SBIR Phase I: Versatile Biobased Plastics from Omega-hydroxylated fatty acids

这个小型企业创新研究第一阶段项目将创造一系列含有欧米伽-羟基脂肪酸(omega-HOFAs)重复单元的生物塑料，以填补商业上可用的生物塑料的空白。首先，将阐明omega-HOFA链长对相应聚合物(P[omega-HOFA])材料性能的影响。然后，将研究反应共混方法，以生成同时利用聚乳酸(PLA)强度和P(omega-HOFA)延展性的生物塑料。共混工艺参数(如时间、温度、催化剂和催化剂浓度)将改变以调整P(omega-HOFA)/聚乳酸的酯交换反应，这将导致微调？相容性能和共混物物理机械性能的优化。我们预计，与聚乳酸相比，P(omega-HOFA)/聚乳酸共混物将显著提高水解性、抗冲击性和抗翘曲性能。将建立反应器配置和相应的工艺变量的要求，作为P(omega-HOFA)合成和反应混合的功能尺度。此外，还将测定P(omega-HOFAs)和P(omega-HOFAs)/聚乳酸的堆肥性。成功完成拟议的第一阶段研究计划将导致对材料的热和物理机械性能进行彻底分析，以确定商业应用并进一步吸引战略工业合作伙伴。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发新的生物基材料，满足消费者不断变化的需求，同时提供比现有产品更高的性价比优势。目前许多生物塑料存在固有的问题，限制了它们的市场渗透率。与该计划特别相关的是聚乳酸，由于其脆性行为、不充分的蒸汽传输性能、水解性不稳定性和低冲击强度，其潜在使用受到阻碍。我们的欧米茄-HOFA为塑料行业提供了一种多功能的、易于再生的构建块，通过均聚、共聚和共混，可以用来生产具有所需物理和机械性能的各种生物塑料。对P(omega-HOFAs)与聚乳酸共混物的初步研究表明，与P(omega-HOFAs)相比，共混物的许多缺点(如脆性)被消除，同时共混物的强度也有了显著的提高。这项工作将集中于获得有关这些共混材料的物理机械性能的基本信息，因为酯交换反应的程度是通过反应共混来控制的。此外，还将了解混合如何影响两种成分的生物降解性。这项工作的结果将是可再生的可生物降解塑料，它的表现优于它们的石油衍生竞争对手，并减少我们对石油在化工生产中的依赖。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will create a family of bioplastics containing omega-hydroxyfatty acid (omega-HOFAs) repeat units to fill a gap in commercially available bioplastics. First, the effects of omega-HOFA chain length on corresponding polymer (P[omega-HOFA]) material properties will be elucidated. Then, reactive blending methods will be studied to generate bioplastics that exploit both polylactic acid (PLA) strength and P(omega-HOFA) ductility. Blend process parameters (e.g. time, temperature, catalyst, and catalyst concentration) will be varied to adjust P(omega-HOFA)/PLA transesterification which will result in ?fine-tuning? of phase compatibility and optimization of blend physical-mechanical properties. We anticipate that, relative to PLA, P(omega-HOFA)/PLA blends will have significantly improved hydrolytic stability, impact resistance, and warp resistance. Requirements will be established for reactor configuration and corresponding process variables as a function scale for both P(omega-HOFA) synthesis and reactive blending. Furthermore, the compostability of P(omega-HOFAs) and P(omega-HOFAs)/PLA will be determined. Successful completion of the proposed Phase I research program will result in a thorough analysis of material thermal and physico-mechanical properties needed for identification of commercial applications and to further engage strategic industrial partners. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to develop new biobased materials that meet evolving needs of consumers while providing cost-performance advantages over existing products. Many current bioplastics have inherent problems that limit their market penetration. Of particular relevance to this program is PLA that is hindered in its potential use due to its brittle behavior, inadequate vapor transmission properties, hydrolytic instability, and low impact strength. Our omega-HOFAs provide a versatile readily renewable building block to the plastics industry that through homopolymerization, copolymerization and blending can be used to produce a wide-range of bioplastics with desired physical and mechanical properties. Preliminary work on blends of P(omega-HOFAs) with PLA show that many deficiencies of PLA, such as its brittle behavior, are eliminated while blends show important improvements in strength relative to P(omega-HOFAs). This work will focus on gaining fundamental information on the physical-mechanical properties of these blend materials as the degree of transesterification is manipulated by reactive blending. Furthermore, an understanding will be gained on how blending effects the biodegradability of both components. The outcome of this work will be renewable biodegradable plastics that out-perform their petroleum derived competitors and decrease our dependency on petroleum for chemical production.