Copyright © Françoise Herrmann
Selected Toyota Mothers of Invention in 2019, Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao, have garnered more than one prize for their invention, including the Sanofi BioGenius Canada Award, in 2012, when they were still in high school. For such accolades, Wang and Yao invented a new way of upcycling plastic waste, considering that 340 million cubic tons of plastic are produced each year, most of which (86% in Canada, 79% gobally) is going to landfills once used, 8 million cubic tons of which is dumped in the ocean, and less than 15% of which is recycled (globally) (e.g.; EarthDayorg; Dean, 2018; Geyer et. al, 2017; Plastic Oceans; Plastic Tides). A quantity of plastic produced, together with its versatility and value, that on the one hand prompted Wang and Yao to speak in awe of the Age of Plastic, and on the other hand propelled both entrepreneurs on a fierce mission to mitigate the devastating environmental impact [Novoloop video]. For example, in a 2016 Ellen MacArtur Foundation study, scientists warned that, at the current rate of ocean pollution, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish, in 2050. (Ellen MacArthur Report, 2016)
However, for Wang and Yao, no denying the value of plastic, or the urgent need to solve the disastrous problems associated with the perennity of plastic, made for durability instead of degradability. Thus, Wang and Yao both founded Novoloop (former BioCellection, Inc). After hiring a team of scientists, the start-up built a platform that does more than recycle plastic, since it produces brand new building blocks of endlessly recyclable plastic, made 50% out of post-consumer plastic waste, produced using 45% less CO2 emissions, in a process termed upcycling.
Driven by
the motivation to produce the right
product, at the right time, for the right reasons, right now, to solve a 100%
solvable problem, using existing technology, Novoloop built the ATOD™ platform (Accelerated Thermal Oxidative Decomposition), a
reactor for the production of OISTRE™,
a polyurethane (PU) product derived from polyethylene (PE) plastic waste. As the company
name Novoloop (meaning “new cycle”) suggests, the company
produces an endlessly recyclable new plastic, suitable for pervasive use in such varied applications as sports equipment, consumer electronics, fashion and apparel, or for automotive parts.
The microbial path that
eventually led to the invention of the chemical reactor, and its output, together with the foundation of Novoloop, is no less
interesting, since Wang and Yao initially assumed that the plastic, they could
see polluting rivers, was also being metabolized by bacteria. Consequently, they set out to sequence the
plastic-consuming bacteria, while still in high school. A project they submitted for a Sanofi BioGenuis Award, which they won, much to everyone’s exhilaration, considering the press
they both received. However, once recognized, and the process of breaking down post-consumer
plastics identified biologically, they still had to find a way to chemically reproduce the
process of plastic decomposition, and transformation, on an industrial level, so that
they could begin to practically address the plastic problem, outside of the
laboratory. Thus, Novoloop was born,
to bridge the last mile, from
inventive step to industrial applicability, cost-effectiveness and economic
viability.
The ATOD™ platform and OISTRE™ product are patented. For example, the following US utility patent US10557011B2, titled Methods for the decomposition of contaminated plastic waste, not only discloses viable decomposition of plastic waste products, but also their potential for production of new value-added products.
Specifically, the invention arises out of the ineffective
landscape of the prior art of waste plastic treatment. Indeed, treatments, such as pyrolysis,
incineration, landfill disposal, and mechanical recycling, after thorough
cleaning, are recited as presenting too many disadvantages, not the least of
which is the issue of economic viability.
Pyrolysis, for example, is recited as very energy-consuming, requiring
many refinery steps for obtaining a useful product. Whereas, Incineration and
landfills are both dismissed as detrimental to the environment, while
mechanical recycling through cleaning, is dismissed on the grounds that it requires massive labor and resources.
The short abstract
of the invention is included below, together with the patent cover sheet diagram of the Novoloop decomposition reactor. The diagram of
the reactor, in particular, depicts the input of polyethylene plastic waste, the
adjunction of an oxidizing agent, and a chamber where the mixture is subjected
to conditions suitable for the decomposition of the plastic waste into a decomposition
mixture. The diagram also depicts output of the decomposition product.
This invention relates to the field of contaminated plastic waste decomposition. More specifically, the invention comprises methods and systems to decompose contaminated plastic waste and transform it into value-added products. [Abstract US10557011B2]
In the Youtube video below, Miranda Wang pitches Novoloop (former BioCellection, Inc), the company she founded with Jeanny Yao, for a Circular Economy Session, at the 2019 MIT Solve® Innovation Challenges.
References
Dean, M. (Jun 5, 2018). The Last Straw : How you can
beat plastic pollution. UnitedNationsOrg. https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/the-last-straw-how-you-can-beat-plastic-pollution/
EarthDayorg - Campaign to end plastic pollution. https://tinyurl.com/bywa34av
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2016). Report on The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics. https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/the-new-plastics-economy-rethinking-the-future-of-plastics
Foreman, R. (June 2, 2016). Wang & Yao: Where are they now? Sanofi BioGenius (Canada). https://biogenius.ca/wang-yao-where-are-they-now/
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R. and K. Lavender Law (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Scientific Advances, 3(7), e1700782. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700782 - https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e17007
MIT Solve® Challenges https://solve.mit.edu/challenges
Novoloop (Home) https://www.novoloop.com/
Novoloop (About us) https://www.novoloop.com/aboutus
Novoloop - The world has a problem - Youtube - CBS/Radio Canada video [22:00]. https://youtu.be/i3ZAAMKHsB8
Novoloop (Technology) https://www.novoloop.com/technology (ATOD™)
Novoloop (Product) https://www.novoloop.com/product (OISTRE™)
Plastic Oceans https://plasticoceans.ca/
PlasticTides.org https://www.plastictides.org/
Toyota Mothers of Invention 2019 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toyota-recognizes-outstanding-women-at-the-10th-annual-women-in-the-world-summit-300830764.html
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