Abstract
Realistically replacing petroleum-based plastics will require efficient routes to performance polymers using scalable processes from abundantly available lignocellulosic biomass. We surveyed academic and patent literature for processes in the latest stages of commercial development to draw out design strategies that have enabled their success. We found that these processes consist of chemocatalytic transformations of non-edible biomass to rigid plastic precursors with high drop-in readiness via a stable, hydrophobic, and distillable platform molecule. However, due to the deoxygenated nature of these precursors, the processes suffer from low biomass utilization efficiency and high process complexity–thereby limiting their sustainability. We discuss our group's preliminary efforts to design novel monomers with lower drop-in readiness, but with increased process efficiency and simplicity from biomass.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100780 |
| Journal | Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry |
| Volume | 41 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2023 |
| MoE publication type | A2 Review article in a scientific journal |
Funding
This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant no. CRSII5_180258) and the National Competence Center Catalysis (grant no. 51NF40_180544), and by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 945363.
Keywords
- Bioeconomy
- Biomass utilization efficiency
- Bioplastics
- Industrial processes
- Lignocellulosic biomass
- Sustainability