Metabolix to develop sugarcane plastics
Metabolix Inc. announced a collaboration today to develop natural plastics from sugarcane.
Metabolix is a Cambridge developer of biodegradable plastics, and last month the company's stock jumped after it said it would join Archer Daniels Midland Co. to make biodegradable plastics from corn.
Today Metabolix said it has signed a collaborative agreement with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology, an alliance of Australia's sugarcane biotechnology research organizations.
"Sugarcane is currently the premier biomass crop for biofuels, and we believe it can be developed to produce an advanced biorefinery feedstock for the production of natural plastics, fuels, and chemicals, significantly expanding Metabolix's global reach," Metabolix chief scientific officer Oliver Peoples said in a statement.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
