Lab Scale Closed-Loop Recycling of Polycarbonate Bioreactors for Sustainable Process Development

TL;DR

This paper shows that recycling polycarbonate bioreactor vessels in a closed-loop system is environmentally beneficial and does not harm cell culture performance.

Contribution

The first industry example of a closed-loop recycling system for polycarbonate bioreactors in biopharmaceutical processes.

Findings

Recycling polycarbonate reduces environmental impact without affecting extractables.

Cell culture performance and monoclonal antibody production remain unaffected by using recycled vessels.

Life Cycle Assessment shows benefits of closed-loop recycling, though sensitive to factors like recovery yield and contamination.

Abstract

Despite well-known benefits, the increasing use of single-use technology (SUT) in biopharmaceutical processes has raised concerns about the environmental impact of plastic waste. This paper provides the first bioprocessing industry example of a “closing the loop” proof of concept by implementing a circular economy model for a polycarbonate (PC) bioreactor vessel used in process development applications. Through a collaborative effort between an end user, a SUT supplier, and a resin supplier, a lab-scale study was initiated to collect, decontaminate, and mechanically recycle material from vessels after use in mammalian cell culture experiments to produce new vessels. The study demonstrates that using recycled PC reduces vessels' environmental footprint and does not adversely impact vessel extractables. Even in direct contact with cells and media, recycled PC left cell culture performance and monoclonal antibody production largely unaffected. This work paves the way for broader adoption of circular practices in the industry. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate closed-loop recycling of PC across multiple environmental indicators (e.g., climate change, resource use, water use, etc.). Benefits typically favor the closed-loop system, but sensitivity analysis indicates that variations in parameters such as recovery yield, contamination rate, means of transport, and electricity mix can erode these advantages in non-ideal settings. The paper outlines the logistics, challenges, and learnings from this program, emphasizing the need for standardized procedures and collaboration across teams to achieve sustainable SUT circularity.

• Recycling bioreactor polycarbonate vessels reduces environmental footprint.

• Equivalent extractables observed in virgin and recycled polycarbonate vessels.

• Cell culture performance is comparable across recycled and virgin vessels.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00253-026-13796-z.

Figures