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Category: Polymer Fiber & Coating News

Renewable solutions for future materials featured at symposium held at UGA

Advances in renewable materials science featured at UGA
Advances in materials science were recently featured at a two-day meeting held at UGA. Photo by Cal Powell.

The 4th International Symposium on Materials from Renewables drew scientists from throughout the U.S. and Europe to UGA, to share successes and challenges from their explorations into creating materials from renewable sources. The two-day meeting, co-hosted by the UGA Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors and New Materials Institute, featured advances in renewable materials science that may eventually benefit a broad swath of industry, from single-use plastics, to the transportation and building sectors, to biomedical and textiles, to energy.

“An increased interest, by industry and academia, in research and commercialization of renewable and compostable plastics demonstrates the need for professionals in this field to freely exchange and discuss ideas,” said Sergiy Minko, the Georgia Power Professor of Fiber and Polymer Science at the University of Georgia, who co-founded ISMR with faculty from North Dakota State University. The annual event aims to spur collaborative research and engineering efforts toward solving problems with materials currently in use.

Focus is close to home

Much of the research presented focused on utilizing renewable sources that are plentiful in a researcher’s home state or region. For example, many projects featured polymers extracted from or developed from agricultural byproducts, like rice straw, corn stover, plant-based oils or other materials—including utilizing keratin from chicken feathers.

There are numerous sources available for renewable polymers, said Minko. Utilizing byproducts from industry can add value to local resources and thus to local economies.

“This is important for Georgia, for example, with its long history of paper and textile industries and also intensive agriculture,” said Minko. “Byproducts from these industries could be transferred into valuable sources for environmentally-friendly materials.”

Plants and their byproducts offer three of the most abundant natural resources on Earth: cellulose, lignin and xylan. All three were discussed by scientists at the meeting. Cellulose has been used by industry for a long time and multiple researchers shared their explorations into new ways to utilize cellulose in the creation of materials. Xylan is another abundant polysaccharide that is present in many agricultural side and forest products, and is being researched as a potential polymer and chemicals source. Lignin, a byproduct of the paper industry and agriculture, is a naturally existing polymer that is being explored.

Adding value at the design stage

Presenters also discussed ongoing research to upcycle existing polymers—by creating them intentionally to have additional value following their initial life cycle, which encourages recycling—and also to improve upon existing polymers. For example, polylactic acid, or PLA, is a starch-based polymer that has been in use for about 15 years. It is completely degradable in an industrial compost setting, but not in cold ocean water. Some scientists are trying to alter PLA-based materials so that they break down in ocean water.

Graduate students, representing multiple universities, presented research posters and three winners were recognized. Scott Tull, from the Locklin Group in the New Materials Institute, took first place for “Waterborne Polyhydroxyalkanoate Colloidal Dispersions: A Sustainable Replacement for Single Use Plastic Coatings.” Jamie P. Wooding, from Georgia Institute of Technology, placed second for “Modifying Interfacial Chemistry of Cellulose-Reinforced Epoxy Composites Using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD).” And, Mastooreh Seyedi, of Clemson University, placed third for “Coloring Fabrics Using Dye-Embedded Cellulose Nanofibrils.”

The October conference was co-organized by faculty from UGA, North Dakota State University, and Institut Charles Gerhardt, in France, and held at the UGA Special Collections Libraries. Support was provided by the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences, its Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Interiors; the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Engineering; the New Material Institute, and the Office Of Research.

UGA New Materials Institute joins NSF-funded Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

Locklin at CB2 planning meeting
Jason Locklin, director of the UGA New Materials Institute, addresses attendees at the CB2 planning meeting held on the UGA campus in early 2018.

Athens, Ga.­­ – The University of Georgia New Materials Institute has been awarded a grant as the third site for the National Science Foundation’s Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, or CB2, an Industry/University Cooperative Research Center.

UGA was selected, in part, on the strength of 10 project proposals that were presented at a site planning meeting held earlier this year. As a CB2 site, the New Materials Institute will contribute additional capabilities in the areas of new biodegradable polymers and additives; advanced fibers; durable coatings and finishes, including foams; nonwoven fibers; and novel thermoplastics with excellent barrier properties for films, sheet goods and filtration media.

“The field of new and sustainable materials has quickly become one of the University of Georgia’s research strengths as we look for innovative ways to leave a healthier planet for future generations,” said David Lee, UGA vice president for research. “This CB2 award fits with our strategy of developing effective partnerships with colleagues in both academia and industry to move this critical field forward, and I’m excited about the new opportunities for research collaborations that this partnership will bring.”

A complementary focus

Iowa State University’s Biopolymers & Biocomposites Research Team and Washington State University’s Composite Materials and Engineering Center—the two founding members of CB2—have strong programs in sustainability, bioproducts and bioplastics. The New Materials Institute’s complementary focus on biodegradable alternatives for packaging will broaden CB2’s range of offerings to its industry partners, which currently include Ford, Hyundai, John Deere, 3M, Myriant and ADM.

“The addition of UGA to CB2 opens many new research areas, and engages new and fast growing industry sectors that are focused on sustainable packaging,” said David Grewell, founder and director of CB2, and chair of the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering at North Dakota State University. “I expect to see an accelerated growth of research, impact on industry, and student outcomes.”

Global plastic production reached 299 million metric tons in 2014. About 40 percent of all plastics manufactured annually are used in packaging, which is immediately discarded after use. An estimated 5 to 12 MMTs of mismanaged plastic waste reaches the oceans annually, but this is expected to rise to as much as 17 MMTs annually by 2025 due to increasing population, plastic consumption and waste generation.

More opportunities for students

“In addition to boosting our opportunities for collaborative research, we will increase experiential learning opportunities for our students,” said Jason Locklin, director of the New Materials Institute, and a professor of chemistry and biochemical engineering who is jointly appointed to the Department of Chemistry and the College of Engineering. “Through CB2, they will have more exposure to cutting-edge research as well as outreach opportunities that will enable them to enter the workforce immediately, with the ability to contribute and have positive impact.”

The UGA New Materials Institute is committed to preventing waste through the design of materials and systems that adhere to green engineering principles. The Institute partners with industry and businesses to design materials for their use that are bio-based, fully biodegradable, or completely recyclable and safe for people, animals and our planet. In addition, it works with businesses, governments, foundations and other organizations to redesign systems so that they generate less waste and promote circularity in materials management. The New Materials Institute is also shaping the future by training the next generation of scientists and engineers on the importance of considering green engineering design principles in everything they do.

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Writer/Contact: Kat Yancey Gilmore, 706/542-6316, kygilmor@uga.edu.

Study: PHA is an eco-friendly alternative to petrochemical plastics

A recent study from the UGA New Materials Institute found that polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) material is an eco-friendly alternative to petrochemical plastics and effectively biodegrades in aerobic or anaerobic environments, such as a landfill, waste treatment facility or the ocean. The researchers examined PHA material developed by Danimer Scientific, which develops and manufactures biodegradable plastic products.

To determine how PHA biodegrades in a proper waste management scenario, researchers measured the gaseous carbon loss of PHA samples placed in anaerobic sludge after 40 – 60 days of incubation and compared the levels to those of cellulose powder in the same setting. The anaerobic degradation of PHA was not significantly different from that of the cellulose powder. In addition, the methane yields of PHA were found to be similar to food waste, which suggests the material could be effectively processed alongside common organic waste in a landfill.

The study, “Biodegradation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) Plastic under Anaerobic Sludge and Aerobic Seawater Conditions: Gas Evolution and Microbial Diversity,” was published in Environmental Science and Technology.

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