Sessions

Biopolymers

Biopolymers are polymers that can be found in or manufactured by, living organisms. These also involve polymers that are obtained from renewable resources that can be used to manufacture Bioplastics by polymerization. There are primarily two types of Biopolymer, one that is obtained from living organisms and another that is produced from renewable resources but require polymerization. Bioplastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, food waste, etc.

Bioplastics and Its Applications

Bioplastic are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or microbiota. Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-products and also from used plastic bottles and other containers using microorganisms. Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics are derived from petroleum or natural gas. Production of such plastics tends to require more fossil fuels and to produce more greenhouse gases than the production of biobased polymers (Bioplastic). Some, but not all, Bioplastic are designed to biodegrade. Biodegradable plastics can break down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on how they are manufactured. Bioplastic can be composed of starches, cellulose, Biopolymer, and a variety of other materials.

Recycling and Waste Management of polymers

Biobased biopolymers offer advantages not only on the raw materials side but also on the disposal side through certain promising end-of-life (EOL) options. Especially waste disposal with energy recovery has an added benefit, which lies in gaining carbon neutral energy while allowing multiple uses after possible recycling. The Commission said that all of the composts containing biodegradable polymer materials could be classified using a risk assessment system at a higher toxicity level. Biodegradable biopolymer waste can be treated by aerobic degradation, composting, or anaerobic digestion. Plastic waste can only be incinerated in licensed plastic waste incineration plants, all other forms of burning plastic waste are banned. Mostly plastic waste is generated by common households. The introduction of advanced selective waste collection systems has allowed the separation of different materials and types of waste. An important task is to emphasize the benefits of the separation of plastics, so they become re-usable and less polluting to our environment.

Natural Polymers & Advanced Biopolymers

Natural polymers include the RNA and DNA that are so important in genes and life processes. In fact, messenger RNA is what makes possible proteins, peptides, and enzymes. Enzymes help do the chemistry inside living organisms and peptides make up some of the more interesting structural components of skin, hair, and even the horns of rhinos. Polylactide (PLA) the most promising one of Biopolymers these are a type of plastic that is being manufactured from petrochemicals, generated from sustainable feedstocks such as sugar, starch or Cellulose. Till date, the use of biopolymers, includes the first generation PLA, has been limited by their Physical properties and relatively high cost to manufacture. Next generation biopolymers, are the Plastic component fabrication, Polysaccharides second generation PLA, are to be cheaper and to improve their performance and a wide variety of application to capture an increasing share of the various markets for Biopolymers.

Biopolymers in Biofibers & Microbial Cellulose

Cellulose the most generous natural biopolymer on the earth, synthesized by plants, algae and also some species of bacteria and microorganisms. The Plant derivative cellulose and Black Carbon (BC) have the same chemical composition but differ in structure and physical properties. The BC network structure comprises cellulose Nano fibrils 3-8 nm in diameter, and the crystalline regions are been the normal cellulose I. The properties such as the Nano metric structure, unique physical and mechanical properties together produce higher purity that lead to great number of commercial products. Lignocellulosic agricultural byproducts are an extensive and cheap source for cellulose fibers. Agro-based biofibers have the architecture, properties, and design that make them suitable for use as composite, textile, pulp and paper manufacture.

Green Composites in Biopolymers

Whole green composites are the composite materials that are made from both renewable resource based polymer (biopolymer) and biofiller. Whole green composites are recyclable, renewable, triggered biodegradable and could reduce the dependency on the fossil fuel to a great extent when used in interior applications. Whole green composites could have major applications in automotive interiors, interior building applications, and major packaging areas. Despite the large number of recent reviews on green composites defined as biopolymers or bio-derived polymers reinforced with natural fibers for bioprocessing of materials, limited investigation has taken place into the most appropriate applications for these materials.

