Decarbonising the Surfactant and Functional Polymer Value Chains by enzymatic processes

随着英国与欧盟以外的全球市场接轨，英国需要通过其在科学、工程和技术方面的世界领先能力向前迈进。发明和创新一直是英国全球存在的基石，也是生产力的关键驱动力。长期以来，英国在表面活性剂和功能性聚合物技术方面一直拥有重要的能力，这是经济竞争力历史的例证。该提案的目的是维持和扩大英国在该领域的技术和制造业领导地位。1883年，联合利华率先推出阳光香皂；它很有创意，而且有一个目的：普及清洁，让普通人都能接触到清洁。从那时起，联合利华现在拥有超过400个品牌，公司仍然以目标为动力。化石原料的使用和线性制造模式加剧了气候变化，改变了制造业未来的需求。在全球环境中保持竞争力，需要重新投资于界定英国创新的多学科专业知识。这款PP是联合利华在产品配方中减少使用化石衍生化学品的一个例证，联合利华正在探索减少一些全球最大的清洁和洗衣品牌碳足迹的创新方法。作为联合利华“清洁未来”愿景的关键组成部分，联合利华希望该计划能够显著减少产品配方的碳足迹，最多减少20%。因此，联合利华旨在通过降低与全球清洁和洗衣产品相关的制造和产品生命周期的碳强度，在全球范围内为联合国可持续发展目标做出贡献，如可持续工业化和气候行动。通过可持续工程科学的变革力量，用可再生原料生产表面活性剂和功能聚合物，通过英国在全球舞台上的技术领先地位，为这一价值链脱碳提供了无与伦比的机会。这一繁荣伙伴关系（PP）的愿景是实现表面活性剂和功能性聚合物价值链的明显脱碳，使当前的线性（取-制-废）制造模式与更大的资源循环相一致。与许多来自化石储备原料的材料一样，表面活性剂和功能聚合物在制造过程中每千克表面活性剂/聚合物的二氧化碳排放量为数千克；取决于原料，工艺技术和位置。在生命周期评估（LCA）的背景下，全球表面活性剂的生产规模为每年150 - 200万吨，因此有必要采取行动减少全球的碳排放。该提案的长远愿景将二氧化碳和工艺循环整合到表面活性剂和功能性聚合物制造的综合新范式中，旨在通过数量级降低全球变暖的潜力。三个工作包（WP）填补了拟议循环经济中存在的知识空白。总体而言，PP旨在建立技术经济上可行的循环经济，具有高度有利的生命周期评估（LCA）结果，通过可持续工业化缓解气候变化。WP1需要重新设计全球使用的清洁和洗衣产品中的关键表面活性剂和功能聚合物。WP2旨在提高鼠李糖脂生物表面活性剂的技术经济基础，而WP3则着眼于从可再生原料中生产滴入式表面活性剂的混合生物精炼厂。英国在表面活性剂/聚合物技术方面的这些进步将具有国家和全球部署能力，代表着通过大宗化学品行业的资源循环进行脱碳的一流示范，框架和催化知识交流，以实现2050年的净零排放。

As the UK aligns with a global market place outside of the European Union, the UK needs to forge ahead through its world-leading capabilities in science, engineering and technology. Invention and innovation have been a bedrock of Britain's global presence and a key driver of productivity. Exemplifying a history of economic competitiveness, the UK has long held a significant capability in surfactant and functional polymer technology. The purpose of this proposal is to maintain and extend the UK's technical and manufacturing leadership in this sector. In 1883, Unilever pioneered Sunlight Soap; it was innovative and had a purpose: to popularise cleanliness and bring it within reach of ordinary people. Since then, Unilever now has over 400 brands and the company remains driven by purpose. The use of fossil-derived feedstocks and a linear manufacturing paradigm has exacerbated climate change, shifting the future needs of the manufacturing landscape. Remaining competitive in a global setting requires renewed investment into the multi-disciplinary expertise that defines British innovation. This PP is an exemplification of Unilever's transition away from fossil-derived chemicals in product formulations, exploring innovative ways of reducing the carbon footprint of some of the world's biggest cleaning and laundry brands. As a key component of Unilever's Clean Future vision, Unilever expects this programme to markedly contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of product formulations by up to 20%. As such, Unilever aims to contribute globally to UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Sustainable Industrialisation and Climate Action by reducing the carbon intensity of both the manufacture and product life cycle associated with cleaning and laundry products worldwide. The manufacture of surfactants and functional polymers from renewable feedstocks through the transformative power of sustainable engineering science, represents an unrivalled opportunity to decarbonise this value chain though UK technology leadership spanning the global stage.The vision of this Prosperity Partnership (PP) is to achieve appreciable decarbonisation of the surfactant and functional polymer value chain, aligning the current linear (take-make-waste) manufacturing paradigm to greater resource circularity. In common with many materials derived from fossil reserve feedstocks, surfactants and functional polymers have multi-kilogram CO2eq emissions per kilogram of surfactant/polymer associated with manufacturing; depending on feedstock, process technology and location. Against this life cycle assessment (LCA) backdrop, the global scale of surfactant production is 1.5 - 2 million tonnes per year, necessitating action to reduce these carbon emissions globally. This proposal's far-reaching vision integrates both CO2 and process circularity into a comprehensive new paradigm for surfactant and functional polymer manufacturing, aiming to reduce global warming potential by an order of magnitude. Three work packages (WP) fill the knowledge gaps that exist within the proposed circular economy. Overarchingly, the PP aims to establish a techno-economically feasible circular economy with highly favourable life cycle assessment (LCA) outcomes, mitigating climate change through sustainable industrialisation. WP1 entails the redesign of key surfactants and functional polymers in cleaning and laundry products used worldwide. WP2 aims to enhance the techno-economic footing of rhamnolipid bio-surfactants, whilst WP3 looks towards a hybrid bio-refinery for the production of drop-in surfactants from renewable feedstocks. These UK advances in surfactant/polymer technol-ogy will have both national and global deployment capability, representing a first in class demonstration of decarbonisation through resource circularity in the bulk chemicals sector, framing and catalysing knowledge exchange towards net zero in 2050.