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Lasts 7 to 10 Years and Decomposes in the End! The Technology Behind How Bioworks Overcame PLA's "Weaknesses"
Plant-derived polylactic acid (PLA) has long been considered difficult to use in apparel due to its low heat resistance and durability. Bioworks' PlaX™ successfully overcomes these drawbacks using a proprietary plant-derived additive, aiming for a 7- to 10-year lifespan along with post-use biodegradability and recyclability. What technology makes both long-term use and circularity possible? We spoke with Takahiko Terada, CTO of Bioworks.
PROFILE
Takahiko Terada
Senior Managing Director, Executive Officer, and CTO, Bioworks
Majored in polymer chemistry at Kyoto University. After graduating, he joined Panasonic (formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) to work in research and development. After leaving Panasonic, he joined an industry-academia-government collaborative research project under the Kinki Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry as a researcher, working on the development of synthesis methods for polylactic acid (PLA).
He later founded Biobase Inc., establishing molecular structure design technology that led to the modification of polylactic acid. In 2015, he founded Bioworks Inc., and currently serves as Senior Managing Director, Executive Officer, and CTO, overseeing research and development as well as technology strategy.
Searching for Raw Materials More Abundant Than Petroleum Led to PLA
Lactic acid, the raw material for PLA, is produced from sugars and starches found in plants like sugarcane. Its precursor is glucose. Glucose is also the building block of cellulose—the main component of plants—which exists abundantly on Earth.
"Glucose is abundant on Earth and is a resource more plentiful than petroleum. When searching for sustainable, next-generation materials, we focused on this substance because it is unlikely to ever run out. At the start of development, another reason we chose it was that, compared to other biomass materials, it was relatively stable and inexpensive as an industrial raw material."
The desire to use a resource that could be secured reliably well into the future was the origin of choosing PLA. On the other hand, the plant-derived additive technology that transformed PLA into a practical material was not something intended from the start. It began as a "byproduct" born from completely different research and development.
"Originally, we were developing soft urethane-based materials used in cushions and adhesives. During the analysis process, we paid attention to something we obtained, which led to the idea of promoting crystallization. It was a discovery made outside our primary goal at the time."
This discovery became the key to overcoming PLA's weaknesses. Its heat resistance was raised from around 50°C for conventional PLA up to 130°C, making it capable of withstanding dyeing with disperse dyes at 110–120°C.
While it still falls short of polyester and nylon in terms of physical properties and cost, it reached a level suitable for commercial products. Furthermore, its practicality goes beyond heat resistance. Thanks to the antibacterial properties of lactic acid, it also inhibits the growth of odor-causing bacteria responsible for damp towel and sweat smells.
The raw fiber and yarn have certified Product Class I (for babies and toddlers) under OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100, making it safe for direct contact with skin. Additionally, CO2 emissions during manufacturing are reduced by 50% for staple fibers and 70% for filament yarns compared to petroleum-derived polyester.
The Barrier Wasn't in the Lab, but in the Factory
"To be honest, I rarely ran into brick walls while doing R&D with free-thinking. We faced far more challenges when trying to commercialize the ideas born from that process."
Dedicated machinery or molds were not created specifically for this new material. The challenge was figuring out how to achieve commercial viability using existing equipment. Any gaps that couldn't be bridged by adjusting processing conditions had to be addressed by modifying the material itself.
From the start of development in 2007 until it took shape as a fiber in 2016, the team spent day after day borrowing manufacturing equipment to fine-tune the conditions. Design guidelines established in the lab were systematically translated into mass-production parameters through repeated on-site testing.
The supply chain was also a product of ingenuity. The raw material, polylactic acid (PLA) resin, is manufactured in Thailand, while the additives that determine quality are produced in Japan. To balance technology protection with cost reduction, the company adopted a "masterbatch" approach: producing resin pellets with a high concentration of additives in Japan, and then diluting them locally in Thailand during manufacturing.
"It's like a cola concentrate. We make a concentrated batch and then dilute it on-site while spinning the yarn. This protects our proprietary technology while keeping costs down."
How Did They Balance Durability and Biodegradability? The Key Lies in Controlling "Hydrolysis"
"Durability" for long-term use and "biodegradability" after use.The key to balancing these two seemingly contradictory properties was controlling "hydrolysis."
"The degradation mechanism of biodegradable plastics, including 'PlaX™,' doesn't mean microbes consume them right away. First, 'hydrolysis' occurs—a reaction with water that shortens the polymer molecules. Only after the molecules are shortened to a certain point does microbial 'biodegradation' begin."
Of these two stages, directly controlling microbial activity—biodegradation—is difficult. Therefore, the company focused on controlling the initial hydrolysis stage using additives.
"We control the first-stage reaction, hydrolysis. By doing so, we design the material so that hydrolysis does not occur in normal use environments. Then, only when placed in specific conditions—such as post-use composting—does hydrolysis progress, breaking down the material to a point where biodegradation occurs."
While additives inhibit degradation, moisture and temperature during manufacturing are managed even more strictly than for standard plastics. The lifespan can also be adjusted depending on the application. By maintaining the necessary durability during use and guiding the material toward decomposition under specific conditions afterward, "PlaX™" balances durability and biodegradability by controlling the exact conditions under which degradation begins.
Vaporizing for Recovery: Recycling Without Sorting
Alongside biodegradation, chemical recycling technology is also being developed for "PlaX™." In apparel recycling, sorting represents a major obstacle.Clothing incorporates various materials, including buttons, zippers, dyes, and blended fibers. The technology under development by Bioworks has the potential to streamline or even eliminate this sorting process.
When spent "PlaX™" is heated with a catalyst, it breaks down into its building block, lactide. This process takes advantage of lactide's property of sublimation.
"Lactide sublimes—turning directly from a solid into a gas, much like dry ice. By utilizing this property, even if buttons, other materials, or dyes are mixed in, we can recover only the vaporized lactide. The greatest feature of this technology is that it performs chemical recycling while simultaneously separating impurities."
Cooling the recovered gas yields high-purity lactide, which can be reused as raw material for "PlaX™." For blended fabrics with cotton or other fibers, a technique has also been established to powderize and isolate only "PlaX™" via hydrolysis before recovery.
However, this chemical recycling technology currently remains at the laboratory stage. While the foundational technology is established, scaling up and validating continuous production are the next hurdles toward commercialization.
Furthermore, PlaX™ can be molded into buttons and zippers, not just fibers. As the shift toward "mono-materiality"—making entire garments from a single material—gains traction, sorting steps during recycling could be reduced even further. In parallel with commercializing the technology, demonstrations are underway to establish collection methods for used products.
What's Next for "PlaX™"? Raw Material Transition and Commercializing Recycling
In the future, the company aims to transition to non-edible cellulose, such as agricultural residue.
Overcoming PLA's drawbacks of low heat resistance and durability, "PlaX™" is engineered for 7 to 10 years of use while enabling complete biodegradation once its lifecycle ends. Currently, active testing is underway to shift its feedstock to non-edible cellulose and commercialize chemical recycling that converts used materials back into raw resources, driving high expectations for PlaX™ as a material to power a sustainable future.
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