20 Mar PHOTOS: In Your Business at Pyran
At the lab of chemical engineering startup Pyran, agricultural feedstocks like corn cobs and wood chips become chemicals that can replace fossil fuels in plastics and paints. “People just don’t realize how many of their everyday items are made from oil or petroleum,” co-founder Kevin Barnett said, including the paints and coatings used on walls, cars and appliances. At this pilot stage, the company ships 1,5-pentanediol by the gallon to big name companies around the world that are making paints and coatings from it. In the coming months, Barnett plans to step up production, making several tons of the chemical by the end of the year.