Co-producing value-added, biodegradable plastics and additives from agricultural byproducts |

Co-production in a 3L bioreactor

Highly-concentrated, naturally-colored PHA pellets

Vision for creating a full pallet of 100% bio-based PHAs

Name of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Co-producing value-added, biodegradable plastics and additives from agricultural byproducts
URL of a video introducing the work（under 5 minutes）

https://youtu.be/7rQwUFNxOZo
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea (in English or both English and your language)

Ourobio is a young synthetic biology, biomaterials, and circular economy company. We develop engineered microorganisms to turn industrial byproducts into low-footprint, bio-based biodegradable plastic resins and additives, and we work with our customers to formulate biomaterial blends to replace synthetic materials in their products and packaging.

Ourobio began as an academic research project at the University of Virginia in 2019 and was spun out in March 2020 with the goal of reducing microplastic pollution and the barriers to biodegradable plastic adoption. Our founders have been working together for nearly 5 years and offer a shared passion for sustainability and experience in entrepreneurship, synthetic biology, and biochemistry.

Our technology is distinguished in its ability to convert low-value agricultural residues into two complementary biomaterials in a single fermentation process. Our proof-of-concept uses dairy processing byproducts to co-produce bio-based biodegradable plastic resins and colorants - lowering the cost, footprint, and difficulty of producing marketable/brandable, fully bio-based and biodegradable products and packaging.

Each of our products individually provides a safer, healthier alternative and presents a measurable reduction in emissions and environmental toxicity relative to its synthetic counterpart. Encasing pigments in PHA helps improve the dispersion, fastness, and UV stability of the colorant system, and by producing both simultaneously, our approach simplifies the supply chain, maximizing the value we get out of every production run, reducing handling fees, and helping plastic converters and brands to better appeal to their customers and meet their sustainability goals.

We have directed our research efforts to using whey as our initial feedstock, given that less than half of the 120M+ tons generated annually are repurposed. By using agricultural byproducts as a feedstock to produce sustainable additives and polymers (carrier) simultaneously, our process provides food and ag processors a more sustainable method of waste management, addresses several challenges and opportunities in the growing global agriculture and (bio)plastics industries, offers to improve the commercial viability of industrial biomanufacturing, and aligns our work with these industries’ sustainability and circularity goals. In time, we will expand our platform to repurpose a greater variety of waste streams to produce a portfolio of additives, and we will work with our R&D partners to license the use of our strains to provide supplemental revenues and help to accelerate the replacement of petrochemicals.
How does your work address the 3 P’s (for Planet, for People, for Profit) for Sustainability?

Without swift action to reduce overutilization of resources and the creation of persistent environmental pollutants, we will continue to experience accelerating climate change and risk collapse of ecosystems that play a critical role in supporting life on Earth. Plastics and plastic additives present a particular threat to human and environmental health, as their production is responsible for toxic pollution, like microplastics and PCBs that find their way into the food chain via our waterways and waste management systems.

Biomanufacturing is a high-potential means to resolve these issues at scale. Biomanufacturing uses raw materials that are less harsh on the environment than petroleum, creates products (and byproducts) that are less toxic than their synthetic counterparts, and enables the development of more efficient, circular and localized supply chains.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a class of bio-based polyesters that offer similar durability, barrier properties, and shelf life as petroplastics without the same threat of creating toxic, persistent pollution. Upon disposal, PHAs’ complete biodegradation is accelerated by microbial activity, demonstrating significant biodegradation in both terrestrial and marine environments in less than 2 years, over 100x faster than petroplastics and 10x faster than leading bio-based alternatives. PHAs' versatility as a class of bio-based polymers and bioplastic additives position them to replace petroplastics in upwards of 90% of foodservice and cosmetic packaging, as well as a large number of outdoors, fashion, medical, and agricultural products and packaging. Sustainable colorants have the potential to accelerate their adoption by helping improve brand recognition while preserving the integrity of bio-based content and compostability/biodegradability claims, citing that upwards 84% of consumer decisions are made on the basis of branding.

