PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) bioplastics manufacturing

PHA bioplastics manufacturing roadmap

First, this technology roadmap is given a clear and unique identifier:

• 2MPH - PHA manufacturing

This indicates that we are dealing with a “level 2” roadmap at the product level, where “level 1” would indicate a market level roadmap and “level 3” or “level 4” would indicate an individual technology roadmap within PHA manufacturing.

Roadmap Overview

Plastic pollution. Credit: ead72 - stock.adobe.com Copyright: ©ead72 - stock.adobe.com

The problem of plastic accumulation in the natural environment is becoming a high profile problem. This is because oil-based plastics, while they are cheap and have good material properties, do not biodegrade.

One potential answer to this problem is bioplastics. The term bioplastics covers a lot of different types of materials, some of which are bio-based (i.e. generated from biological feedstocks) but not biodegradable, some of which are biodegradable but not biobased, and some that are both. One family of bioplastics that are bio-based AND biodegradable is PHAs (polyhydroxyalkanoates).

PHAs have the potential to replace oil-based plastics in terms of material properties!

Unfortunately, PHAs currently are not competitive on a cost basis with oil-based plastics due to the high cost of manufacturing them.

(insert price chart here)

We propose a technology roadmap to reduce the cost of manufacturing PHA to parity or better with oil-based plastics.

Design Structure Matrix (DSM) Allocation

Blue shaded cells indicate these technologies are connected.

We can also depict the technology hierarchy tree as a DSM (design structure matrix). Based on our current understanding, the 2MPH technology (PHA bioplastic manufacturing) is comprised of separate process steps with no cross-linkage (i.e. completely modular). For example, the drying technology doesn't depend or have any relationship with sterilization technologies. We will be investigate this further.

Roadmap Model using OPM

We provide an Object-Process-Diagram (OPD) of the 2MPH technology in the figure below. This diagram captures the main object of the technology (PHA bioplastics manufacturing). Please draw your attention to the right side of the diagram to see current PHA bioplastics manufacturing operators. Then, please draw your attention to the bottom section of the diagram to see the different figures of merit.

High level OPM for 2MPH

An Object-Process-Language (OPL) description of this OPD is auto-generated and given below. It reflects the same content as the previous figure, but in a formal natural language.

• Engineered Organisms is physical and systemic.
• Substrate is physical and environmental.
• Purified PHA bioplastics is physical and systemic.
• Bioplastics Manufacturing Process Operator is physical and environmental.
• Reactor & Purification Equipment is physical and systemic.
• Bioplastics Engineering is informatical and environmental.
• Energy is physical and environmental.
• Bioplastics Process Designer is physical and environmental.
• CO2 is physical and systemic.
• Waste is physical and systemic.
• Land biodegradability of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• CO2 intensity of PHA bioplastics Manufacturing is informatical and systemic.
• Tensile Strength of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Young's Modulus of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Water is physical and environmental.
• Water intensity of PHA bioplastics Manufacturing is informatical and systemic.
• Reactor & Purification Equipment Capital Cost of Reactor & Purification Equipment
• is informatical and systemic .
• Engineered Organisms Cost of Engineered Organisms is informatical and systemic.
• Cost of manufacturing of PHA bioplastics Manufacturing is informatical and systemic.
• Price per unit weight of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Ocean biodegradability of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Melting Point of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Substrate Cost of Substrate is informatical and systemic.
• Water Cost of Water is informatical and systemic.
• Energy Cost of Energy is informatical and systemic.
• Air is physical and environmental.
• Elongation At Break of Purified PHA bioplastics is informatical and systemic.
• Figures Of Merit is physical and systemic.
• Kaneka Corporation is physical and environmental.
• PHB Industrial S.A. is physical and environmental.
• Shenzhen Ecomann Biotechnology Co. Ltd is physical and environmental.
• SIRIM Bioplastics is physical and environmental.
• TianAn Biologic Materials Co. Ltd is physical and environmental.
• Tianjin GreenBio Material Co. is physical and environmental.
• Purified PHA bioplastics exhibits Elongation At Break, Land biodegradability, Melting Point,
• Ocean biodegradability, Price per unit weight, Tensile Strength, and Young's Modulus.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing exhibits CO2 intensity, Cost of manufacturing, and
• Water intensity.
• Reactor & Purification Equipment exhibits Reactor & Purification Equipment Capital Cost.
• Engineered Organisms exhibits Engineered Organisms Cost.
• Energy exhibits Energy Cost.
• Substrate exhibits Substrate Cost.
• Water exhibits Water Cost.
• CO2 intensity, Cost of manufacturing, Land biodegradability, Melting Point,
• Ocean biodegradability, Price per unit weight, Tensile Strength, Water intensity, and
• Young's Modulus are Figures Of Merit.
• Kaneka Corporation, PHB Industrial S.A., SIRIM Bioplastics,
• Shenzhen Ecomann Biotechnology Co. Ltd, TianAn Biologic Materials Co. Ltd, and
• Tianjin GreenBio Material Co. are Bioplastics Manufacturing Process Operator.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing is physical and systemic.
• Bioplastics Manufacturing Process Operator handles PHA bioplastics Manufacturing.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing requires Engineered Organisms and
• Reactor & Purification Equipment.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing consumes Air, Energy, Substrate, and Water.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing yields CO2, Purified PHA bioplastics, and Waste.
• Designing / Engineering is physical and systemic.

