EPA Award

Polylactic acid (PLA) made from greenhouse gases. This process transforms greenhouse gases into PLA by using agricultural crops to sequester carbon and transform it to simple plant sugars through photosynthesis. The plants are milled to extract glucose as starch. Enzymes are then added to convert the glucose to dextrose via hydrolysis. Microorganisms then ferment the dextrose into lactic acid. Lactic acid is converted to lactide and lactide is polymerized into Ingeo™ PLA by opening the lactide ring and linking them together to form a long polylactide polymer chain.

Catalysts that use carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide to produce polymers. Carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are ideal feedstocks for chemistry because they are abundant, renewable, and easily extracted at low costs. This technology polymerizes carbon dioxide and epoxides into polycarbonates that can be used as feedstocks to produce pharmaceuticals and plastics. Novomer Inc. uses polycarbonate coating in their electronics through a process called Novo™.

Bayer CropScience developed a microbial fungicide for fruits and vegetables that produces lipopeptides to combat the growth and development of fungi. This technology is made of QST-713, a soil bacterium that protects the plant by creating a protective layer on the surface of the plant leaf (preventing the attack of pathogens) and producing multiple different lipopeptides (iturins, agrastatins/plipastatins, and surfactins) that inhibit the development of fungi by different mechanisms of action. The combined properties of Serenade® make it an effective and specific fungicide.

Dow/Corteva™ developed a biopesticide for pests in tree fruits, tree nuts, small fruits, and vegetables called Spinetoram. Corteva™ used the principles of green chemistry to develop a synthetic pathway for the synthesis of spinetoram. Spinetoram is a combination of 3'-O-ethyl-5,6-dihydro spinosyn J and 3'O-ethyl spinosyn L and can be produced in a low-impact synthetic route from spinosyns J and L. These two compounds are naturally occurring fermentation products with minimal environmental damage. Most catalysts, solvents, and catalysts in the synthesis process are recycled.