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posted by martyb on Saturday October 07 2017, @10:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the future-looks...ripe dept.

This biotech startup uses methane-eating bacteria to create fully biodegradable polymers.

Mango Materials is a biotech startup from San Francisco that has come up with an ingenious method for transforming methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into plastic. The process involves feeding methane to bacteria, which then produce a biodegradable polymer (polyhydroxyalkanoate, or PHA). This polymer can be spun into polyester fabric and used for clothing, carpets, and possibly packaging, although the company is most focused on the garment industry right now.

The methane used by Mango Materials comes from a waste treatment plant in the Bay Area, but the company is looking at partnering with other sources of methane, such as dairy farms, in order to get more. The technology creates value for methane, which is a novel idea.

How long would it take to fart a sweater — are we talking one burrito, or two?


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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday October 07 2017, @06:40PM (1 child)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Saturday October 07 2017, @06:40PM (#578634)

    There's not much optimized or efficient about the cotton growing and spinning process - it works, it's popular, but it's far from the most efficient path between raw feedstocks and woven fiber products.

    Now, people like the way their cotton clothes feel (probably more due to familiarity than anything else), so it will be hard to duplicate that experience without using acres of cotton plants, harvesting machinery, etc.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 07 2017, @10:14PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 07 2017, @10:14PM (#578673)

    The thing I like about cotton is the folks who have bred strains that already have a color and don't need to be dyed.
    That's pretty cool.

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