A team of researchers with the Composite and Nanocomposite
Advanced Manufacturing – Biomaterials Center (CNAM), led by David Salem, Ph.D.,
at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology are using microbes that were
discovered deep underground in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF)
in an attempt to make low-cost plastics that are renewable and biodegradable.
“Most commercial polymers, or plastics are petroleum based
which is a non-renewable resource,” says Salem. The team is working to find
ways to mass manufacture low-cost plant based plastics and composites. “A problem
with bio-based polymers is they are expensive, and one goal of this center is
to use genetically engineered microbes to help reduce the cost of manufacturing
these kinds of plastics,” says Salem. “Another goal is to engineer the
properties of the biopolymers and biocomposites to serve a wide range of
commercial applications.”
There is a huge potential for new green-based manufacturing
jobs in the area if the center succeeds in developing mass manufacturing
techniques for turning plants into low-cost bio-based polymers.
“The top ten petroleum based polymers make up about a
$500-billion global market,” says Salem. “These biopolymers potentially can
cover the whole range of properties of those.”
A group, led by Rajesh Sani, Ph.D., from SD Mines’
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, have isolated th...