Materials & Processes
4 Fast and cost-effective particle characterisation leads to more consistent and less expensive manufacturing for the chemical industry. Eugene McCarthy reports.
Better particle
characterisation means better processing
P
olymers made from renewable resources like sugar and starch - rather than oil - are on the increase: a recent report from Freedonia estimates that demand for bioplastics will swell by 30 per cent
in the next five years – reaching 1 billion tonnes. This is only a tiny fraction - around 1 per cent
- of global plastics production, but it shows a new direction for materials research. Major end users such as Ford, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola are all pouring large fortunes into the search for bio-based materials, which will help them live up to their sustainability commitments. Until now, commercial production of bioplastics
has been limited to a few starting materials: polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer derived from corn; others, such as PHA and PHB, are made from starch; there has also been a recent surge in polyamides made from castor oil, and polyethylene derived from ‘bio ethanol’ (which in turn comes from sugar cane). But the real challenge for the future is to avoid ‘food’ crops and use either non-food crops - or food waste - so as not to avoid inflating food prices. Researchers have already uncovered a range of surprising - and occasionally bizarre - raw materials
that could be used as polymer precursors. Instead of sugar and starch, think eggshells, mushroom compost and meat proteins. Other potential sources include algae, cellulose and food industry waste such as shells and husks.
Protein supplement
Researchers in New Zealand have developed a way of turning blood meal – a waste product from meat processing – into a bioplastic. The technology, developed from research led by
Waikato University senior lecturer Johan Verbeek and since spun out into a commercial company called Novatein, which will attempt to take the idea to market. It expects to have developed a commercial product within the next few years. The plastic made in the process has similar
mechanical properties to low density polyethylene (LDPE), and is made using a ‘scalable process’. Around 1.5kg of bioplastic can be made from
1kg of blood meal. New Zealand’s meat industry produces around 80,000 tonnes/year of bovine blood.
Similar research at Clemson University in the
US has also identified the potential to make plastic from blood. In a paper presented at last year’s
Fig. 1. Probe-based technology eliminates sampling’s measurement variability for simpler, faster and more cost-effective system characterisation.
26
www.engineerlive.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36