Issue 05/2023

Materials
Seaweed based resins
come to Europe
An innovative seaweed resin that replaces single-use
plastic at scale and disappears into compost and soil
after it’s used is now available to European plastics
manufacturers and processors globally.
Loliware, the first of-its-kind seaweed resin technology
firm based in San Francisco (CA, USA), announced its
partnership with Florida-based distributor Montachem
International in September. Loliware seaweed resins
are the only biomaterials available through Montachem,
which has historically offered polyethylene, polypropylene,
polystyrene, PVC, and PET. Loliware’s SEA Tech resins can be
processed on existing manufacturing equipment and require
no new infrastructure.
“Our ocean-safe resin is a 1-to-1 replacement for
fossil-fuel-based polymers”, Loliware Founder and CEO
Sea Briganti says. “We’re fulfilling consumer demand for
products needed in daily life, while at the same time creating
an opportunity to end the plastic pollution that is destroying
the ocean and significantly contributing to climate change”.
Loliware is the first company worldwide to scale seaweed
as a high-performance, cost-effective replacement for
conventional plastics. A full agreement with Montachem
will be signed by the end of 2023, leading to a multiyear
program to distribute the extrusion and injection
moulding grade resins.
The global plastics market is projected to reach USD 753
billion by 2026, with increasing demand for plastic products,
according to KPMG estimates. “Plastic alternatives are
flooding the market, but many use fossil fuel-based
components. Loliware’s seaweed resin is accepted under
even the strictest regulations because its inputs are modified
in nature”, Briganti says.
Loliware produces, via a partnership with manufacturer
Sinclair & Rush based in Missouri, a straw to showcase the
function of the resin. The straw behaves identically to its
plastic counterpart until a few hours after use when it begins
to break down. Once added to a compost pile or into soil, it
disappears within weeks.
“The straw was our proof of concept”, Briganti says.
“It shows that there is a regenerative, ocean-safe way to
replace single-use plastics”.
One hundred million straws are being produced each
year. They are used at restaurants owned by the Jose
Andres Group, as well as by eco-luxury hotel chain 1Hotels
and other major brands. A new line of utensils will be
available later this year. MT
www.loliware.com
“We aim to be fully engaged with environmentally-friendly
materials that contribute to our ESG mission (Environmental,
Social, Governance), and Loliware was the clear
standout”,says Montachem President and CEO Jerry Murcia.
Loliware is 100 % USDA BIOBASED certified and home
compostable. Additionally, it is plastic-free verified and
100 % marine safe (ISO 19679). “Loliware’s SEA Tech resins
break down within about 50 days via aerobic degradation”,
says Victoria Puinova, Loliware’s Chief Technology Officer.
There are just four resin inputs – seaweed, water, limestone
and mineral colour – but can be processed on conventional
plastics equipment through injection moulding, extrusion,
and thermoforming to create a wide range of replacements
for single-use plastics.
“Our resins make it easy for processors to transition
from petroleum-based commodity resins”, Puinova says.
Only subtle changes are needed, such as melt temperature
adjustment and post-processing, she adds. A wide range of
single-use plastic replacements is possible with the resins.
Loliware partners with ocean-farmed seaweed producers
around the world, including Atlantic Sea Farms based in
Maine (USA). Seaweed captures five to 20 times more carbon
than land-based forests per unit area, including permanently
storing some of it at depth/the seafloor.
36 bioplastics MAGAZINE | Renewable Carbon Plastics [05/23] Vol. 18