Mirel Bioplastics for Use in Agricultural Mulch Film
Sep 16, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Metabolix, Inc.:
WHAT: Mirel is a family of high performance bioplastics that are
sustainable and completely biodegradable. Made from corn sugar,
Mirel is capable of processing for a versatile range of
applications, with excellent durability that also biodegrade
harmlessly in nature.
In this webinar session Dr. Krishnaswamy of Metabolix will discuss
the benefits of the use of Mirel and PHB copolymers in
agricultural mulch film applications. Tests show that
vegetable-crop growth with PHB copolymer mulch films in various
environments is considerably better than bare-ground crop growth
and similar to crop growth with polyethylene mulch films.
WHY MIREL In field tests mulch films were ploughed into the soil after crop
FOR MULCH FILM: harvest; the buried fragments were shown to completely biodegrade.
Incineration and landfill disposal are the most commonly used means
of disposing of polyethylene mulch films, and so natural
biodegradation of ploughed-in film is both an eco-friendly
alternative and a considerably more efficient farming practice.
Mirel is biodegradable in a wide variety of conditions including
soil, home cold compost, industrial compost, waste treatment
facilities, septic systems, wetlands and marine environments.
WHO: Dr. Raj Krishnaswamy, Senior Scientist Metabolix
Dr. Krishnaswamy is involved in developing commercially viable
formulations of biobased and biodegradable polymers for film
applications and also leads many fundamental structure-property
research activities. In 2007, he was selected to participate in
the National Academy of Engineers Frontiers Symposium. Prior to
joining Metabolix in 2006, Raj spent nine years in the polymer
science group at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company; during this
tenure there, he received the "Outstanding
Young Scientist" award and an "Innovation
Excellence" award.
WHEN: September 18, 2008
11:00 am -- 12:00 pm EST
WHERE: Register online at
http://www.4spe.org/elearning/presentations/EL080918.php
About Metabolix
Founded in 1992, Metabolix, Inc. is an innovation driven bioscience company focused on providing sustainable solutions for the world's needs for plastics, chemicals and energy. The Company is taking a systems approach, from gene to end product, integrating sophisticated biotechnology with advanced industrial practice. Metabolix is now developing and commercializing Mirel(TM) bioplastics, a sustainable and biodegradable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Mirel is suitable for injection molding, extrusion coating, cast film and sheet, blown film and thermoforming. Metabolix is also developing a proprietary platform technology for co-producing plastics, chemicals and energy, from crops such as switchgrass, oilseeds and sugarcane.
Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) are commercializing Mirel through a joint venture called Telles. The first commercial scale Mirel production plant is being constructed adjacent to ADM's wet corn mill in Clinton, Iowa. The plant is designed to produce up to 110 million pounds of Mirel annually.Mirel will reduce reliance on petroleum and decrease environmental impacts relative to conventional petroleum-based plastics.
For more information, please visit www.metabolix.com. (MBLX-G)
SOURCE: Metabolix, Inc.
For Metabolix: Debra Darby, 978-376-8879 darby@metabolix.com or For Media Inquires: Matt Lindberg, 203-682-8214 mlindberg@icrinc.com or For Webinar Support: Elizabeth Reagan, 203-253-1368 ereagan@4spe.org
Copyright Business Wire 2008
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