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Patrick Gruber bags Millson award by AATCC
22 Mar '19
2 min read
Patrick Gruber/Pic: AATCC
AATCC (American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists) has named Patrick Gruber as the recipient of the Henry E. Millson award for invention for developing a green chemistry-based continuous process for producing polylactic acid fibres known as PLA. The Millson award recognises inventions that are outstanding contributions to textile technology.
The Millson award will be presented at AATCC’s international conference in Fort Worth, US, at the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown hotel, on April 11, 2019, according to a press release by AATCC.
Gruber is CEO and board member at Gevo, specialising in converting carbohydrates into low carbon chemicals and fuels, lessening reliance on petrochemical sources. He began his career at Cargill in 1988 as technology manager in search of new business opportunities involving renewable resource-based products as raw materials. He served as technical director of Cargill’s bioscience division from 1998 to 1999. In 1997, he co-founded NatureWorks and served as vice president of technology and operations and chief technology officer until 2005.
Chemical giants had spent decades trying to find a renewable and environmentally safe raw material to make into plastic. Until Gruber’s discovery in 1989, no one had discovered out how to make PLA from plant starches with the right properties and inexpensively enough for large scale production.
A new fermentation and distillation process enabled cheaper purification, better optical composition control, and significant yield increases over existing practice. The patented process enabled a single plant, using a flexible manufacturing system, to produce different PLA grades for multiple markets at low cost while adhering to environmentally sound practices.
Gruber received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. He also earned an M.S. in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
AATCC named the Millson award for invention for Henry E. Millson, a noted inventor who was head of dyes research for American Cyanamid. Millson, the 1958 recipient of AATCC’s Olney Medal for outstanding achievement in textile chemistry, endowed the award in 1979 with the stipulation that he never be considered a candidate. (GK)
The Millson award will be presented at AATCC’s international conference in Fort Worth, US, at the Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown hotel, on April 11, 2019, according to a press release by AATCC.
Gruber is CEO and board member at Gevo, specialising in converting carbohydrates into low carbon chemicals and fuels, lessening reliance on petrochemical sources. He began his career at Cargill in 1988 as technology manager in search of new business opportunities involving renewable resource-based products as raw materials. He served as technical director of Cargill’s bioscience division from 1998 to 1999. In 1997, he co-founded NatureWorks and served as vice president of technology and operations and chief technology officer until 2005.
Chemical giants had spent decades trying to find a renewable and environmentally safe raw material to make into plastic. Until Gruber’s discovery in 1989, no one had discovered out how to make PLA from plant starches with the right properties and inexpensively enough for large scale production.
A new fermentation and distillation process enabled cheaper purification, better optical composition control, and significant yield increases over existing practice. The patented process enabled a single plant, using a flexible manufacturing system, to produce different PLA grades for multiple markets at low cost while adhering to environmentally sound practices.
Gruber received a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Minnesota. He also earned an M.S. in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
AATCC named the Millson award for invention for Henry E. Millson, a noted inventor who was head of dyes research for American Cyanamid. Millson, the 1958 recipient of AATCC’s Olney Medal for outstanding achievement in textile chemistry, endowed the award in 1979 with the stipulation that he never be considered a candidate. (GK)
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