Bio-polymers and Novel Products

Biopolymers are polymers produced by a biological process as opposed to the refining of hydrocarbons as is the case for conventional polymers and plastics.

The AD Centre has been researching and developing processes to produce biopolymers using waste materials and gases as the carbon and nutrient source required by the microbes that produce the polymer itself. The Centre has delivered research in collaboration with a range of industrial stakeholders from process engineers to end users.

The polymer produced is broadly termed as PHA (Polyhydroxyalkanoate), but its exact physical and chemical properties can be altered according to the manufacturing process conditions. PHA is biodegradable under anaerobic conditions and biocompatible. Its properties can also be altered using additives to meet a range of performance criteria.