Sustainably sourced, naturally modified cellulosic materials to replace petrochemical products

This project aims to reinvent and replace various product building blocks derived from petrochemicals with eco-friendly, recyclable materials with superior properties while eliminating gigatons of production-associated CO2 emissions. Acetate has emerged as a leading feedstock for cell-based systems and is produced at scale using electricity, CO2, and water. Ordinary cellulose is considered a plastic of the future, yet it is sourced from trees and plants or from bacteria grown on photosynthesis-derived glucose. This team’s solution builds on the discovery of bacterially derived phosphoethanolamine cellulose, using acetate as the sole carbon source.