FAQs
Q1. Why is the company called Oakbio?
A1. Oakbio is named from fusion of the words "oak" and "biotechnology". The adage "great oaks from little acorns grow" reflects our aspirations to grow into a commercially successful company that makes a positive difference to our world. The strength and value of oak wood is also renowned, serving as a metaphor for valuable products made using our technology. As for "bio", the tools of modern biotechnology are central to our approach to carbon capture and conversion.
Q2. Do microbial production processes have any inherent sustainability advantages over traditional chemical processes?
A2. All microbial production processes share features that promote sustainability favorably compared with the traditional petrochemical industry: use of renewable rather than finite resources; use of water rather than toxic organic solvents; lower energy use with microbial catalysis versus inorganic chemical catalysts; a more benign waste stream; plus, microbes perform multiple chemical reactions in a single reactor, conserving energy and materials.
Q3. Does Oakbio's process have sustainability advantages over other microbial methods for chemicals and fuels production?
A3. Oakbio’s process is distinguished by its simplicity and environmentally benign nature, considering all the inputs required to make chemicals. In a single carbon-capture and conversion step, we use CO2 from a waste gas stream, sparing GHG accumulation. Except for algal technologies, or making chemicals in plant crops, all other chemical manufacturing biotechnologies use carbon feedstock derived ultimately from agriculture (usually a sugar). Use of sugar feedstock requires many steps, from preparing land, planting and harvesting plant biomass, biomass processing, all the way to addition of pure sugar to a microbial bioreactor. Our energy source, H2 gas can derive entirely from renewable sources. For Oakbio, H2 is equivalent to renewable electricity. Commercial scale renewable production of H2 gas is widespread. Sunlight and solar panels generate electricity and this electricity is used to power electrolysis of water into H2 gas piped directly into our reactor, and O2 safely released to the atmosphere.
Q4. How do you measure "sustainability"?
A4. Sustainability as a concept crosses multiple spheres of human activity. Whenever we develop a new process to make a specialty chemical or biofuel and sell the product we affect the environment, we affect society and we affect market economics. Measurement of this multi-dimensional concept is not facile, and encompasses collecting and manipulating data from very different spheres and making judgments on many variables and assumptions. Several analytic tools are available to measure the sustainability of our bio-manufacturing process. The value of these tools to policy makers, to industry and to customers is continuously being tested and the algorithms improved. One of the most useful tools we will employ is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA).
Q5. What is Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)?
A5. LCA is an increasingly preferred technique among several tools to assess the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service.
Okbio will compile:
1. an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases,
2. an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts associated with inputs and releases, and
3. an interpretation of the results to help make a more informed decision on how to maximize sustainability.
LCA can guide choice of different paths to use one that entails lowest environmental impact. Given that all human activities have some environmental impact, judgment is required to decide which set of environmental impacts is more preferred than another. LCA analysis becomes most useful to Oakbio and our customers when the assumptions involved in such judgment are clearly understood.
1. an inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases,
2. an evaluation of the potential environmental impacts associated with inputs and releases, and
3. an interpretation of the results to help make a more informed decision on how to maximize sustainability.
LCA can guide choice of different paths to use one that entails lowest environmental impact. Given that all human activities have some environmental impact, judgment is required to decide which set of environmental impacts is more preferred than another. LCA analysis becomes most useful to Oakbio and our customers when the assumptions involved in such judgment are clearly understood.
Q6. How do you certify to the public that a chemical is made using a "sustainable process"?
A6. Several scoring systems have been used to assist customers in making purchase decisions of “green” products. We predict that standardized systems for scoring “sustainability” will be added to product labeling to describe the properties of chemical constituents. Regulations for certification to agreed standards for analysis and certification may be developed and mandated into law. Until that time, Oakbio will share the results of LCA of our manufacturing process with customers who buy our chemicals. Our customers will have transparency to the net carbon, energy, and water use for the processes we use. How a product using a “sustainable” chemical will be branded, if at all, by a product manufacturer remains a question for discussion and ultimate decision by the manufacturer. Enhancement of the sustainability of our chemical and fuel products, while maintaining competitive costs, will be a continuous mission for Oakbio, one that will keep us at the leading edge of delivering the most sustainable products to our customers. As process development proceeds, we will perform internal, detailed LCA analysis for each product and process. Our sustainability analytics will eventually be published.