ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16 -- United States Patent no. 12,305,015, issued on May 20, was assigned to Useon Technology Ltd. (Jiangsu, China).

"Biodegradable polymer expanded bead capable of being formed by steam compression molding" was invented by Zhiqiang Chen (Jiangsu, China), Tian Xia (Jiangsu, China) and Junfeng Chang (Jiangsu, China).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The present application discloses a biodegradable polymer expended bead capable of being formed by steam compression molding, including the following components in parts by weight: 10-88 parts of PBS, 10-88 parts of PLA, 1-4 parts of a chain extender masterbatch, 1-3 parts of a nucleating agent masterbatch and 5-12 parts of a supe...