Biodegradable Plastics A Reality?
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
An Ithica, NY materials startup company, Novomer, has been working on creating plastics out of Carbon Mono- and Dioxide. The company, run by a group of Cornell
University alumni, has created a catalyst which can turn Carbon Dioxide into a polymer, which has promise to become a low-cost, high-quality, biodegradable plastic for use in a wide variety of industries. The company, founded in 2004, has just received $6.6 million in venture capital funding which it intends to use to scale up its manufacturing capability. 
In terms of its biodegradability, Novomer will have to compete with other green plastics made from plant matter, like those produced by Metabolix and Natureworks, but Novomer has the advantage that, using Carbon Dioxide as its input, it won't compete with food production. A company like Novomer is especially promising because it deals with the problem of needing green alternatives to non-fuel petroleum products.
University alumni, has created a catalyst which can turn Carbon Dioxide into a polymer, which has promise to become a low-cost, high-quality, biodegradable plastic for use in a wide variety of industries. The company, founded in 2004, has just received $6.6 million in venture capital funding which it intends to use to scale up its manufacturing capability. In terms of its biodegradability, Novomer will have to compete with other green plastics made from plant matter, like those produced by Metabolix and Natureworks, but Novomer has the advantage that, using Carbon Dioxide as its input, it won't compete with food production. A company like Novomer is especially promising because it deals with the problem of needing green alternatives to non-fuel petroleum products.
