Carbios begins pilot-scale production of biodegradable plastics

France-based Carbios, a green chemistry company that says it specializes in plastics recovery and biopolymers production, reports that it has begun producing biodegradable plastics on a pilot scale using its enzyme-based technology. The company says its processes can convert the polymers in plastics back to their original form, making them infinitely recyclable.

The company says the new production platform at its headquarters in central France offers a production capacity of 40 kilograms (88 pounds) per hour and encompasses several production modules, from the extrusion of the plastic materials to their conversion to flexible film, Carbios says.

The company developed its enzyme-based technology in 2014 and earlier in 2015 says it worked with the CRITT Bio-Industries (Regional Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer) in Toulouse, France, to produce enzymes at the pilot scale of 300 liters. Funds to build the pilot plant came from its December 2013 initial public offering, Carbios says.

With the new production platform, Carbios says it plans to demonstrate the performance of its biodegradation technology for such applications as plastic films, mulching films for agriculture and plastic bags at the preindustrial stage. Industrial and commercial demonstrations are expected to follow in the future, Carbios says.

“After the announcement in July 2014 of the successes we obtained with the first self-destructible plastic films that included Carbios’ enzyme-based technology, the next step was to develop formulations for these plastic materials based on the specific properties required by each application,” says Jean-Claude Lumaret, CEO of Carbios. “Having a plastic production platform at our headquarters enables us to quickly take these first applications to the industrial and commercial stage and to strengthen our intellectual property with the patents developed for each new approved application. I am very proud of this new stage in Carbios’ development, which strengthens our industrial credibility vis-à-vis our current and future partners. We now possess within Carbios all of the tools and skills required to make our technology an industrial reality.”