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IVL companies, Polymateria work on biotransformation technology

05 May '21

3 min read

Pic: Polymateria

Fibre producer, FiberVisions, and spunlaid nonwoven manufacturer, Avgol – both part of global chemical producer Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited (IVL) – have collaborated with scientists at Polymateria to commercialise the innovative ‘biotransformation’ technology which alters polyolefins to make them biodegradable in a natural process.

The patented ‘biotransformation’ technology has been pioneered by a UK-based company. The technology allows the companies to bring disposable products a unique managed lifecycle and further expand an already extensive catalogue of fibre/spunlaid offerings. The focus of these efforts will be in the launch of non-oxo-degradative components for personal protection masks and face covering, hygiene, agricultural, industrial and homecare applications.

The use of biotransformation technology will support application in non-virgin resin recycling while providing a solution for ‘fugitive’ used articles, including those items that have not been properly recycled or disposed of. This process involves the material decomposing into a wax, wherein the wax is further degraded by environmental bacterial action into carbon dioxide, water and biomass.

The companies have been developing prototypes of component fibre and non-woven products. The first prototypes developed through the partnership have been tested and are compliant with the stringent testing for biodegradability defined in British Standards Institute’s (BSI) new standard for Biodegradation, PAS9017. In meeting this standard, fibre and fabrics are confirmed to form no harmful microplastics as part of the biodegradation process.

D K Agarwal, CEO of Indorama Ventures, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Polymateria to bring their revolutionary technology into our fibres business and sustainability portfolio more broadly. The collaboration between our businesses over the last 18 months has been exemplary and created a credible and scalable solution to an increasingly visible environmental issue”.

Niall Dunne, CEO of Polymateria, said: “With 32 per cent of all plastic winding up in our natural environment each year we need to ensure we are working with partners who can enable scalable solutions to address what is becoming close to a 100 million tons per year problem. Indorama has a strong track record on sustainability and shares our mission and values. The trust that has emerged between our businesses has been grounded in science and a shared mission to tackle the plastic pollution pandemic at scale”.

Shachar Rachim, CEO of Avgol, said: “This is an incredibly exciting collaboration for Indorama Ventures and Avgol. Our business remains dedicated to developing sustainably sound materials, and the development of entirely biodegradable components is an important step in bringing the first 100 per cent biodegradable-recyclable hygiene products to the market. This collaboration underscores our commitment to commercialise innovative products which are environmentally focused.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SV)