'MAYBE' TECH

The World’s First Polypropylene Made From Waste CO2

by Luana SteffenSeptember 27, 2021

Biotechnology company LanzaTech and carbon transformation company Twelve have joined forces to convert CO2 emissions into polypropylene, a primary polymer used in medical equipment such as syringes and IV bags. The polymer is also used for large-scale furniture, textiles, automotive, and other everyday products like bottle caps. This novel approach will significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

The partnership will combine two platform technologies – the carbon transformation technology and Pollution To Products™ technology – to enable additional product development from CO2 streams, representing one of many ways to scale carbon transformation solutions.

The carbon transformation technology created by Twelve transforms CO2 into materials that are usually made from fossil fuels. Twelve helps brands remove emissions by replacing the petrochemicals in their products and supply chains with carbon-neutral fuels and CO2Made® carbon-negative chemicals and materials.

Meanwhile, LanzaTech’s carbon recycling Pollution To Products™ technology uses nature-based solutions to create ethanol and other materials from waste CO2.

Dr. Etosha Cave, the Chief Science Officer at Twelve, said:

POLYPROPYLENE IS A CRUCIAL MATERIAL FOR ESSENTIAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND FOR MANY PRODUCTS WE RELY ON IN OUR DAILY LIVES. TODAY, 100% OF NEW POLYPROPYLENE IN USE WORLDWIDE IS MADE FROM PETROCHEMICALS. WE NOW HAVE A WAY TO PRODUCE THIS CRITICAL MATERIAL FROM CO2 AND WATER INSTEAD OF FOSSIL FUELS, WITH NO TRADE-OFFS IN QUALITY, EFFICACY, OR PERFORMANCE.

 

REPLACING ALL OF THE WORLD’S FOSSIL POLYPROPYLENE PRODUCTION WITH CO2MADE POLYPROPYLENE WOULD REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS BY AN ESTIMATED 700 MILLION TONS PER YEAR OR MORE.

Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, the CEO of LanzaTech, explained:

BY HARNESSING BIOLOGY, WE CAN LEVERAGE THE POWER OF NATURE TO SOLVE A VERY MODERN PROBLEM. THE OVERABUNDANCE OF CO2 IN OUR ATMOSPHERE HAS PUSHED OUR PLANET INTO A STATE OF EMERGENCY. WE NEED ALL CARBON TRANSFORMATION SOLUTIONS TO TURN THIS LIABILITY INTO AN OPPORTUNITY, KEEPING FOSSIL RESOURCES IN THE GROUND AND OUR CLIMATE SAFE FOR EVERYONE.

Twelve and LanzaTech were awarded a $200,000 grant from Impact Squared to continue their partnership. The Impact Squared grant is a $1.1 million fund designed and launched by the Barclays and Unreasonable Group, a platform for entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. The partners plan to use the Impact Squared grant to reduce the fossil fuel impact of essential products.

Last year, we saw some exciting carbon transformation solutions in the works. For example, engineers from the University of New South Wales were developing a technique that converts CO2 emissions into chemical Lego-like building blocks to make synthetic fuel and plastics. Also, a team of NASA-funded chemists was developing a biohybrid system that would allow mars settlers to transform CO2, water, and sunlight to make drugs, food, and plastic. CO2 and water are abundant on Mars; about 96% of the atmosphere is CO2.

(Credit: Pixabay. Photo edit: Luana Steffen)