| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R82548/01 |
| Title: |
Development of inherently biodegradable packaging materials |
| Principal Investigator: |
Amass, Dr A J |
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| Department: |
Sch of Engineering and Applied Science |
| Organisation: |
Aston University |
| Scheme: |
LINK |
| Starts: |
01 November 2002 |
Ends: |
28 February 2005 |
Value (£): |
102,287
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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41 % of all plastics produced are used in the packaging industry and of this most is disposed of in landfill. Plastic packaging materials, in particular high density polyethylene, represent major pollutants in this respect for it is well-known that such materials are resistant to degradation in the environment. The work described in this proposal attempts to address some of the environmental problems brought on by the use of stable plastic packaging by making available as a packaging material an inherently biodegradable polymer in a form that is suitable for flexible film formation. An inherently biodegradable polymer (Nature Worksb) based on polylactic acid has recently become available but its limited range of physical properties restricts the applications in the market place. The polymer conforms to the standards introduced by the EU on description of polymers or materials as biodegradable. To increase the opportunity to use this base polymer in other applications such as wrapping film requires one to blend this polymer either with another polymer, which has many associated scientifically difficult problems, or to develop a new range of plasticisers suitable for use with this specific material. Our tactic has been to develop a novel approach to the design of plasticisers as block copolymers so that they do not leach from the plastic and are stable in use. We have found that the block copolymer with one segment compatible with the base polymer will modify the properties of that polymer if the other block is a flexible chain; the flexible chain causes an increase in free volume of the polymer. Furthermore in this particular application they are themselves biodegradable to C02 and water.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.aston.ac.uk |