ZymoChem, a biotech company creating sustainable materials for everyday products, announces the successful commercial-scale production of the key biopolymer ingredient used in its groundbreaking first product.

This follows ZymoChem’s recent announcement of the launch of Bayse, the world’s first scalable, bio-based, microplastic-free, and biodegradable Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) as a drop-in replacement for traditional, fossil-based SAPs, a key component in disposable, absorbent hygiene products.

By achieving production levels measured in multi-Metric Tons (MT) for the key biopolymer ingredient for Bayse, and at efficiencies demonstrating commercial viability, ZymoChem is paving the way to deliver Bayse BioSAP to customers worldwide. 

ZymoChem’s proprietary fermentation-based manufacturing technology delivers ingredients with performance and cost attributes on par with conventional counterparts, while enabling the development of decarbonized solutions.

Previously mastered in small-scale production, the company’s latest milestone saw the production of its biopolymer at the 45,000-liter scale. With support of its contract manufacturing operator (CMO), ZymoChem delivered this production with metrics that surpassed lab scale performance, demonstrating the robustness of the process at the industrial level.

“Our team’s dedication to innovation and precision has enabled us to showcase biomanufacturing at scale and at unprecedented efficiencies, overcoming one of the biggest hurdles in deploying bio-based products commercially. This success brings us closer to providing high-performance, sustainable solutions for the hygiene, agriculture, cosmetics, and water treatment industries,” says Dr. Ritu Bansal-Mutalik, V.P. BioProcess Development.

Following its successful scale-up, ZymoChem is commencing commercial runs with its CMO partners to create additional inventory to deliver on the immense demand from partners eager to deploy bio-based, high-performance solutions globally.

Nearly 90% of the 4 million MT of SAP manufactured each year is directed to the $145 billion global hygiene industry as part of infant diapers and period pads. The introduction of Bayse with its biodegradable properties will positively disrupt the trade by addressing the environmental concerns associated with the 300,000 diapers that enter landfills or are incinerated every minute. Other non-hygiene-focused industries are also ready for a non-fossil-based SAP to support their customer needs.