Polymers from sugars: development of emerging sustainable plastics and investigation of their impact on the marine environment

Project Background
In 2019, the production of polymer materials exceeded 368 Mt worldwide. Polymers are everywhere, in the form of visible and less visible products (e.g., plastics and rubbers, but also excipients in paints, lubricants, coatings and drugs). The intensive use of polymers brings challenges associated with their predominant reliance on fossil-fuel resources, limited end-of-life options and environmental persistence. Polymers have thus been accumulating in landfill or in the natural environment, and will persist for centuries, releasing pollutants and harming wildlife. Plastic debris can have adverse health effects on marine life, including impacts on feeding, growth and reproduction, with potentially repercussions for marine ecosystems, food security and societal wellbeing.
Scientists must develop polymers that are environmentally benign and possess properties required for current and emerging applications. One vision for sustainable polymers is that of a class of materials, derived from renewable feedstocks, which exhibit closed-loop life cycles. Such polymers exist, but they suffer from inadequate performances, limiting their utility. At the University of Bath, a new class of polymers, derived from natural sugars, has been developed, with promising potential in bulk plastic (packaging, film formers) as well as specialty (battery electrolyte) packaging. However, there is currently a disconnect between the development of novel materials, from renewable and non-renewable feedstocks, and the study of their environmental impact.
Project Aims and Methods
This project aims to address this problem by training a researcher capable of conducting, in parallel, the development of novel polymers and an early study of their potential environmental impact. The project is envisaged as involving a continuous feedback loop between these two aspects, with the objectives to unravel the structure/property relationship of new sustainable polymers, which will provide design guidelines for the development of future materials with minimal impact on the marine environment. The project methodology will involve a combination of novel polymer synthesis and exploring the fate and biological impact of such polymers in the marine environment. At Bath, the student will be trained in novel bio-monomer design, controlled polymerisation techniques (e.g., ring-opening (co)polymerisation) and material characterisation. At PML, the student will have opportunities to co-design experiments to compare the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of both novel and comparator polymer composites under varying environmental conditions, using a marine invertebrate (e.g., copepods, mussels) as the study organism