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Because Mirel is made from corn, at the factory gate the carbons are sequestered producing a negative CO2 footprint. Depending on the "end of life" scenario, Mirel can have a zero (or neutral) or negative CO2 footprint. When Mirel biodegrades in nature it has a neutral carbon footprint. If the "end of life" scenario is through incineration with energy recovery or anaerobic digestion with energy recovery it has a negative CO2 footprint.
Carbon dioxide is a major green house gas and production of energy, chemicals, and polymers from non-renewable fossil fuel resources is the major human contributor to these emissions. Mirel's production process achieves a very significant reduction in net dioxide generation, in large part because the carbon contained in Mirel is derived from atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Sustainability of Mirel produced directly in plants
While Mirel is more sustainable and requires less energy input for its production than most synthetic polymers, Mirel produced directly in plants, when coupled with use of the energy content of the remaining plant biomass will contribute, rather than consume, energy. A thorough analysis (1) has been presented by Kurdikar et al., in the Journal of Industrial Ecology in which the authors concluded that, "an integrated system, wherein biomass energy from corn stover provides energy for polymer processing, would result in a better greenhouse gas profile than polyethylene." Bioplastics produced in switchgrass would be expected to be even more favorable than in corn stover (although the technology to transform switchgrass did not yet exist at the time of that study).
1. Kurdikar et al., "Greenhouse Gas Profile of a Plastic Material Derived from a Genetically Modified Plant", Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 4, No. 3. 2002.
