Richard Alan Gross
National Science Foundation, USA
Title: Biobased plastics – materials and applications
Biography
Biography: Richard Alan Gross
Abstract
Concerns over production of chemicals from non-renewable petroleum derived carbon have resulted in increased pressure on industries to shift existing materials production from petrochemicals to readily renewable carbon sources. The introduction of biobased building blocks into commercial products is technically challenging since they must compete on a cost-performance basis with petroleum derived products whose production has been optimized and for which an existing infrastructure is in place. This workshop will provide an up-to-date overview of the basic and applied aspects of bioplastics, focusing primarily on thermoplastic polymers for material use. Material covered will emphasize important bio-based polymer types such as thermoplastic starch, lignin, polyhydroxyalkanoates, bio-based monomers such as lipids, poly(lactic acid), other aliphatic and aliphatic-aromatic polyesters, polyamides, polyolefines, biofibers and end-of-life considerations. Current information will be given on the stage of product development and material suppliers.