Thanks to a pair of new projects, Michigan Molecular Institute\u2019s foray into biobased chemistry is starting to gain traction.<\/p>\n
MMI announced today it has secured approximately $130,000 in funding from a collaboration with Micromidas, Inc. to research biopolymers and renewable polymer building blocks. In addition, thanks to a $25,000 grant, MMI is providing proof-of-concept expertise to the Corn Marketing Program of Michigan\u2019s renewable propylene glycol derivatives research.<\/b><\/p>\n
Dr. Patrick B. Smith, a research scientist, is leading MMI\u2019s charge in the area of biobased materials. He provided details for each project. “Micromidas is a really interesting startup company based in West Sacramento,\u201d Smith said. “They take low-value organic waste and convert it into higher value bioplastics and chemical building blocks. Currently, they\u2019re focused on municipal waste, Pat Smithwhere they ferment that sludge and convert it into plastics that feed into significant commercial plastics streams.<\/p>\n
“Obviously, having a renewable source like municipal waste is very valuable to the end users,\u201d he added. “They\u2019re working with us because their chemical engineers and biologists are really good at what they do, but they don\u2019t have our polymer background. They really brought us on board to help them understand the polymer science and the rheology, to figure out what kinds of properties they need in these polymers to make them work well in commercial applications.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith said Micromidas is in the process of building a pilot facility to demonstrate the commercial viability of their plan, adding that MMI\u2019s work on the project, which began Sept. 1, is already showing positive early returns. He expects that MMI\u2019s research will prove valuable enough to Micromidas to continue well beyond this initial phase.<\/p>\n
Another project occupying the MMI biobased chemistry team is the work for the CMPM.
“The research for the CMPM also involves chemical engineers at Michigan State University, with whom we\u2019re collaborating on this project,\u201d Smith said. “We\u2019re doing a feasibility study to validate the chemistry and separation process for producing a better renewable form of propylene glycol derivatives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Historically, propylene glycol, or PG, was derived from petroleum-based sources. The work Smith is conducting with MSU aims to produce derivatives from the same beneficial PG material from corn starch; that\u2019s where the funding from the CMPM comes in.<\/p>\n
“PG is used in many commercial products, like lotions and detergents,\u201d Smith said. “The fact that it could be renewable-sourced offers big advantages to people in the consumer products market, particularly if we can do it in a cost-competitive fashion, which we believe we can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project is funded by the CMPM for six months, but Smith anticipates extended research will follow. Both projects underline MMI\u2019s commitment to biobased materials research, he said.<\/p>\n
“In the area of renewables chemistry, researchers are starting to make that transition from theories and ideas to actual implementation of practical, cost-effective applications,\u201d he said. “There are many, many areas where MMI\u2019s polymer expertise can aid – and enhance – that transition. We\u2019re really just getting started.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michigan Molecular Institute, founded in Midland, Mich. in 1971, is a non-profit organization dedicated to polymer research and education. MMI offers world-class research and development across many areas, including photonics, membranes, specialty coatings, delivery systems and sensors. Its core capabilities include polymer synthesis and design; polymer characterization; polymer science; materials science; polymer formulation and processing; heterogeneous catalysis; silicone chemistry; and biobased materials.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thanks to a pair of new projects, Michigan Molecular Institute’s foray into biobased chemistry is starting to gain traction.<\/p>\n
MMI announced today it has<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","nova_meta_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[],"supplier":[3057,3058],"class_list":["post-15501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","supplier-corn-marketing-program-of-michigan","supplier-mmi-michigan-molecular-institute"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15501\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15501"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=15501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}