We also provide a OPD of a more detailed view of the 2MPH technology, including the high level process steps that make up PHA bioplastics manufacturing.

Zoomed-in version of the PHA bioplastics manufacturing process.

An Object-Process-Language (OPL) description of this OPD is auto-generated and given below. It reflects the same content as the previous figure, but in a formal natural language.

• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing from SD zooms in SD1 into Sterilization, PHA precipitation, parallel Growing organisms and Drying and powdering, and parallel Fermentation and Cell Precipitation, as well as Electricity, Natural Gas, and Water.
• Engineered Organisms is physical and systemic.
• Engineered Organisms can be high amount or low amount.
• Substrate is physical and environmental.
• Bioplastics Manufacturing Process Operator is physical and environmental.
• Reactor & Purification Equipment is physical and systemic.
• Air is physical and environmental.
• Purified PHA bioplastics is physical and systemic.
• CO2 is physical and systemic.
• Waste is physical and systemic.
• Seed Engineered Organisms is physical and systemic.
• Nutrients is physical and systemic.
• Unrefined biomass is physical and systemic.
• Steam is physical and environmental.
• Wet PHA is physical and systemic.
• Unpurified PHA is physical and systemic.
• Electricity is physical and environmental.
• Natural Gas is physical and environmental.
• Water is physical and environmental.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing is physical and systemic.
• Bioplastics Manufacturing Process Operator handles PHA bioplastics Manufacturing.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing requires Reactor & Purification Equipment.
• PHA bioplastics Manufacturing yields CO2 and Waste.
• Growing organisms is physical and systemic.
• Growing organisms changes Engineered Organisms from low amount to high amount.
• Growing organisms requires Seed Engineered Organisms.
• Growing organisms consumes Air, Electricity, Nutrients, and Water.
• Growing organisms invokes Fermentation.
• Fermentation is physical and systemic.
• Fermentation requires Engineered Organisms at state high amount.
• Fermentation consumes Electricity and Substrate.
• Fermentation yields Unrefined biomass.
• Fermentation invokes Cell Precipitation.
• Cell Precipitation is physical and systemic.
• Cell Precipitation consumes Electricity and Unrefined biomass.
• Cell Precipitation yields Wet PHA.
• Cell Precipitation invokes Drying and powdering.
• Drying and powdering is physical and systemic.
• Drying and powdering consumes Electricity, Natural Gas, Water, and Wet PHA.
• Drying and powdering yields Unpurified PHA.
• Drying and powdering invokes PHA precipitation.
• Sterilization is physical and systemic.
• Sterilization consumes Steam.
• Sterilization invokes Growing organisms.
• PHA precipitation is physical and systemic.
• PHA precipitation consumes Electricity and Unpurified PHA.
• PHA precipitation yields Purified PHA bioplastics.
• PHA precipitation invokes Sterilization.

Figures of Merit

The table below show a list of FOMs by which solar electric aircraft can be assessed. The first four (shown in bold) are used to assess the aircraft itself. They are very similar to the FOMs that are used to compare traditional aircraft which are propelled by fossil fuels, the big difference being that 2SEA is essentially emissions free during flight operations. The other rows represent subordinated FOMs which impact the performance and cost of solar electric aircraft but are provided as outputs (primary FOMs) from lower level roadmaps at level 3 or level 4, see the DSM above.

Grouping	Figure of Merit (FOM)	Calculation Method	Reference value for PHA
Cost	Cost of manufacturing [$/kg of PHA bioplastics yielded]	For a given quantity (kg) of PHA bioplastics produced, the total cost of all variable inputs required (feedstock biomass, energy, labor and utilities) to produce that quantity divided by the quantity of PHA bioplastics produced.	$5-6/kg PHA (2017, versus $1.3 to $1.9/kg for oil-based plastics)
Sustainability	Land biodegradability [%mass loss/time in land environment]	For a given quantity of PHA bioplastics, measure the mass lost after a given period of time in the environment on land.	94% in 180 days for PHA (2018)
Sustainability	Ocean biodegradability [%mass loss/time in ocean environment]	For a given quantity of PHA, measure the mass lost after a given period of time in the environment on ocean.	94% in 180 days for PHA (2018)
Sustainability	CO2 intensity [kg CO2/kg PHA yielded]	For a given quantity (kg) of PHA produced, the total CO2 emitted during manufacturing to produce that quantity divided by the quantity of PHA produced.	1.96 kg CO2/kg PHA (2009)
Sustainability	Water intensity [kg water/kg PHA]	For a given quantity (kg) of PHA produced, the total amount of water (kg) consumed divided by the quantity of PHA produced.	150 kg H2O/kg PHA (2009)
Performance	Tensile strength [MPa]	Tensile strength of the PHA manufactured	0 - 45 MPa (2018)
Performance	Young’s modulus (GPa)	Young’s modulus of the PHA manufactured	0 - 3.5 GPa (2018)
Performance	Minimum and maximum operating temperature (degC)	Minimum and maximum operating temperature of the PHA manufactured	40 - 110 degC (2018)
Performance	Elongation at break (%)	Elongation at break of the PHA manufactured as a % of the original length of the PHA	0 - 1000% (2018)

Besides defining what the FOMs are, this section of the roadmap should also contain the FOM trends over time dFOM/dt as well as some of the key governing equations that underpin the technology. These governing equations can be derived from physics (or chemistry, biology ..) or they can be empirically derived from a multivariate regression model. The table below shows an example of a key governing equation governing (solar-) electric aircraft.