Our Science

At Micromidas, Inc. the world is our concern. Every day millions of tons of plastic waste accumulate in the environment while cities are faced with growing landfills and mounting costs in disposing of organic waste. We have the solution.

By applying a naturally occuring microbial phenomena, we convert the carbon in organic wastewater into polyhydroxylalkanoate (PHA), a family of high-performance, highly marketable biodegradable plastics. Our process consumes carbon and other nutrients from the waste stream that would have to undergo costly processes such as incineration or chemical treatment.

Using microbes native to earth's soil and water, we have created a biological population capable of producing high yields of PHA and digesting a wide variety of carbon sources. We fuel our population with municipal wastewater, a cheap, readily available, and renwable feedstock. By designing around the "dirtiest" and most challenging waste stream available, we have developed a robust population that resists environmental stresses and invasion by other microbes. Our process is far more robust than those centered on GMOs (genetically modified organisms) that require strict environmental controls and sterile operating conditions or other methods that require expensive feedstocks.

PHA

What are polyhydroxyalkanoates?

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are bacterial polyesters that are formed from a combination of monomer subunits, or "links" in the PHA chain. There are over 150 different monomer subunits that have been found to exist in PHA. By altering which links are in each molecule of PHA, the plastic can be produced with a wide variety of material properties such as elasticity and hardness. All polyhydroxyalkanoates have some similar features. They are UV stable, resistant to permeation by water or aromas, and able to resist high temperatures, making them useful in a variety of applications.

How can we use them?

Currently, the most common form PHA produced is a blend of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV). When PHB and PHV are combined in the proper amounts the resulting plastic has properties very similar to polypropylene (PP), the plastic used in many containers, housewares and automotive parts such as batteries. In fact, the machines that presently used to produce most plastic bottles should be able to use PHA with only a simple retooling. In addition to their biodegradability, objects made out of PHA are biocompatible and will gradually break down in the body without causing damage or inflammation, opening up a wide range of uses in everything from medical sutures to tissue repair devices.

Why are polyhydroxyalkanoates better than conventional petroleum plastics?

If objects made out of PHA are stored somewhere like a closet or supermarket shelf they will last for extended periods of time, but unlike petroleum-based plastics that can take centuries to degrade, objects made out of PHA will biodegrade in months if they are placed in an environment where things will decompose such as a landfills, compost piles, or even the ocean. PHA degrades completely back into the environment, leaving behind no harmful chemical residues or pollutants.