Development of Degradable Alternatives for Commercial Water-soluble Polymers

开发商业水溶性聚合物的可降解替代品

• 批准号: 575244-2022
• 负责人: Gillies, ElizabethR
• 金额: $ 2.83万
• 依托单位: University of Western Ontario
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Alliance Grants
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=747408
• 关键词: Development; Degradable; Alternatives; Commercial; Water

Concerns are growing regarding the adverse effects of polymer/plastic pollution on human health, animals, and the environment. With global manufacturing and consumption of polymers continuing to grow, it is predicted that by 2050 there will be 12,000 tons of polymer waste accumulated in landfills and in the environment. A 2020 Canadian government report indicated that improper management of waste led to polymer pollution in surface waters, soil, groundwater, shorelines, drinking water, food and wildlife. While their useful lifetime often ranges from a few months to a few years, most polymers require tens to hundreds of years to degrade, depending on the conditions and specific materials. Biodegradable polymers, which can be broken down into harmless small molecules in the environment are a promising approach to reduce polymer pollution. In recent years, progress has been made in the development of biodegradable polymers to replace conventional polymers for applications such as food packaging. However, much less attention has been given to degradable alternatives for water-soluble polymers, which are also very difficult to isolate and recycle. This collaborative project with BASF will focus on studying and developing degradable alternatives to commercial water-soluble polymers. A series of polymers will be prepared and characterized. In addition, their biodegradability as a function of their structure will be studied. Their potential to replace current commercial polymers will be evaluated in application testing. It is anticipated that these alternative degradable polymers can replace conventional non-degradable polymers in applications such as water treatment, detergents, cosmetics and personal care products, oil processing, mining, and pulp and paper, which are all critical industries for Canada.

人们越来越关注聚合物/塑料污染对人类健康、动物和环境的不利影响。随着全球聚合物制造和消费的持续增长，预计到2050年，垃圾填埋场和环境中将积累12，000吨聚合物废物。2020年加拿大政府的一份报告指出，废物管理不当导致地表沃茨、土壤、地下水、海岸线、饮用水、食物和野生动物中的聚合物污染。虽然它们的使用寿命通常从几个月到几年不等，但大多数聚合物需要几十到几百年才能降解，这取决于条件和特定材料。可生物降解的聚合物在环境中可以分解成无害的小分子，是减少聚合物污染的一种很有前途的方法。近年来，在开发可生物降解聚合物以取代用于诸如食品包装的应用的常规聚合物方面取得了进展。然而，人们对水溶性聚合物的可降解替代品的关注要少得多，这些聚合物也很难分离和回收。与巴斯夫的合作项目将专注于研究和开发可降解的商业水溶性聚合物替代品。一系列的聚合物将被制备和表征。此外，还将研究它们的生物降解性与其结构的关系。它们取代目前商业聚合物的潜力将在应用测试中进行评估。预计这些可替代的可降解聚合物可以在水处理、洗涤剂、化妆品和个人护理产品、石油加工、采矿以及纸浆和造纸等应用中取代传统的不可降解聚合物，这些都是加拿大的关键行业。