Each of our products (PHA resins and pigments) individually presents a measurable reduction in emissions and environmental and human toxicity relative to its synthetic counterpart. By producing PHAs and bio-based pigments simultaneously, our approach simplifies the value chain to offer a >50% reduction in CO2 emissions, water-use and eutrophication potential reduction, creates less harmful byproducts, and holds greater potential for the implementation of carbon capture technologies relative to current petroleum-based product offerings. Introducing naturally-dyed PHAs to consumer products and packaging will contribute to a reduction in the exposure to toxic chemicals like PCBs and to the 25,000+ toxic microplastic particles the average person consumes each day. Our commitment to the use of waste based feedstocks presents an even greater footprint- and cost-reduction potential, and our market discovery indicates whey and soy processing byproducts to be some of the most cost-effective waste-derived substrates for sustainable biomanufacturing. Successful commercialization of our technology will provide food and ag processors a more sustainable and cost effective method of waste management, improves the commercial viability of bioplastics and industrial biomanufacturing, and will help unlock the biodegradable plastic industry’s ability to offer more marketable/brandable, non-toxic, 100% bio-based biodegradable products and packaging.
Where (country, region, etc.) have you primarily carried out your project?

East Coast and Midwestern United States, though we currently participate in programs and collaborations around the world
What is the timeline your project has taken place over?

2019-present
Keywords

#Bioplastics #Synthetic Biology #Biomanufacturing
If you have a website for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

ourobio.com
If you have a social media account for your submitted project or idea, please provide the URL

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ourobio
Special Prize Question 1: Is there a mechanism in place to inherit culture and industry as assets for people living in that area 100 or even 1000 years from now?
Special Prize Question 2: What is the positive impact on biodiversity? Is the project creating a cycle not just from a human-centered perspective but for the entire ecosystem?

Without swift action to reduce overutilization of resources and the creation of persistent environmental pollutants, we will continue to experience accelerating climate change and risk collapse of ecosystems that play a critical role in supporting life on Earth. Plastics and plastic additives present a particular threat to human and environmental health, as their production, use and disposal is responsible for the loss of biodiversity due to their release of microplastics, PCBs and other toxic chemicals that find their way into the air, waterways, and food chains. These concerns are particularly high for additives used in/alongside biodegradable plastics due to their environmental persistence and tendency to leach into the environment as the materials biodegrade. Although recycling is an important part of achieving a circular economy, attempts at recycling petroleum-based plastics will not stop these toxic chemicals from accumulating in the environment, our bodies, and our offspring. The challenge we are facing lies fundamentally in the synthetic compounds themselves, and adopting bio-based, biodegradable plastic resins and additives are the only way to prevent the propagation of this mounting issue.

Given their unique versatility, durability, recyclability, and biodegradation, naturally-colored PHAs have immense potential to act as a cornerstone of the circular economy and help prevent the loss of biodiversity caused by synthetic chemcicals used in consumer goods and packaging. Citing that upwards 84% of consumer decisions are made on the basis of branding, sustainable colorants have the potential to accelerate PHAs’ ability to replace petroplastics by helping improve brand recognition while preserving the integrity of bio-based content and compostability/biodegradability claims. Given the amount of waste generated by food and agriculture processing in the United States, there are ample opportunities to transform these byproducts into biomaterials, helping both ag processing and CPG indsutries to meet their circularity goals without demanding the use of more synthetic ferilizers and diverting soil nutrients from food production.
Special Prize Question 3: Are you enabling new forms of collaboration with others? New forms of collaboration might include cross-industry cooperation, co-creation with consumers, or role transformations within the supply chain.

Ourobio is intent on fostering collaborations which encompass mutual growth, shared learning, and collective success. Over 1000 hours of market discovery has helped build an ecosystem of over 20 collaborators from diverse academic and industrial backgrounds across synthetic biology, material sciences, process engineering, and bioinformatics promoting cross-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. In taking this approach, we are driving forward innovations in waste whey remediation and bioprocess optimization; PHA characterization, product development, and biodegradability testing; market and supply chain development (beginning to end of life); and AI/ML tools to support these activities to supplement our growth and support the biomaterials industry's progression. We have already begun working with several dairy processors, plastic converters, and brands to co-develop colored PHA-based biopolymer blends and products to increase the market’s awareness of biomanufacturing as a viable means of waste management, stimulate demand for PHAs, and create a circular and regenerative supply chain. While we are still early scaling our process, and thus the commercialization of our own products, we have found mutually beneficial arrangements in which we are working with other PHA manufacturers (who many percieve to be our competitors) to create early supplemental revenue streams and more quickly scale the impact of these activities.

While cannot currently disclose much information, one of these projects includes an global-scale collaboration in which several biomaterial manufacturers are joining forces to create a fully bio-based and biodegradable sneaker for an internationally-recognized sportsware brand, as well as a documentary around its creation (set to be released in late 2024).