MINERV

Objective

BIO-ON mission is to replace plastic with a new biodegradable bioplatic derived from suger beets.

Description

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a linear polyester naturally occurring as a result of bacterial fermentation of sugar.
This family can bring together more than 100 differing monomers to produce materials whose properties vary very greatly.
Thermoplastic or elastomeric materials can be created with melting points ranging from 40 to more than 180°C.

MINERV-PHA is a high-performance PHA biopolymer.
MINERV-PHA is endowed with optimal thermal properties. Production needs which range from -10°C to a +180°C can be met through characterization. This product is particularly suitable for injection and extrusion methods for the production of objects.
It takes the place of highly pollutant materials such as PET, PP, PE, HDPE and LDPE.

MINERV PHAs

Using MINERV PHAs (Polyhydroxyalkanoates developed using beets) Bio-on has identified the possibility of producing a new family of naturally biodegradable polyesters derived from sugar beets. The MINERV PHAs logo identifies the product that will in turn be marked and protected by their specific characterization and subsequently sold or licensed to third parties.  Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs is a linear polyester produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar. More than 100 different monomers can be joined by this family to create materials with extremely different properties. Thermoplastic or elastomeric materials ca be created with melting points ranging from 40 to 180° C. MINERV-PHA is a high-performance PHAs biopolymer. MINERV “spheres” in white represent the MINERV-PHAs biopolymer obtained from sugar beets. These elements are the result of bacteria nourished by beet juices. Recovery is the next step in the process (recovery of PHAs) when Polyhydroxyalkanoates are recovered and separated from the rest of the organic material of the cell. All waste materials (small amounts) are put back into the production cycle to feed new bacterial colonies along with the intermediate beet juice (exclusive Bio-on patent).

MINERV SB

Minerv Sugar Beet. Obtained from Sugar Beet Waste. As a product, MINERV-SB™ fully exploits its excellent biodegradability factor in water. This type of polymer biodegradation represents the ‘future’ of biodegradability worldwide. Natural elimination of a biopolymer in water in just a few days is a rarely achieved result and, furthermore, an exceedingly tough challenge.
MINERV-SB™ is the first top-performing biopolymer produced from sugar co-products or sugar waste material for which this vitally important aim has ever been fulfilled. MINERV-SB™ dissolves in 10 days, when in normal river or sea water, and it leaves no residues.

MINERV SC

Minerv Sugar Cane. Obtained from Sugar Cane waste. As a product, MINERV-SC™fully exploits its excellent biodegradability factor in water. This type of polymer biodegradation represents the ‘future’ of biodegradability worldwide. Natural elimination of a biopolymer in water in just a few days is a rarely achieved result and, furthermore, an exceedingly tough challenge.
MINERV-SC™ is the first top-performing biopolymer produced from sugar co-products or sugar waste material for which this vitally important aim has ever been fulfilled. MINERV-SC™ dissolves in 10 days, when in normal river or sea water, and it leaves no residues.

NATURAL BIODEGRADATION IN WATER

The MINERV PHA increases its biodegradability factor in bacteriologically impure water. This type of polymer biodegradation is the future of biodegradability. The natural dissolution of a biopolymer in bacteriologically impure water (e.g. river water) in a few days is a rare and very difficult result to obtain. MINERV-PHA is the first biopolymer obtained from sugar co-products to achieve this important result. In just 10 days in normal river water, MINERV-PHA turns into river water or sea water.  Natural and inexpensive methods such as biodegradation in water are the future of biodegradability. Biodegradation in natural water sources (e.g. river water) is the easiest way to destroy and then recover the elements. This permits maintenance-free materials (no handling, transport or distribution). Biodegradation in water is even more beneficial than biodegradation in soil (compost). The process remains the same: natural decomposition by bacteria. In room temperature water this decomposition happens without being forced in any way, allowing complete biopolymer biodegradation in just a few days. If we combine these features with the initial “performance” of the biopolymer (strength, flexibility, printability), it is easy to understand the final product quality. PHAs are also the only plastics biodegradable in the ocean.

 A new big discovery from the Bio-on laboratories: also from the used cooking oil comes the bioplastic

The waste cooking oil is added to the “raw materials” already used to produce Bio-on bioplastics (beet molasses and sugar cane, fruit and potato wastes, carbohydrates in general and crude glycerol) but, for the first time, the carbon source which feeds the biopolymer production process is of a lipid nature. Thanks to a preventive treatment systems for exhausted frying oil, the bioplastic produced has the same characteristics as that generated from other wastes, co- and by-products of agro-industrial productions. This discovery is made by Business Unit RAF (Recovery and Fermentation) in the new Bio-on plant in Castel San Pietro Terme, Bologna Italy. As is known, all the Minerv PHA bioplastics (polyhydroxyalkanoates) developed by Bio-on are made from renewable plant sources (and now also lipid) without any competition with the food chains. They guarantee the same thermo-mechanical properties of conventional plastics with the advantage of being eco-friendly and 100% naturally biodegradable. In addition, they offer application possibilities, even completely unpublished, in sectors where traditional plastics are not used.