Sustainable Alternatives to Conventional Plastics Dr Jennifer Garden - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sustainable Alternatives to Conventional Plastics

Dr Jennifer Garden

Ramsay Memorial Trust Research Fellow 6th June 2019 j.garden@ed.ac.uk www.gardengroupchemistry.com @garden_jenni

Carbon-carbon vs carbon-oxygen bonds

poly(lactic acid) poly(propylene) semicrystalline amorphous

Renewable resources Efficient processes Degradable and benign

• Match material properties and cheap
• Functional with unique material properties

What does true sustainability look like?

Poly(lactic acid)

• Manufacturing PLA from renewable resources
• PLA products can be recycled or composted
• PLA resin can be made into consumer goods
• Can produce ~188,000 yoghurt cups/acre of corn
• Uses 20-50% fewer fossil fuels than conventional

plastics

• Synthesis produces a high yield, avoids organic

solvents, and creates no hazardous materials

corn starch L-lactic acid poly(lactic acid), PLA catalyst

Appliances Automotive Construction Furniture Footwear

Carbon dioxide to polyurethanes

(30-50%: CO2) Property CO2- PU PU Ref Core Density (kg/m3) 23 23 Tensile Strength (kPa) 103 112 Elongation at break (%) 165 215

Garden, Williams et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 15078 Kember et al., Chem. Commun., 2011, 141 Gurtler and Leitner, Green Chem., 2014, 1865

Enhanced activity catalysts

X = TON

• J. A. Garden, P. K. Saini, C.
• K. Williams, J. Am. Chem.

Soc., 2015, 137, 15078

• J. A. Garden, C. K.

Williams et al., patent application number 1308978.4

Renewable resources Efficient processes Degradable and benign

Future opportunities

Biomass feedstocks Upcycling waste Monomer design Understanding mechanisms Bespoke catalyst design Catalyst synthesis and testing Polymer characterisation Polymer degradation Composite materials What we are looking for: • Renewable feedstocks

• Opportunities to improve sustainability of everyday materials
• Discussions with broader community

Sustainable materials are an important target Chemistry is integral to improved material design Collaborative discussions are key (academia, industry, policy)

Conclusions