modify the properties of the eventual polymer produced, allowing for tunable durability and biodegradability, setting it apart from other bioplastics solutions currently under development. The polymers are characterized by a diversity of shapes, sizes and fabrication methods and feature different chemical, physical and mechanical properties best suited to the situation or need and desired outcome.

“It is quite rewarding that this Texas A&M research is leading to globally impactful technological developments and solutions that appeal to an international market,” Wooley said. “At the same time, our key missions are to advance fundamental knowledge, train the next-generation work force and inform the public, all while harnessing the distinct scientific competencies and advantages within Texas A&M’s broader infrastructure that makes it all possible.”

Link to the original article – https://today.tamu.edu/2019/10/23/solving-the-plastics-problem/

The science of solving the ‘plastic problem’: Creating a palatable journey from petrochemicals to bioplastics

Dr Ashlee Jahnke, Head of Research at Teysha Technologies, explains how the company has developed a polymer platform that uses natural building blocks, which may offer a palatable journey from petrochemicals to bioplastics. Read more