Making a more cost effective biopolymer from lignocellulose pulp

在全球范围内，塑料供应链正在寻求化石燃料材料的战略替代，到目前为止，化石燃料材料已经使许多与健康、安全、流动性和一般健康相关的社会进步成为可能。 随着石油储量的减少和原材料价格的波动性增加，加拿大的经济和资源安全沿着社会的持续进步，要求公司转向更可持续的原料，如纤维素基材料。 从基于化石燃料的（合成）塑料到可持续生物塑料的过渡一直很缓慢，由于许多基于植物来源的替代化学品的性能较差而变得复杂。淀粉）。这些塑料往往表现出较弱的性能，并在水分的存在下变得更糟。大多数公司和政府都明白，第一批成功的可持续材料（如PLA）只解决了与“摇篮”（即生产）相关的挑战，并且在其使用寿命结束（“坟墓”）时仍有问题需要解决，其中处理方法很重要。麦克马斯特大学的研究人员创造了一种非常强大的生物塑料，它基于对木质纤维素（林业工业的未精制纸浆废物）的大量化学改性。它的创建吸引了一个感兴趣的工业合作伙伴，他们可以选择将该技术商业化用于高端用途，如消费电子产品。 它的生产基于一种新的化学和新的加工方法，这两者都需要进一步的研发，以实现一种有竞争力的生物塑料和可转移的工艺设置，供工业合作伙伴随时使用。 在一年的时间里，这笔I2I赠款旨在加速与该工艺相关的开发活动，将McMaster的知识产权从概念验证转化为商业上可行的树脂。 拟议项目的成功将包括一种成本较低但性能相似的催化剂来制备生物塑料，并提高其吸湿能力。 加拿大从这些成功中获得的好处将包括通过成功推出工业合作伙伴，加拿大林业部门可再生资源的增值利用以及用于高端用途的新生物塑料来推动我们的技术经济。

Globally, the supply chain for plastics is looking at the strategic replacement of fossil-fuel based materials, which up to now have made possible many of society's advancements related to health, safety, mobility, and general wellness. With shrinking oil reserves and increasing volatility in raw component pricing, economic and resource security for Canada along with society's continued advancement demands that companies pivot to more sustainable feedstocks, like cellulosic-based materials. Transitioning from fossil-fuel based (synthetic) plastics to sustainable bioplastics has been slow, complicated by poorer performance of the many replacement chemistries proposed based on botanical sources (eg. starch). These plastics tend to exhibit weak properties and get worse in the presence of moisture. Most companies and governments understand that the first successful sustainable materials (like PLA) only address challenges related to the 'cradle' (i.e. production) and still have problems to solve with their end-of-life ('grave') where the method of disposal matters. Researchers at McMaster University have created a very strong bioplastic based on substantial chemical modification of lignocellulose, the unrefined pulp waste of the forestry industry. Its creation has attracted an interested industrial partner who holds an option to commercialize the technology for high-end uses, like consumer electronics. Its production is based on a novel chemistry and novel processing method, both which need further R&D to realize a competitive bioplastic and transferrable process setup for ready use by the industrial partner. Over the course of a year, this I2I grant is meant to accelerate the development activities related to the process, to translate McMaster's intellectual property from a proof-of-concept to a commercially viable resin. Success for the proposed project will include a less costly but similarly performing catalyst to prepare the bioplastic, and improvements to its moisture absorption capacity. The benefits to Canada from these successes will include a boost to our technology economy with the successful launch of the industrial partner, value-added use of Canada's renewable resources from the forestry sector, and a new bioplastic for high-end uses.