Plastic futures and their CO2 emissions

Stegmann, Paul; Daioglou, Vassilis; Londo, Marc; Vuuren, Detlef van; Junginger, Martin

doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05422-5

Cited by 231 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In recent years, the environmental consequences of the rapid accumulation of plastic waste have stimulated a massive demand for highly cost-effective biodegradable plastics, and efforts to design, synthesize, and produce sustainable polymer materials have greatly expanded. − The use of biodegradable materials has been extensively studied in the literature as a potential solution for landfill waste. These materials not only effectively reduce carbon emissions during the production and recycling processes but they also create new opportunities for economic growth and are regarded as cutting-edge technological advancements. − Sustainable and biodegradable polymers made from renewable resources and biomass are rapidly emerging in both industry and academia to reduce environmental pollution and the carbon footprint. − …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kilogram-Scale Preparation of Poly(ethylene oxalate) toward Marine-Degradable Plastics

Lü

Sang

et al. 2023

Macromolecules

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In this work, a marine degradable plastic poly(ethylene oxalate) (PEOx) was successfully synthesized from the bench scale to the kilogram scale. The synthetic process for high-performance PEOx and its marine degradability received specific focus. Precise manipulation of the feedstock and reaction conditions was found to be the key to successfully inhibit the formation of the diethylene glycol (DEG) byproduct. Otherwise, the increase in DEG units caused a decrease in the crystallization ability but endowed a more substantial melt memory effect. The robust mechanical performance, moderate melting temperature, and excellent marine degradability make PEOx a promising biodegradable material. More appealingly, PEOx exhibited a green closed-loop recycling characteristic by thermolysis to a cyclic monomer and repolymerization to the polymer. Accordingly, the successful scale-up preparation of the high-performance PEOx material shows a potential commercial opportunity toward marine degradable plastics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kilogram-Scale Preparation of Poly(ethylene oxalate) toward Marine-Degradable Plastics

Lü

Sang

et al. 2023

Macromolecules

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“…While extensive metabolic and process engineering will be required to realize the one-step bioproduction of these polymers, recent developments in synthetic biology and advancement of genetic tools for C. necator have brought this strategy for valorization of CO2 within reach 4,22 . Overall, the biosynthesis of novel aromatic polyesters as demonstrated in this work is an important step towards leveraging biomanufacturing for carbon-neutral and potentially even carbon-negative production of bio-replacement materials 5 . Truly renewable bioplastics with a wide range of properties may eventually enable creation of a sustainable chemical manufacturing industry and circular economy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Towards high-performance polyesters from carbon dioxide: novel polyhydroxyarylates from engineered Cupriavidus necator

Averesch

Vince

Kracke

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Synthetic materials are integral components of consumable and durable goods and are indispensable in the modern world. Polyesters are the most versatile bulk- and specialty-polymers but their production is not sustainable and their fate at end-of-life is of great concern. Bioplastics are highly regarded alternatives but often fall behind conventional synthetic plastics due to shortcomings in material properties and commercial competitiveness. This has limited the success of sustainable replacements at global market scale. Enabling production of bioplastics with superior properties from waste-derived feedstocks could change that. To this end, we created a synthetic entry into the metabolic pathway of bio-polyester synthesis of Cupriavidus necator H16 by means of heterologous hydroxyacyl-CoA transferase and mutant PHA synthase. The resulting microbial cell factories produced a range of aliphatic and aromatic bio-polyesters and enabled co-polymerization of a range of hydroxy carboxylates, including a hydroxyphenylic and a hydroxyfuranoic acid, for the first time incorporating aromatic rings in the backbone of biological polyesters. These diverse polymers were then characterized in terms of their physical properties. The resulting polymers were structurally analogous to synthetic polyesters like PET, PEF and other polyarylates. In a further advance, the transgenic strain was cultivated in a bio-electrochemical system under autotrophic conditions, enabling synthesis of aromatic bio-polyesters from in-situ generated O2, while assimilating CO2. Follow-up elementary flux-mode analysis established the feasibility of de-novo production of twenty different polyesters from five different carbon- and energy-sources. This comprehensive study opens the door to sustainable bio-production of various high-performance thermoplastics and thermosets.

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“…Some studies predicted that about 12,000 tons of plastic waste would be buried in landfills or the natural environment by 2050 [ 5 ]. The global plastic production may increase by two times by 2100 [ 6 ], among which the untreated plastic in the natural environment will eventually be brought to the marine and river water environment through water circulation. According to statistics, about 768 million tons of plastic waste eventually enter our oceans every year [ 7 ], resulting in more and more serious marine plastic pollution and serious harm to marine organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study on Properties and Degradation Behavior of Poly (Adipic Acid/Butylene Terephthalate-Co-Glycolic Acid) Copolyester Synthesized by Quaternary Copolymerization

Wang

Hou

Huang

et al. 2023

IJMS

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At present, the development and usage of degradable plastics instead of traditional plastics is an effective way to solve the pollution of marine microplastics. Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is known as one of the most promising biodegradable materials. Nevertheless, the degradation rate of PBAT in water environment is slow. In this work, we successfully prepared four kinds of high molecular weight polyester copolyesters (PBATGA) via quaternary copolymerization. The results showed that the intrinsic viscosity of PBATGA copolymers ranged from 0.74 to 1.01 dL/g with a glycolic acid content of 0–40%. PBATGA copolymers had excellent flexibility and thermal stability. The tensile strength was 5~40 MPa, the elongation at break was greater than 460%, especially the elongation at break of PBATGA10 at 1235%, and the thermal decomposition temperature of PBATGA copolyesters was higher than 375 °C. It was found that PBATGA copolyester had a faster hydrolysis rate than PBAT, and the weight loss of PBATGA copolymers showed a tendency of pH = 12 > Lipase ≈ pH = 7 > pH = 2. The quaternary polymerization of PBAT will have the advantage of achieving industrialization, unlike the previous polymerization process. In addition, the polymerization of PBATGA copolyesters not only utilizes the by-products of the coal chemical industry, but also it can be promising in the production of biodegradable packaging to reduce marine plastic pollution.

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Plastic futures and their CO2 emissions

Cited by 231 publications

References 30 publications

Kilogram-Scale Preparation of Poly(ethylene oxalate) toward Marine-Degradable Plastics

Kilogram-Scale Preparation of Poly(ethylene oxalate) toward Marine-Degradable Plastics

Towards high-performance polyesters from carbon dioxide: novel polyhydroxyarylates from engineered Cupriavidus necator

Study on Properties and Degradation Behavior of Poly (Adipic Acid/Butylene Terephthalate-Co-Glycolic Acid) Copolyester Synthesized by Quaternary Copolymerization

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