ZymoChem Debuts Scalable Bio-Based SAP

Super Absorbent Polymer (SAP) is the key ingredient for any hygiene product in the marketplace that is meant to absorb fluids and provide protection for baby and adult diapers, and sanitary napkins, among others. SAP is traditionally a petroleum-based product that is not biodegradable and contains plastics and chemicals that when released disrupts soil moisture balance. Products made with SAPs are taking the heat when it comes to these end-of-life environmental implications. The industry is taking this seriously and is rising to the challenge to explore bio-based solutions.

The biggest hurdle to most bio-based solutions in development now is industrial scalability. Laboratory-proven bio-SAP is under development across the supply chain; the challenge is being able to produce it in mass and be able to easily adapt to current production and manufacturing processes in place.

At the recent Hygienix 2024 in Nashville, TN in November, ZymoChem revealed their historic achievement in bio-SAP production. The San Leandro, CA, company announced the launch of BAYSE™, the world’s first scalable, bio-based, microplastic-free, and biodegradable Super Absorbent Polymer, set to revolutionize the $145 billion global hygiene industry and pave the way for a more sustainable future.

BAYSE™ is a drop-in replacement for traditional, fossil fuel-based SAPs, which are a key component in disposable, absorbent hygiene products such as infant diapers. Unlike petroleum-derived, polyacrylate counterparts, BAYSE™ is made from renewable resources, maintains a lower carbon footprint, and is readily biodegradable, addressing the environmental concerns associated with the 300,000 diapers that enter landfills or are incinerated every minute.

What is even more important, the company shared that ZymoChem’s proprietary technology platform enables the production of BAYSE™ at a cost which is competitive with traditional SAPs, ensuring that sustainability can be achieved without the need for a “green premium.” This emphasis on delivering novel materials to the market that meet the performance expectations of consumers and do so at a cost that is approachable is central to ZymoChem’s product design approach and how it is posed to make an outsized impact on the industry.

ZymoChem is breakthrough science for a fossil-free future. ZymoChem envisions a world in which the goods consumers depend on everyday are bio-manufactured from 100% renewable materials and designed for a sustainable economy. Through their multi-generational and multi-product patents, ZymoChem’s proprietary Carbon Conserving (C2) microbes convert renewable feedstocks into bio-based materials without compromising price, performance, scale, or sustainability, while radically minimizing CO2 loss during the production phase.

The company is led by Dr. Harshal Chokhawala, PhD, Co-Founder & CEO. Chokhawala is a dynamic leader in the field of biotechnology, renowned for his groundbreaking work in decarbonization and sustainable manufacturing practices. Given his deep expertise, Chokhawala offers invaluable insights into the future of clean energy, green technology, and the role of innovation in combating climate change. He navigated ZymoChem’s evolution from an idea on paper to a well-funded entity, securing backing from venture capital, government grants, and collaborations with Fortune 500 companies.

To support the scale up of BAYSE™ and the rest of ZymoChem’s product portfolio, this early stage company relies on a syndicate of progressive thinking venture investors. In 2024, ZymoChem raised a $21 million Series A round of funding with investments led by Breakout Ventures. Participation came from well recognized, new investors including lululemon athletica, inc. and Toyota Ventures, and existing investors including GS Futures, KdT Ventures, and Cavallo Ventures.

International Fiber Journal sat down to talk with Chokhawala at the Hygienix Show to discuss how all this came about, and how they were able to engineer the first to scale bio-SAP.

International Fiber Journal: Tell us about your company and its evolution.

Harshal Chokhawala: We’ve been operating since 2015 as a growing company. In the beginning, coming out of University of California Berkley, my co-founder Jon Kuchenreuther and I were heavily into the research side of how to engineer microbes and build the technology for the microbes.

When we formally incorporated in 2015, we were accepted into the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) program that support biomedical engineering and research.

We received multiple Department of Energy grants, joined Breakout Labs and were backed by the Thiel Foundation and partnered with Agile BioFoundry, which is funded by U.S. Department of Energy BETO.

With all this activity to support our platform development, it was in 2019 that we started transitioning from a research organization to a more commercial organization. ZymoChem underwent its first growth surge, when the applications for our polymers business expanded.

We were very focused on replacing materials that existed today. Rather then sourcing from petroleum, our ingredients are made from sugar or other renewable carbon sources via fermentation. It is from here that we are have found incredible applications for our specialty chemicals, like a super absorbent in hygiene articles.