Project
LWV 22058 UV-Light Triggered Rapid and Adjustable Degradable REnewAble Materials (ULTRA-DREAM)
The transition to a circular carbon-economy creates a multitude of opportunities for the agro-food industry as the main supplier of renewable feedstocks. Furthermore, the transitions in food production are also providing additional co-product streams. These co-products have poor functionality for food, making them ideal sources of renewable carbon for the production of sustainably sourced materials. However, even in an ideal circular economy, some (synthetic) materials will eventually end up in the environment due to e.g. littering, weathering and abrasion. It is therefore imperative that materials and products with a high chance of ending up in the environment are at least inherently biodegradable in order to prevent accumulation (plastic soup) and persistence (microplastics).
This project aims to develop new technology for UV-light triggered (bio)degradation of biobased polymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA) or poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), at their end-of-life (EoL) by utilising the UV susceptibility of furans. Biorenewable furan building blocks, such as furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) have recently been shown to be sensitive to degradation under UV irradiation. Incorporation of furans into biobased polymers, is expected to increase the rate of degradation of products such as agricultural mulching films or decorative and paper coatings by exposure to sunlight when emitted into the environment. By using agro residues as feedstocks for producing both the biobased polymers and the furan functional building blocks, it will be possible to develop novel classes of renewable, biodegradable materials with a true circular potential.