Research: Opportunities and challenges for integrating the development of sustainable polymer materials into international circular (bio)economic concepts.Image Credit: Lambert/Shutterstock.com
Humanity faces many formidable challenges that threaten the quality of life for future generations.Long-term economic and environmental stability is the overall goal of sustainable development.Over time, three interrelated pillars of sustainable development have emerged, namely economic development, social development and environmental protection; however, “sustainability” remains an open concept with multiple interpretations depending on the context .
The manufacture and consumption of commodity polymers has always been an integral part of the development of our modern society.Polymer-based materials will continue to play an important role in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because of their tunable properties and multiple functions.
Fulfilling Extended Producer Responsibility, recycling and reducing single-use plastics using strategies other than traditional recycling (through melting and re-extrusion), and developing more “sustainable” plastics, including assessing their impact across the life cycle, all is a viable option to address the plastic crisis.
In this study, the authors investigate how the intentional combination of various properties/functions, from waste management to material design, can improve the sustainability of plastics.They looked at tools for measuring and reducing the negative impact of plastics on the environment throughout their life cycle, as well as the utility of renewable resources in recyclable and/or biodegradable designs.
The potential of biotech strategies for the enzymatic recycling of plastics that can be used in a circular bioeconomy is discussed.In addition, potential uses of sustainable plastics are discussed, with the aim of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through international cooperation.To achieve global sustainability, cutting-edge polymer-based materials for consumers and complex applications are required.The authors also discuss the importance of understanding biorefinery-based building blocks, green chemistry, circular bioeconomy initiatives, and how combining functional and intelligent capabilities can help make these materials more sustainable.
Within the framework of sustainable green chemistry principles (GCP), circular economy (CE), and bioeconomy, the authors discuss sustainable plastics, including bio-based, biodegradable polymers, and polymers that combine both properties. development and integration difficulties and strategies).
As strategies to improve the sustainability of polymer research and development, the authors examine life cycle assessment, design sustainability, and biorefinery.They also explore the potential use of these polymers in achieving the SDGs and the importance of bringing together industry, academia and government to ensure the effective implementation of sustainable practices in polymer science.
In this study, based on a number of reports, the researchers observed that sustainable science and sustainable materials benefit from existing and emerging technologies, such as digitization and artificial intelligence, as well as those explored to address the specific challenges of resource depletion and plastic pollution. many strategies.
Furthermore, many studies have shown that perception, prediction, automatic knowledge extraction and identification of data, interactive communication, and logical reasoning are all capabilities of these types of software-based technologies.Their capabilities, particularly in analyzing and extrapolating large datasets, were also identified, which will contribute to a better understanding of the extent and causes of the global plastic catastrophe, as well as the development of innovative strategies to deal with it.
In one of these studies, an improved polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hydrolase was observed to depolymerize at least 90% of PET to monomer within 10 hours. A meta-bibliometric analysis of the SDGs in the scientific literature shows that researchers are on the right track in terms of international collaboration, as nearly 37% of all articles dealing with the SDGs are international publications.Furthermore, the most common research fields in the dataset are life sciences and biomedicine.
The study concluded that, leading-edge polymers must contain two types of functions: those directly derived from the needs of the application (for example, selective gas and liquid permeation, actuation, or electrical charge) transmission) and those that minimize environmental hazards, such as by extending functional life, reducing material use or allowing predictable decomposition.
The authors illustrate that using data-driven technologies to solve global problems requires sufficient and unbiased data from all corners of the globe, re-emphasizing the importance of international cooperation.The authors argue that scientific clusters hold promise to increase and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and infrastructure, as well as avoid duplication of research and accelerate transformation.
They also highlighted the importance of improving access to scientific research.This work also shows that when considering international cooperation initiatives, it is critical to adhere to the rules of sustainable partnership to ensure that no countries or ecosystems are affected.The authors stress that it’s important to remember that we all have a responsibility to protect our planet for future generations.
Post time: Feb-22-2022