Sustainably sourced materials present one side of eco-friendly beauty, but what about literally turning trash into treasure? LanzaTech, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab, and Northwestern University certainly abide by this philosophy, recently revealing a pilot model using fermentation methods and LanzaTech’s Clostridium autoethanogenum bacterium to manufacture inexpensive waste gas feedstocks like synthesis gas and industrial emissions into manufacturing carbon-negative acetone (used in nail polish remover) and isopropanol (a hand sanitizer ingredient, also known as IPA).
Normally these materials would be obtained through fossil fuels, but using LanzaTech’s method results in over 160% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. "This discovery is a major step forward in avoiding a climate catastrophe. Today, most of our commodity chemicals are derived exclusively from new fossil resources such as oil, natural gas, or coal. Acetone and IPA are two examples with a combined global market of $10 billion. The acetone and IPA pathways and tools developed will accelerate the development of other new products by closing the carbon cycle for their use in multiple industries," Dr. Jennifer Holmgren, LanzaTech CEO, states.
This circular model would eliminate the use of virgin fossil resources, and given the countless applications of acetone and isopropanol, could drastically reduce the carbon footprint of many existing products. In fact, LanzaTech has already applied similar methods to the fragrance industry, partnering with Coty to use carbon-captured ethanol—a material released by industrial activity, captured, and fermented before it can reach the atmosphere, resulting in nearly zero water consumption—across a majority of the giant’s fragrance portfolio by 2023. Coty received 20 metric tons of the product in mid-January of this year to begin the process. “After two years of working side by side with Coty scientists to develop a high-purity ethanol suitable for use in fine fragrances, we are excited to see Coty bring the first globally distributed fragrances made from CarbonSmart ethanol to market, so consumers can choose products made from recycled carbon,” Dr. Holmgrem adds.
From ethanol to acetone and isopropanol, the positive environmental impact from applying these manufacturing innovations industry-wide could result in a substantial reduction in beauty’s carbon footprint—the potential application of these methods for other mainstay ingredients notwithstanding.
