Register for free to
view the full innovation profile.
FSU researchers developed a method of converting forestry biomass into a novel bioplastic. The method utilizes commercially available catalysts and can be performed at scale.
About
Researchers at Florida State University developed a new, cost-efficient biopolymer material based on pine biomass, a feedstock that is available on an industrial scale. Ninety-nine percent of plastics today are produced from finite fossil fuels with increasing demand and limited geographic availability. Producing materials from renewable resources - particularly pine sap, which may be harvested without killing the tree - is a noteworthy effort. This new biomaterial has similar ballistic, barrier, and mechano-responsive properties to petroleum-based plastics and can be a substitute for them, including in bottles, shopping bags, fishing nets, straws, and more. The key innovation that allows this is the development of a method that converts alpha-pinene, the most abundant molecule sourced from pine sap, into the isomeric form delta-pinene that renders it suitable for polymerization. This patent-pending method utilizes commercially available catalyst systems and can be performed at scale. Further work is being conducted to determine to what extent the material is biodegradable and how to optimize that property. A news article on the material can be found here: fla.st/C7SWA0VK The research article can be found here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00284
Key Benefits
This sustainable material has many structural features that mirror the plastics that are used every day, which promises a multitude of applications. Consumers are increasingly interested in sustainable and environmentally-friendly products. This material allows companies to make a positive impact by substituting this bioplastic for the petrochemical-based plastics currently in use with little effort and minimal expenses.
Applications
This material can be substituted for current on-the-market plastics, including in packaging, textiles, consumer products, and more. Potential applications include bottles, shopping bags, food containers, straws, multi-pack beverage rings, fishing nets, etc.