Lygos, NanoChem join for biobased aspartic acid

Polyacrylic acid is used in huge quantities in everything from household detergents to oil- and gas-drilling fluids. The petroleum-derived polymer works well as a dispersant and to prevent scaling and other deposits. But polyacrylic acid does not degrade in water or in soil.

One alternative to polyacrylic acid is polyaspartate polymers, which are biodegradable. Now, the biobased chemical firm Lygos and the synthetic polyaspartates manufacturer NanoChem Solutions have joined to develop a process to make aspartic acid, the raw material for the polymers, from sugar via fermentation. NanoChem’s parent company, Flexible Solutions, has also made an undisclosed investment in Lygos.

Lygos specializes in biobased organic acids and has experience producing lactic, malonic, and glycolic acids. CEO Eric Steen says aspartic acid is a natural fit for Lygos’s biotechnology skills.

Steen has another reason to be enthusiastic about fermentation-derived aspartic acid. “The manufacturing process sequesters carbon dioxide—it’s a great sink for CO₂,” he says.

NanoChem currently sells polyaspartates for use in laundry and dishwasher detergents, fertilizers, water treatment, and deep sea oil and gas drilling. All are applications where polymers end up in the environment. Steen expects biobased polyaspartates to have additional appeal.

This won’t be the first time Flexible Solutions has tried its hand at sugar-based aspartic acid. The company built a plant in Alberta to commercialize a sugar-based process but shut it down in 2014 after failing to make it economical. Today, NanoChem buys synthetic aspartic acid from China.

There is still plenty of development work ahead for biobased aspartic acid, Steen acknowledges. But Lygos has a cost target in mind that would allow it compete against polyacrylic acid. And Steen says partnering with Flexible Solutions will accelerate its engineering and process design work. “For now, we don’t have announcements about commercial facilities, but ultimately that’s where I think this could go.”