Award details

Enzymic polymerisation, characterisation and market evaluation of a set of novel bioplastic co-polymers derived from renewable resources

Reference	BB/N023595/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor James Clark
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Dr Thomas Farmer
Institution	University of York
Department	Chemistry
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	303,854
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/07/2016
End date	30/06/2019
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Plastics are produced on an enormous scale, both within and the UK and globally. Currently, the vast majority of plastics produced are derived from no-renewable depleting fossil resources, predominately crude oil. There has been recent widespread research into the conversion of biomass to monomers and polymers, ideally looking to utilise the most abundant form of waste biomass, lignocellulose. There has also been a growing interest in the use of bio-catalytic processes to bring about molecular transformation that have traditionally been carried out solely via chemo-catalytic routes. This project brings together both these aspects of work as it will demonstrate how bio-catalysis can be applied in the synthesis of novel polyesters from bio-derived feedstocks. It will use several diacids that Biome can now produce from lignocellulose, and will use expertise in the Universities of York and Liverpool to utilise enzymes in a multi-step lipase-catalysed polymerisation to produce a targeted group of novel copolymers and explore their properties. The project will also determine whether this biocatalysis can be undertaken in-situ of the diacid production and will provide quantities of bio-derived plastics to be assessed for their potential in high value markets, and will also demonstrate the capability of the bio-catalytic reactions to be scaled to >1 kg. This project will additionally contribute to the development of these novel bio-derived polymers through the assessment of induced chain-branching, thus altering their physical properties and eventual application. It will also undertake initial investigations into the end-of-life options for these polymers, including breaking them back down to monomer units, ensuring that after product use their environmental footprint will be minimised.

Summary

Plastics are produced on an enormous scale, both within the UK and globally, and are used in functional products all around us. The vast majority of plastics are currently produced from no-renewable depleting fossil resources, predominately crude oil. There has been recent widespread research into the conversion of sustainable and renewable biomass to monomers and polymers, ideally looking to utilise the most abundant form of waste biomass, lignocellulose. Biome's (company lead) overall strategy is to produce novel highly functional polyesters from this lignocellulose by using industrial biotechnology. This project with the Universities of York and Liverpool will take lignocellulose-derived aromatic diacids (monomers) and utilise enzymes in a multi-step polymerisation to produce a targeted group of novel copolymers and explore their properties. The project will also determine whether this biocatalysis can be undertaken in-situ of the diacid production and will provide quantities of bio-derived plastics to be assessed for their potential in high value markets, and will also demonstrate the capability of the bio-catalytic reactions to be scaled to >1 kg. Previous work (supported by Innovate UK) has already demonstrated that the aromatic diacids can be produced from both lignin and cellulose using both engineered bacteria/enzymes and a scale-up for diacid formation is already underway. These diacids have already been used to make the first small quantities of novel polyester copolymers (with exciting preliminary properties), prompting this project application. This project will additionally contribute to the development of these novel bio-derived polymers through the assessment of induced chain-branching, thus altering their physical properties and eventual application. It will also undertake initial investigations into the end-of-life options for these polymers, including breaking them back down to monomer units, ensuring that after product use their environmental footprint will be minimised.

Impact Summary

As described in proposal submitted to IUK

Committee	Research Committee A (Animal disease, health and welfare)
Research Topics	Industrial Biotechnology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst (IBCAT) [2014-2015]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

Associated awards:

BB/N023625/1 Enzymic polymerisation, characterisation and market evaluation of a set of novel bioplastic co-polymers derived from renewable resources.

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