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

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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.

As described in proposal submitted to IUK