Biodegradable Plastic:

Poly(-Hydroxybutyrate)
Team 16

Mike Hall
Laura Hamilton
Dave Janke
Briley Lambert

Why would someone want to

make biodegradable plastics?
Good Stewardship
Reduced landfill space
Sustainability

To make money
People will buy it
We hope to show PHB can be produced in a
commercially viable way

Previous Bio-Plastics
Other Bioplastics
Isolated from genetically modified plants, notably corn
Grown by bacteria in bioreactor factories from sugars.
Several problems:
Cost more to make than traditional plastics.
Burns more fossil fuels to make them than traditional plastics
made directly from oil do.

Poly(-Hydroxybutyrate)
Naturally occurring in bacteria
Currently made via a fermentation process
Not economically viable for large scale

The Chemistry

This chemistry was developed by researchers at Cornell University

Reactants: epoxide and carbon monoxide
Commercially available and cheap
Toxic: possible environmental & safety concerns

Using these new catalysts the processes are fast and efficient

Objectives:
In-depth design of a
pilot plant.
Preliminary design of
a full size plant
Elements of Chemical Reaction Engineering, Fogler, 1999

Economic feasibility
study