Sustainable Alternatives to Conventional Plastics Dr Jennifer Garden Ramsay Memorial Trust Research Fellow 6 th June 2019 j.garden@ed.ac.uk www.gardengroupchemistry.com @garden_jenni
Carbon-carbon vs carbon-oxygen bonds poly(propylene) semicrystalline poly(lactic acid) amorphous
What does true sustainability look like? Renewable Efficient Degradable resources processes and benign • Match material properties and cheap • Functional with unique material properties
Poly(lactic acid) • Manufacturing PLA from renewable resources corn starch • PLA products can be recycled or composted catalyst • PLA resin can be made into consumer goods • Can produce ~188,000 yoghurt cups/acre of corn poly(lactic acid), PLA L-lactic acid • Uses 20-50% fewer fossil fuels than conventional plastics • Synthesis produces a high yield, avoids organic solvents, and creates no hazardous materials
Carbon dioxide to polyurethanes (30-50%: CO 2 ) Footwear Automotive Construction Furniture Appliances Property CO 2 - PU PU Ref Core Density (kg/m 3 ) 23 23 Garden, Williams et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc ., 2015 , 15078 Tensile Strength (kPa) 103 112 Kember et al., Chem. Commun ., 2011 , 141 Elongation at break (%) 165 215 Gurtler and Leitner, Green Chem., 2014 , 1865
Enhanced activity catalysts J. A. Garden, P. K. Saini, C. K. Williams, J. Am. Chem. Soc. , 2015 , 137 , 15078 X = TON J. A. Garden, C. K. Williams et al., patent application number 1308978.4
Future opportunities Renewable Efficient Degradable resources processes and benign Biomass feedstocks Understanding mechanisms Polymer characterisation Upcycling waste Polymer degradation Bespoke catalyst design Monomer design Composite materials Catalyst synthesis and testing What we are looking for: • Renewable feedstocks • Opportunities to improve sustainability of everyday materials • Discussions with broader community
Conclusions Sustainable materials are an important target Chemistry is integral to improved material design Collaborative discussions are key (academia, industry, policy)
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