SBIR-STTR Award

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the reduction in single use plastics contributing to landfill waste and ocean pollution by replacing them in packaging with a fully biodegradable and naturally sourced alternative. With its water-based proprietary technology, the material developed in this project will transform shrimp shells into foam to replace conventional single-use packaging. The advantages of this material include mechanical properties competitive with non-sustainable alternatives at cost-competitive production. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop the basic technology to scale the production of a compostable and recyclable foam made of chitin. Chitin is a polysaccharide derived from shrimp shell waste. The material has the same mechanical properties and thermal insulation as polystyrene foam. Currently, this material is made with a hot molding process that creates high-quality foam, but it is challenging to scale for mass production of the volumes required to service the packaging industry. With this project, the company will develop a process that is fully scalable and uses existing equipment for the production of polystyrene foam for quicker adoption. The goals of the new process are to generate the same mechanical strength, thermal insulation, and density as polystyrene foam. The team will vary the foam composition and processing parameters to achieve the desired properties.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is the reduction in single use plastics that contribute to landfill waste and ocean plastic pollution by replacing these plastics in packaging with a fully biodegradable and naturally sourced alternative. Increasing consumer demand for more sustainable solutions as well as the rapid growth of ecommerce shipping has created an urgent industry need for companies to replace traditional materials with sustainable packaging. This project develops a bio-benign foam that can be produced at scale with drop-in compatible manufacturing processes to create superior biodegradable packaging products at similar cost to traditional expanded polystyrene products. This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project will scale the production processes of a chitin-based foam to be used as protective packaging. Chitin is a polysaccharide derived from shrimp shell waste. The project fully develop a scalable extrusion process that creates high quality foam and is well-suited to scale for mass production at volumes required to service the packaging industry. With this project, the extrusion process developed can be implemented with supply chain partners to show a fully scalable sustainable packaging material that can meet the increasing demands of the industry. The goals are to achieve high volume production with partners and create protective packaging with the same mechanical performance and density as expanded polystyrene. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.