Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Other monomer units, such as formaldehyde hydrates or simple aldehydes, are able to polymerize themselves at quite low temperatures (ca. −80 °C) to form trimers; [3] molecules consisting of 3 monomer units, which can cyclize to form ring cyclic structures, or undergo further reactions to form tetramers, [3] or 4 monomer-unit compounds.
2007: Metabolix inc. market tests its first 100% biodegradable plastic called Mirel, made from corn sugar fermentation and genetically engineered bacteria. (Digregorio 2009) [ 100 ] 2012: A bioplastic is developed from seaweed proving to be one of the most environmentally friendly bioplastics based on research published in the journal of ...
Polymer engineering is generally an engineering field that designs, analyses, and modifies polymer materials. Polymer engineering covers aspects of the petrochemical industry, polymerization, structure and characterization of polymers, properties of polymers, compounding and processing of polymers and description of major polymers, structure property relations and applications.
Furthermore, active research is being carried out for the biotransformation "upcycling" of plastic waste (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate and polyurethane) into PHA using Pseudomonas putida bacteria. [17] A PHA copolymer called PHBV (poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)) is less stiff and tougher, and it may be used as packaging material.
Biopolymers (also called renewable polymers) are produced from biomass for use in the packaging industry. Biomass comes from crops such as sugar beet, potatoes, or wheat: when used to produce biopolymers, these are classified as non food crops. These can be converted in the following pathways: Sugar beet > Glyconic acid > Polyglyconic acid
To customize the properties of a plastic, different molecular groups called side chains hang from this backbone; they are usually attached to the monomers before the monomers themselves are linked together to form the polymer chain. The structure of these side chains influences the properties of the polymer.
The physical properties [31] of polymer strongly depend on the length (or equivalently, the molecular weight) of the polymer chain. [32] One important example of the physical consequences of the molecular weight is the scaling of the viscosity (resistance to flow) in the melt. [33]
BASF markets a product called ecovio® which is a biobased blend of the company's certified compostable and biodegradable co-polyester ecoflex® and PLA. [34] An application for this certified compostable and bio-based material is for any kind of plastic films such as shopping bags or organic waste bags. ecovio® can also be used in other ...