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Your Future Clothes Could be Made from Methane

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

Phoenix666 writes:

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 Runaway1956 on Saturday October 07 2017, @03:36PM (3 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 07 2017, @03:36PM (#578592) Journal

    We might have to disagree about that "optimized, economical process".

    Cotton and corn have something in common - both deplete the soil much more than most other crops. On the industrial scale that Americans demand, it is pretty costly, in terms of the environment. Things would be so very much better, if they forgot about cotton, and started using hemp. Hemp is good for the soil, doesn't need much if any fertilizer to get it established, and, the fabric is supposed to be 7 times more durable than cotton.

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  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Saturday October 07 2017, @05:56PM (1 child)

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday October 07 2017, @05:56PM (#578623) Journal

    And if your clothes catch fire, at least you'll immediately get a pain killer. ;-)

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    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 07 2017, @09:16PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 07 2017, @09:16PM (#578653) Journal

      Uh-huh. I've touched on that a time or two. Natural fibers will get hot, begin to smolder, and then catch fire, just like paper, or wood, or coal. At any point, even after bursting into flames, a person can peel those natural fibers off, and the heat transfer to your flesh stops. Not so with the synthetics, such as polyester. The fabric feels warm, then hot, and suddenly, the fabric melts into your flesh and there is no peeling it off.

      But yeah - pain relievers. Oh-kay, if you say so.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 08 2017, @01:16AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday October 08 2017, @01:16AM (#578720)
    My, something that Runaway and OriginalOwner [soylentnews.org] actually agree on!