Sweet Perspex

Polymethylmethacrylate (pMMA) is a transparent polymer, most familiar in the form of Perspex, used to make screens for phones, computers and TVs. pMMA is non-toxic, so it is used in contact lenses, medicine and dentistry. It is also used to manufacture parts for cars and aircraft, bathroom/kitchen units and fittings, and in paints and resins. Like all plastics, pMMA is made from oil-derived feedstocks. We have developed a lab-scale, bio-based route to manufacture the monomer for pMMA, methylmethacryalate (MMA). The new process uses renewable sugars instead of oil, and will generate about one fifth of the CO2 emissions compared with petrochemical MMA. To do this, we engineered bacteria to produce the enzymes needed to convert sugars to a derivative of MMA. This synthetic chemical is not usually formed by enzymes, so the artificial metabolic pathway was developed using directed evolution and synthetic biology. The product can be separated easily from the fermentation, and we developed a simple, sustainable chemical process to convert it to MMA. In this project, we will integrate synthetic biology, fermentation technology and chemical process development to take this process from lab scale experiments to a pilot scale manufacturing process.