10017336Making cellulose microbeads price competitive with plastic microbeadsClosedCollaborative R&DInnovate UKPlastic pollution on land and in the oceans has reached alarming levels, affecting the whole ecosystem, with plastic debris found everywhere, from the deepest reaches of the oceans to Mount Everest, in animals' stomachs and in human placentas (Environmental International 2021). Microplastics, or plastic particles smaller than 5mm, are a particularly insidious type of plastic pollution because once they are in the environment, they are impossible to remove, making remediation costs prohibitive. For this reason at Naturbeads we believe that microplastics have to be replaced with biodegradable materials at the source. Naturbeads, a spin-off of the University of Bath, is scaling up the manufacturing process to produce cellulose beads as an alternative to microplastics intentionally added to many products we use every day. Cellulose is natural - it is what trees are made of - and renewable because every year the earth produces millions of tons of cellulose which is 100% biodegradable. Naturbeads team has the expertise to manufacture cellulose, usually available in fibre form, in spherical form to provide the same performance as spherical plastic microbeads. Our beads have been successfully tested in applications ranging from personal care and cosmetics, to paints and coatings, adhesive and more. Naturbeads has identified a clear market need for biodegradable, sustainably sourced, spherical beads, in the 1-50 µm size range. With impending regulations (Europe 2022) companies are currently actively looking for alternatives and Naturbeads is well positioned to bring its innovation to market at the right time. With this industrial research project, we aim to respond to our customers' demand for a product that in addition to being biodegradable and sustainable is also price competitive with plastic. We have already validated the technical performance during Innovate UK 105285, with the commissioning of a pilot plant with capacity of up to 1 t/year. To reduce costs, Naturbeads is now working on two process and equipment innovations that will reduce both the capital costs to build the production plants and the operational costs to produce the cellulose beads.