Bioplastic polymers based on aromatic dicarboxylic acids derived from lignin

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Aromatic chemicals are crucial in bioplastics to convey functionality, including strength and flexibility. Currently, these aromatic chemicals can only be sourced from fossil based inputs, limiting applications, increasing the cost and environmental impact. Lignin, the 2nd most abundant organic polymer in plants, is one of the few potential natural sources of aromatic chemicals. Building on a successful feasibility study that proved that the aromatic diacids inherent within lignin could be extracted and substituted in polyester based plastics, this project aims to demonstrate that these metabolites can be produced in a commercially viable manner by the innovative use of modified bacteria to selectively control lignin disintegration when matched with novel chemical processes in scalable batch/continuous reactors. Larger trials will convert the resultant kg quantities of diacids into novel block copolyesters, for evaluation in a high value global bioplastics market of value >£150m.