The Pharmafilter process reduces solid waste first through a grinding station and then through a series of purification steps, including anaerobic digestion. Outputs are biogas for fuel or power generation, biomass for energy conversion, and clean water.

The initial range of single use products to be made from Mirel include: service ware items, bed pans and trash bags. Use of such disposable products made from Mirel can mitigate the need for reusable items, thus reducing human contact with contaminated service ware and its related safety concerns. Mirel products will be disposed of along with the hospital and healthcare wastes, and fed to the Pharmafilter system. The initial pilot project is scheduled to begin operation in March 2010 at Delft Hospital in Amsterdam.

“We selected Mirel because it fits right into our system,” said Eduardo Van Den Berg, chief executive officer of Pharmafilter. “Mirel has the performance properties for single-use plastic service applications and it is biobased and biodegradable, so it is the most appropriate solution for the Pharmafilter process.”

“Mirel’s broad range of applications and biodegradation properties make it an ideal product to integrate with anaerobic digestion systems for waste disposal and bioenergy production,” said Bob Engle, general manager, Telles, a Metabolix and Archer Daniels Midland joint venture. “We are excited about our role in this innovative process for the conversion of potentially harmful waste products into bioenergy. In addition to the primary use of Mirel as a biobased plastic for high performance service ware and packaging, Mirel may offer a secondary value as an energy source arising from its disposal through anaerobic digestion.”

Anaerobic Digestion (AD):

The attractiveness of AD has been increasing as a result of its ability to produce renewable energy, reduce air and water pollution, reduce agricultural wastes, and produce byproducts which can serve as fertilizer. AD technology is well developed worldwide. Traditional, small, farm-based digesters have been used in China, India and elsewhere for centuries. Municipal solid waste treatment represents a new potential application for AD.

Metabolix is a US-based bioscience company.