Bio-on S.p.A is ready to license new technology for making bioplastics from glycerol.
Until now the company has produced Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) using agricultural waste such as molasses, sugar cane and sugar beet syrups. The new technology facilitates the use of crude glycerol in the process, a waste product of biodiesel manufacture.
According to Bio-on S.p.A, over four million tonnes of glycerol is currently produced in Europe every year, a figure that is constantly rising, resulting in a slump its value.
The company claims that the new technology will enable the creation of new production facilities that will produce between 2,000 and 10,000 tonnes of PHAs from glycerol every year.