SimPol: Simulation tools for design and application of renewable polymers

To move the home care products industry to more resource efficient and sustainable products, a major programme of new ingredient discovery and replacement is required. In SimPol we will specifically target the replacement of petrochemical-derived acrylate rheology control polymers with renewable polymers for use in laundry detergents.

Polymer and formulation design are major bottlenecks in innovation for manufactured goods such as laundry detergents. Polymers have multiple variables which can be tailored to change the polymer properties and there can be 20 or more ingredients in a given laundry formulation, any of which may interact in ways which are currently difficult to predict. New polymers also need to biodegrade when released into the environment to avoid undesirable chemical accumulation.

SimPol will deploy leading-edge digital methods to help scientists design new functional and biodegradable polymers, and to predict their interactions in laundry detergent formulations.

Outcomes from the project will include:

1.Synthesis of candidate renewable polymers which will be tested in formulations to confirm the validity of the digital predictions

2.Packaged digital protocols made available via an App that scientists can use in future polymer development projects

3.A case study of the application of digital tools to new material and formulation design

Simpol will impact on the Liverpool City Region manufacturing cluster by developing novel 100% renewable and biodegradable polymers which would be manufactured in the region by Croda at their plant in Ditton, Widnes. These would displace imported acrylate polymers currently used in laundry detergent manufacturing by Unilever at their Port Sunlight factory. SimPol will also leave a powerful legacy, the SimPol App, an easy to use and interface connected to powerful simulation technologies, for further polymer discovery for other applications and products.