Thermoplastic biopolyesters with enhanced engineering properties for innovative industrial, automotive and biomedical applications.

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The production and use of bioplastics has seen explosive growth world-wide in recent years driven by global environmental concerns, persistent waste disposal challenges and consumer demand for sustainable products. Key challenges associated with more wide-spread acceptance of bioplastics in consumer and engineering applications are their high production costs, brittle nature, poor thermal stability, slow crystallization rates and low melt strength, which restrict their processability under common polymer processing operations and have limited their applications to low-value, commodity applications. The proposed discovery grant research program has the long term objective to implement economically viable, solvent-free, environmentally friendly processes to obtain fully bio-based products, with excellent engineering properties that will serve as credible replacements to conventional commodity and engineering polymers. The program will focus on the development and full characterization of biopolymer formulations, which target specific areas of application, according to the following short-term objectives. a) Development of bioplastic-based compounds and composites as replacements for conventional thermoplastic olefin and thermoplastic vulcanizate blends, suitable for automotive applications. b) Production of light-weight, rigid cellular plastics (foams), which will be used as replacements of conventional foams. Applications in automotive and other industries are envisioned, with a special focus on the production of nanocellular foams with superior insulating properties. c) 3D printing/additive manufacturing of biopolyester-based microfibers and mats suitable for biomedical applications. The proposed research program will train highly qualified personnel in a wide-array of skills in materials science, processing and sustainable technologies. This research can lead to a great breakthrough in the technology of bioplastics, by developing economically viable, solvent-free, environmentally friendly processes to obtain fully bio-based products, with excellent engineering properties that can gain wide-spread consumer acceptance, while providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution. The outcome of this research is expected to benefit Canadian manufacturers by providing them with innovative materials and processes to produce environmentally friendly, high-value-added products based on novel biobased and/or biodegradable materials. Additionally this research will generate new and valuable scientific insights and will foster the development of new materials in the rapidly growing field of additive manufacturing/3D printing applications.