Sustainable Polymer Reaction Engineering

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Nearly all manufactured products contain polymers, including a broad range of innovative products and applications that greatly enhance our standard of living. However, the extensive use of fossil fuel-based raw materials in polymer production has led to serious environmental effects. In addition, recent trends in banning certain polymer products (e.g., microspheres, plastic bags and drinking straws) point to the urgent need to change the way polymers are produced and used.******My lab has been at the forefront of pioneering efforts to make polymer processes more sustainable. Looking through the lens of the “12 principles of green chemistry” has helped form our approach. We use safer production alternatives such as emulsion polymerization (a water-based, as opposed to solvent-based technology), and incorporate renewable materials into polymer products. Our challenge is to incorporate typically hydrophilic, renewable materials into typically hydrophobic polymer matrices. We must also identify which bio-sourced feedstock will lead to more degradable products. Moreover, because many bio-sourced materials do not lead directly to polymer formation, chemical derivatization is commonly used, which conflicts with many “green” principles. In other words, we need a holistic approach that examines the polymer life cycle from production to degradation. Thus, we must develop an effective measure of the overall sustainability of a polymerization process so that we can make intelligent choices between materials based on their source (bio-based vs. waste vs. fossil-fuel); degree of derivatization; energy considerations at the component synthesis, polymerization and processing stages; degradability; required application properties; and useful lifetime.******In the proposed research program, we will use an acrylated, epoxidized soybean oil in new adhesive and coating applications. In addition, we will bring together our recent, leading-edge advances in starch compatibilization with a newly available renewable monomer, 2-octyl acrylate, to generate more sustainable adhesive products. This work, along with our many other efforts using renewable components (e.g., lignin, cellulose nanocrystals, glycerol, limonene), puts us in a unique position to consider a more holistic approach to sustainable polymer production. Thus, a third thrust will be to develop fully renewable polymer products and for the first time, develop a sustainability index that considers a polymer's life cycle.******Global dependence on non-renewable fossil fuels is leaving an unsustainable social, economic and environmental footprint on our planet. There are many sustainable options yet to be explored and my research group is expanding its leadership in this field. This research program will affect the entire supply chain, from bio-based starting materials to finished polymer products, thereby advancing Canada's clean technology/bio-economy sectors and training HQP in an area of world-wide importance.