Meridian Waste Solutions Inc., Atlanta, Ga., USA, a vertically integrated, non-hazardous solid waste services company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Attis Innovations LLC this week announced the acquisition of Advanced Lignin Biocomposites LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company that owns and develops lignin recovery, production and applications technology. Additionally, the company announces the issuance of a nonexclusive commercial patent license agreement between UT-Battelle LLC, the management and operating contractor for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Advanced Lignin Biocomposites LLC.  

In its capacity as a management and operating contractor, UT-Battelle acquires rights to intellectual property (patents, copyrights, trademarks and mask works) developed under its contract with DOE. One of the functions of UT-Battelle’s Office of Technology Transfer is to out-license intellectual property to companies for commercial applications of Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed technologies. Advanced Lignin has entered into a commercial patent license for the exclusive field of use for polymer blend tiles specifically designed for use as residential and commercial siding and decking and a non-exclusive field of use for other polymer blend materials and uses.

While Advanced Lignin plans to use its advanced methods to more cost effectively produce many different materials, including adhesives, renewable fuels, and carbon fiber, its initial focus will be to produce high performance green plastics. Advanced Lignin has identified a pathway to produce green, lignin-based plastics that could ideally prove to cost less and outperform many plastics made from nonrenewable resources, such as petroleum. Lignin, an otherwise undervalued byproduct of the pulp and paper and cellulosic biorefining industries, is one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth and is readily available for recovery. ABL resin is comprised of about 50% lignin, a plant based component of the formulation.  

Advanced Lignin trusts that it can recover and convert lignin into higher value and better performing materials more cost effectively than those methods previously available due to Advanced Lignin’s team and infrastructure of partners uniquely suited to understand the supply chain and end of life aspect of the lignin product including lignin recovery, drying and purification technologies, and access to manufacturing equipment and processes.

Following recent transactions in the past weeks for the company’s technology and innovations divisions, at this time the consolidated historical and unaudited financials, which may be subject to change upon audit, of the newly acquired operations generated revenues of approximately $7 million to $9 million and $2 million to $3 million of cash flow for the previous 12 months.

"We see great opportunity to use ABL resin and ABL formulated specialty composite resin materials for sales to manufacturers of plastic goods who seek high performance, cost-effective and eco-friendly solutions," stated Jeff Cosman, CEO of Meridian Waste. "Our commitment to clean communities goes beyond the residential neighborhoods and businesses we service on a regular basis and the landfills we operate as vital community infrastructure assets to identifying economically and environmentally beneficial uses of the waste stream byproducts.  Our first endeavors will be aimed towards the building and construction materials markets and later towards automotive materials, appliance components, thermoformed sheet products, and foamed materials to serve as a direct replacement of existing resin such as ABS, polypropylene, polyethylene, and potentially PVC in many cases."