Plastic pollution negatively impacts human and animal health as well as the stability of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Also, petroleum-based plastics degrade slowly, breaking into smaller and smaller pieces that can travel long distances through water tables and food chains.
The water table is the underground dividing line between the unsaturated zone - where spaces between soil and rock are filled with air - and the saturated zone, where spaces are filled with water.
Biodegradable plastics can reduce plastic pollution, but these materials also degrade slowly in natural environments. Bio-based plastics, or bioplastics, are often banned at the large-scale composting facilities where they could be broken down quickly. Bioplastics take longer to break down than organic materials, require specific conditions for decomposition and risk contaminating the compost with noncompostable plastics.
Like petroleum-based plastics, items made from bioplastics can accumulate in the environment unless they are sent to proper disposal facilities. There is a need for technologies that improve bioplastic degradation under normal conditions to enable a truly environmentally sustainable option.
Jordan Cannon, a doctoral microbiology student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, studies methods for breaking down bioplastics with engineered bacterial enzymes. Cannon is also the chief executive officer and founder of Circular Biosciences, a startup dedicated to accelerating bioplastic degradation for more widespread use, easier disposal and reduced environmental impact.
Cannon was recently named to Cohort 2024 of Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program node at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
"We are currently focused on poly-L-lactic acid - also called PLLA - which is a widely used bioplastic with production expected to increase significantly. However, PLLA's limited biodegradability poses environmental risks, as it is not collected for recycling and often ends up in landfills," said Cannon.
Circular Biosciences is developing enzymes that can be integrated into PLLA during production to enable more efficient breakdown through a process called enzymatic depolymerization. These enzyme additives will greatly enhance PLLA biodegradation in landfills, home composting and natural environments.
Innovation Crossroads will provide Cannon with the technical support and industry connections necessary to complete the development of his product and successfully bring it to market. Cannon is also working with the Spark Cleantech Accelerator, a Spark Innovation Center program. The program is designed to support early stage startups by providing resources, mentorship and funding to help commercialize technologies that address environmental and sustainability challenges.
"Our main technical goal with Innovation Crossroads is to incorporate our polylactic acid-degrading enzymes into plastics," said Cannon. "We are also excited to learn the ins and outs and logistics of starting a business through the Spark Cleantech Accelerator program."
Through Innovation Crossroads, Cannon will focus on technical goals such as improving the enzymes' ability to retain functionality through the high temperature plastic extrusion process. The program will also enable Cannon to expand his network of scientific contacts through collaborations with the world-class researchers at ORNL.
"Our technology will provide customers with truly biodegradable and sustainable plastic materials," said Cannon. He expects these sustainable materials to be used for single-use applications of plastics, such as packaging materials, where they will have the most environmental impact.
Cannon's fellowship is supported by DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, or AMMTO. Innovation Crossroads is funded by AMMTO, DOE's Building Technologies Office, the DOE Office of Science Basic Energy Sciences program and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE's Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science. - Galen Fader
