Chemical modification of EcoSphere® biobased nanoparticles using flow chemistry

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EcoSynthetix is a leading technology and market developer of biobased materials. Manufactured via a proprietary process and made from renewable resources, the EcoSphere® product platform consists of binders that are globally used as a green replacement for petroleum-based emulsion polymers in paper coating applications. In addition to environmental benefits, the EcoSphere® platform offers cost savings and enhanced performance. The company is looking to expand its range of products, which requires new chemical functionalities for the preparation of paper, in wood composites, waste-water treatment, and for iron ore pelletization. The conventional industrial manufacturing process uses either a slurry batch or a dry continuous process on starch granules and is generally constrained to products with low substitution degree having non-uniform chemical substitution. For economics and performance, there is a significant advantage to develop a novel process of aqueous starch nanoparticle dispersions with high reaction efficiency and a homogeneous modification pattern. This would lead to products having an enhanced value proposition in terms of their cost/performance balance. A flow chemistry approach will be used to achieve these objectives. A miniaturized process with industrial relevance will be developed to establish proof-of-concept. The overall objective of the project is to explore and develop reaction conditions to efficiently realize high reaction efficiency at various substitution levels in flow conditions. The project also opens the possibility of a direct implementation into production eliminating the traditional cumbersome 'scale-up'. This initiative will be supported by Professor Michael Organ, a globally recognized pioneer and expert in the field of flow chemistry.