Future & Scope of Biopolymers, Bioplastics

In search of novel Advanced Materials solutions and keeping an eye on the goal of sustainable production and consumption, bioplastics have several (potential) benefits. The use of renewable resources to produce bioplastics the key for increasing resource productivity, the resources can be cultivated on an (at least) annual basis, the principle of cascade use, as biomass can primarily be used for materials and then for energy generation, a reduction of the carbon footprint and GHG egressions of some materials and products – saving fossil fuels resources, and for substituting them step by step. The use of biopolymers could markedly increase as more durable versions are developed, and the cost to manufacture these bio-plastics continues to go fall. Bio-plastics can replace conventional plastics in the field of their applications also and can be used in different sectors such as food packaging, plastic plates, cups, cutlery, plastic storage bags, storage containers or other plastic or composite materials items you are buying and therefore can help in making environment sustainable.

Bioenergy, Biomass and Bioinformatics

Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms. It most often refers to plants or plant-based materials which are specifically called lignocellulosic biomass. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly via combustion to produce heat, or indirectly after converting it to various forms of biofuel. Bioenergy is renewable energy made available from materials derived from biological sources. Though wood is still our largest biomass energy resource, the other sources which can be utilized include plants, residues from agriculture or forestry, and the organic component of municipal and industrial wastes. Even the fumes from landfills can be used as a biomass energy source. Biohydrogen is a potential biofuel obtainable from both cultivation and from waste organic materials. Bioinformatics, an amalgam science that associates biological data with techniques for information storage, distribution, and analysis to support compound areas of scientific research, comprising biomedicine. It is nurtured by high-throughput data-generating experiments, including genomic sequence. Progress of effective algorithms for measuring sequence likeness is an important objective of bioinformatics

Polymer+3D Printing

From a synthetic bone fabricated from acrylic to custom confections created from chocolate, the globe of 3D printing keeps obtaining additional superb. Today, 3D printers will enable individuals to form just about something, employing a form of materials, from metal and ceramic to sugar and polystyrene. Of course, plastic is that the substance that 1st created 3D printing of any kind doable, and plastic remains one in every of the foremost common and versatile styles of materials employed in 3D printing.A commenter on a recent compound Solutions journal asked for data regarding the foremost common styles of plastics employed in 3D printing. Here’s a touch bit regarding the 3 most-frequently-used plastics that have helped spur the superb evolution of 3D printing

Biopolymers for Tissue Engineering and RegenerativeMedicine

Tissue Engineering is a scientific field and also characterized as understanding the standards of tissue and its development by practical trade of deficient tissue for clinical utilize. Tissue building deals about the study of a combination of cells, designing, materials strategies, physicochemical and biochemical components to replace or enhance natural tissues. Regenerative Medicine is branch of translational research in tissue designing which manages the way toward supplanting, building or recovering human cells, tissues or organs to reestablish or set up typical capacity. It is a diversion changing range of prescription with the possibility to completely mend harmed tissues and organs, offering arrangements and seek after individuals who have conditions that today are destroyed.

Biomaterials and Bio composites

Biomaterials are those materials which have been engineered to interact with biological systems for used in basically medical purpose. to augment or replace a natural function. As a science, it’s been about fifty years old. Study of biomaterials is called biomaterials science or biomaterials engineering. Many companies investing huge amounts of money for the development of new products. It holds within elements of medicine, biology, chemistry, tissue engineering and materials science. A Biocomposite is a composite material composed of matrix (resin) and a reinforcement of natural fibres.

Biodegradable Plastics Applications

Bio plastics or biodegradable plastics are by chemical nature polyhydroxy alkanoates or PHAs. They are currently being produced in large amount by microbial fermentation process in industries. Among all the polyhydroxy alkanoates, polyhydroxy butyrate or PHB is the most important one as bio plastics. Biodegradable plastics can be composed of bio-plastics, which are plastics made from renewable raw materials. There are normally two forms of biodegradable plastic, injection molded and solid. The solid forms normally are used for items such as food containers, leaf collection bags, and water bottles. Bioplastics can also be processed in very similar ways to petrochemical plastics such as injection moulding, extrusion and thermoforming. To improve their tensile strength, bioplastic polymers can be blended with their co-polymers or with other polymers.

