Chemo-enzymatic processing of bio-based building blocks to circular functional materials

Descripción del proyecto

Avance de los biopolímeros sostenibles

La necesidad de una química de polímeros más sostenible ha llevado a avances en biomateriales y biocatalizadores para el procesamiento y reciclado de polímeros. Sin embargo, los métodos actuales carecen de especificidad, lo que da lugar a productos de mala calidad y reacciones secundarias. El equipo del proyecto CIRCULARIZE, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, pretende abordar estos retos mediante la elaboración de métodos quimioenzimáticos que transformen los recursos de origen biológico en materiales funcionales avanzados. En el proyecto se centran en aumentar la eficacia de los biocatalizadores, mejorar las propiedades de los materiales y crear nuevos materiales inteligentes con superficies reactivas. El equipo de CIRCULARIZE se esfuerza por establecer procesos sostenibles de alta selectividad que reduzcan al mínimo el daño a los monómeros y polímeros y avanzar en última instancia hacia biopolímeros híbridos con propiedades conmutables por temperatura y susceptibles a las enzimas, lo que allanará el camino hacia una economía circular de biopolímeros.

Objetivo

Recent advances driven by the society’s need of implementing a more sustainable polymer chemistry, led to the development of several bio-based materials and the booming of the interest of using biocatalysts for polymer processing and recycling.
The aim of CIRCULARIZE is to develop appropriate chemo-enzymatic methods to process bio-based resources to obtain advanced functional materials via the exploitation of highly selective reactions following the green chemistry principles. Further, the aim is, based on that knowledge, to improve the reaction efficiency of the biocatalysts and understand and control the surface and bulk properties of the produced materials in pursuit of novel smart materials and reactive surfaces.
Current processes for the utilization of bio-based monomers and resources are unspecific and lead to products in poor quality due to side reactions. Specific biocatalysts could achieve optimal selectivity together with minimal damage to the monomers and polymers and provide high-quality advanced materials.
When considering the multifunctional monomers deriving from biomass, the chemo catalytic techniques used by industry have some major shortcomings such as limited selectivity (leading to side reactions) and use of toxic catalysts and solvents. Using this knowledge, the CIRCULARIZE project will develop and apply techniques based on sustainable chemo-enzymatic processes, developing a series of fully bio-based hybrid polymers having smart characteristics (temperature-switchable, vitrimeric properties) while being able to finely tune their degradation via the insertion of enzyme-susceptible motifs. Methodologically, CIRCULARIZE strives to establish new approaches at the cross-sectorial biotechnology/polymer chemistry interface to extend the current knowledge on enzymes for polymer synthesis and processing and, in the long term, the development of a sustainable biopolymer chemistry able to build an endless selective carbon recovery loop.