Sustainable Design Update

Carbon Dioxide Based Plastics

1999 Technology Review “Young Innovator” Geoffrey Coates of Cornell University has developed a plastic that uses carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide as feedstocks.

The carbon based plastic is stable enough and non-toxic enough to be used in medical implants. Moreover because it uses inexpensive carbon dioxide as a feedstock, Coates believes his plastic will be inexpensive. Personally, I’m excited about the potential to sequester carbon dioxide in a stable material. Imagine a polymer based car that is carbon neutral – it could become a reality. Novomer the company developing this new material is also working on a series of catalysts that can efficiently convert low cost feedstocks like carbon dioxide into plastics and other valuable materials.

From Technology Review:

Affordable, biodegradable plastics made from carbon dioxide are moving closer to market. Novomer, based in Ithaca, NY, which is developing the plastics, has received $6.6 million in venture-capital funding. Novomer, which was founded in 2004, plans to use the investment to scale up its manufacturing capacity.

The Cornell University spinoff’s technology centers on a catalyst that converts carbon dioxide into a polymer that could be used to make everyday items such as packaging, cups, and forks. The plastic, which was originally created by Cornell chemist Geoffrey Coates, is also safe and strong enough to be used in medical implants and devices. (See “1999 Young Innovator.”) The plastic should be relatively inexpensive since carbon dioxide is a cheap feedstock, says Coates.

The plastic is being made on a pilot scale, and Novomer declines to give details of its commercial-scale manufacturing plans. Novomer president Charles Hamilton says that, while it is hard to predict the product’s final cost, it should be cost competitive with traditional petroleum-based plastics.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4th, 2007 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Green Building Materials. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.