Minnetonka’s NatureWorks Seeks to Turn Landfill Gas into Plastics

Minnetonka-based NatureWorks is working with Menlo Park, CA’s Calysta Energy to turn the harmful greenhouse gas methane into lactic acid that can be used to produce plastics, the companies announced Tuesday.

Methane, which is 20 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide, is naturally produced by the decomposition of plant materials. It’s also created by wastewater treatment and decomposition in landfills.

Calysta plans to use microbes to absorb excess methane directly from those sources and then produce lactic acid, which NatureWorks would then use to make plastics.

NatureWorks already transforms lactic acid into plastic pellets sold under the Ingeo brand name and turned into bottles, food packaging, apparel, textiles and more.

However, that lactic acid is currently produced by microorganisms feeding on sugars made from corn. If the multi-year collaboration between NatureWorks and Calysta is successful, it could be cheaper to produce Ingeo.

“If proven through this [research and development] collaboration, the new technology could be revolutionary because it will provide alternatives to the current reliance on agricultural feedstocks, and with the direct conversion of methane, it will greatly simplify the number of steps and operations needed to convert carbon into performance consumer products,” the release quoted NatureWorks CEO Marc Verbruggen. “This could structurally lower the cost of producing Ingeo.”