You Asked, We Answered: Q&A with the FlexSea Team
You Asked, We Answered: Q&A with the FlexSea Team
What sets your material apart from other bioplastics?
There are two key aspects of our material that set it apart from other bioplastics
Number 1 – our material is produced from non-competing feedstocks
Number 2 – our material is home compostable
What do you mean by non-competing and home compostable?
Non-competing means we are not generating competition in land use with conventional farming for food production. This is not true of bioplastics like PLA made from sugar cane or wheat. Home compostable refers to the degradation of the material in standard home compost rather than relying on industrial, anaerobic digestors which require complex infrastructure, high temperatures and controlled microbial environments.
Why do you use red seaweeds in your bioplastic formulations?
We use red seaweeds as these are sustainably cultivated ensuring a renewable, reliable supply as we scale from 100s to 1000s of tons. Red seaweeds are also cultivated year round, sustaining coastal communities in developing countries. This is not the case with typically wild-harvested, cold water green and brown seaweeds
What is the difference between the Bioplastic and Biotech Verticals?
Our Bioplastic Vertical is redefining single-use bioplastics with our home compostable, seaweed-based formulations tailored to 3D printing and injection moulding. Our passion for circularity bred our Biotech Vertical where we use natural practices, such as bacterial fermentation, to extract the full wealth of materials from our seaweed sources
What seaweed waste materials do you use in your Biotechnology vertical?
There are three waste streams we work with in our Biotech team
- Waste material from our bioplastic production
- Waste material from seaweed refining processes such as agar and carrageenan extraction
- Wild harvested surplus seaweeds – specifically invasive species that are disrupting vital marine environments
How does bacterial fermentation work?
Bioreactors simulate and accelerate natural processes to allow microorganisms to grow uninhibited. Our processes at FlexSea are entirely natural – we do not use any genetically modified organisms. With careful selection of microbes and specific preparation of substrates, we are producing a range of high value products