Biocatalysis & Green Chemistry

Polymers Application in Medicine, Health, Biotechnology

Polymers have become a necessary commodity of everyday life and are used for the manufacturing of hundreds of things of our daily use from house hold items to transportation and communication. Polymers are also used in medicine; however, all the polymers cannot be used for this purpose. For medical applications, a polymer should have the following properties: (a) bio-safe and non-toxic which means that it should be non-carcinogenic, non-teratogenic, non-mutagenic, non-cytotoxic, non-pyrogenic, nonhemolytic, non-allergenic and chronically non-inflammative etc. (b) must be effective in terms of functionality, durability, and performance (c) must be interfacial, mechanically and biologically biocompatible and (d) sterilizable through different techniques like autoclave, dry heating, electron beam irradiation etc. It should also be chemically inert and very stable i.e. these also involve polymers that are obtained from renewable resources that can be used to manufacture Bioplastics by polymerization. There are primarily two types of Biopolymer, one that is obtained from living organisms and another that is produced from renewable resources but require polymerization

Bioeconomy and future of bio-based materials

The Bioeconomy is the production of renewable biological resource and the conversion of these resources and waste into value products, like food, bio-based products, feed, and bioenergy. These sectors have a strong potential for innovation due to their wide range of sciences that allows for industrial technologies. The shift to a feasible bio-based economy implies that the historically developed structures and the traditional way of life need to be completely reconsidered

Ocean Plastics

Ocean plastic research is a relatively new field, the billions upon billions of items of plastic waste choking our oceans, lakes, and rivers and piling up on land is more than unsightly and harmful to plants and wildlife. About 8 million metric tons of plastic are thrown into the ocean annually. Of those, 236,000 tons are micro plastics– tiny pieces of broken-down plastic smaller than our little fingernail. There is more plastic than natural prey at the sea surface of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which means that organisms feeding at this area are likely to have plastic as a major component of their diets. For instance, sea turtles by-caught in fisheries operating within and around the patch can have up to 74% (by dry weight) of their diets composed of ocean plastics. By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight).

Biopolymers as Materials

Polymer Nano composites (PNC) are made of a polymer or copolymer having nanoparticles or Nano fillers dispersed in the polymer matrix. The plastic used for food packaging and non-food applications is non-biodegradable, and also of valuable and scarce non-renewable resources like petroleum. With the current research on exploring the alternatives to petrol and priority on reduced environmental impact, research is increased in development of biodegradable packaging from biopolymer-based materials. A biomaterial is a surface, or construct that interacts with biological systems.

Polymer Physics and Chemistry

Polymer physics deals with the structure and properties of polymers and also the reaction kinetics of polymerization of monomers and degradation of polymers that are in the form of solids, glasses, elastomers, gels, solutions, melt and semi-crystalline. These properties are of great interests in polymer technologies such as optoelectronics, coatings, medicine, food and pharmacy. Polymer chemistry is a vast field that involves the study of monomers and polymerization and the synthesis of new materials from various combinations and characteristics.

Biopolymer Feed Stock Challenges & Opportunities

Bio related products can restore petroleum-related products, new methodologies, where various types of lignocellulosic biomass experience bioprocessing to commercially important products, must be devised. A relatively low value lignocellulosic biomass that could be used to produce bio based co-products is grass. Currently, many grasses are largely took the advantage for cropping by livestock or harvested as hay. To exploit this opportunity, the feasibility of using microbial bioconversion for the production of chemicals and polysaccharide gums from the fermentable sugars present in hydrolysates of various grass species. The production of 2.5 g/l was obtained when the cells were grown on medium containing 70 mM sucrose and 0.2% (w/v) Casamino Acids. It enriched medium is maximum biopolymer production of up to 3.4 g/laws was obtained.

Synthetic polymers, Nanopolymers and Nanotechnology

Synthetic polymers are man-made polymers. For utility, it can be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibers. These polymers are commonly found in a variety of consumer products such as money, glue, etc. In the field of Polymer science and nanotechnology, Nano polymers and nanoclays have gained massive interests from researchers and in recent literatures. Nanotechnology is included in the most popular areas for today’s research and development and basically in all areas of technical disciplines.