Making a more cost effective biopolymer from lignocellulose pulp

在全球范围内，塑料供应链正在寻求对基于化石燃料的材料的战略替代，到目前为止，化石燃料已经使许多与健康、安全、机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不断波动，加拿大的经济和资源安全以及社会的不断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）塑料向可持续生物塑料的过渡一直很缓慢，许多基于植物来源的替代化学物质（如大豆）性能较差，使其复杂化。淀粉)。这些塑料往往表现出较弱的性能，在潮湿的情况下会变差。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（McMaster University）的研究人员通过对木质纤维素（林业中未经提炼的纸浆废料）进行大量化学改性，创造出了一种非常坚固的生物塑料。它的发明吸引了一个感兴趣的工业合作伙伴，该合作伙伴拥有将该技术商业化用于高端用途的选择权，比如消费电子产品。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，以实现具有竞争力的生物塑料和可转移的工艺设置，以供工业合作伙伴随时使用。在一年的时间里，这笔I2I拨款旨在加速与该过程相关的开发活动，将麦克马斯特的知识产权从概念验证转化为商业上可行的树脂。该项目的成功将包括一种成本更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。这些成功将为加拿大带来的好处包括：通过工业合作伙伴的成功启动，推动我们的技术经济，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型生物塑料。

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.