Calysta (Menlo Park, California / USA; www.calysta.com), a technology company focused on converting natural gas into industrial products, has successfully fermented methane into lactic acid under a research collaboration with US PLA producer NatureWorks (Minnetonka, Minnesota; www.natureworksllc.com). Lactic acid is the building block of NatureWorks’ “Ingeo” lactide polymers and intermediates.

While the laboratory scale results of the project’s first stage have confirmed the successful conversion of methane, Calysta said a full demonstration of commercial feasibility may require up to five years of additional work. The joint development programme started in June 2013 focused on creating a commercially viable methane-to-lactic acid process with the aim of providing NatureWorks with a structurally simplified, lower cost “Ingeo” production platform and a diversified feedstock portfolio. The companies will share commercialisation rights for select products developed under the agreement.

Calysta president and CEO Alan Shaw said: “This important milestone was achieved ahead of schedule and demonstrates the capability of Calysta’s proprietary Biological Gas-to-Chemicals synthetic biology platform to create new manufacturing pathways using methane as an advantaged and sustainable feedstock.”

Methane, a greenhouse gas about 20 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, is a natural component of natural gas and is generated from organic waste, decomposition within landfills and anaerobic digestion as well as being produced from activities such as waste-water treatment. If successful, the technology could directly access methane from any of these sources.