Today, especially in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of what we use are products of disposable plastics. The large plastic waste humans leave behind is both an ecological and logistical nightmare. A chemical engineer has found a chemical building block that can be used to manufacture existing or alternative plastic products from renewable sources.
Renewable Sources for Plastic Manufacturing
Paul Dauenhauer, a chemical engineer from the University of Minnesota has dedicated his career to finding a reliable revolutionary material. He derived "chemical building blocks" sourced from renewable materials that can be used to manufacture existing plastic products or create alternatives.
Unlike fallen leaves or animal dung that easily composes due to microbes, the plastics currently used in society don't break down. Because these plastics pose a significant threat to the environment. In addition, fossil fuels used as derivatives in creating consumer products such as plastics are extracted from the earth.
Dauenhauer was named a 2020 MacArthur fellows, uses biomass such as plants and wood to engineer renewable chemicals that are essential in the production of widely-used materials from rubber-based products to plastics.
Using alternative and sustainable materials will significantly reduce our reliance on oil and gas, extraction of which are major sources of pollution with severe environmental impacts.
However, Dauenhauer's work doesn't stop there. He and his colleagues are invested in determining how to engineer materials to biodegrade quicker and break down or recycle multiple times.
He says, "There is an opportunity here to not only solve environmental problems but to create new, better products."
The main problem is making alternatives more cost-effective and less fossil fuel-based, which is necessary in order to capture consumer and company interests.
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Dauenhauer says that the only renewable materials that will have a significant impact are those that are cost-competitive.
When asked about the greatest transitions from fossil fuel Dauenhauer stresses the need for cost-effectiveness. Since electricity and gas have given much comfort and convenience to society, convincing both consumers and corporations to make the shift to renewable sources has to have an attractive offer.
Replacing current materials with sustainable alternatives will have to happen in a race for time in a way that doesn't cost dramatic change to society.
He stresses that making renewable derive materials aren't absolute solutions to all problems. It doesn't solve the end-of-life problem. He adds that there may be unforeseen concerns in the future based on the current performance.
He and his colleagues are trying to find the lowest economic barriers to eventually find sustainable solutions. Replacing polymer generations and technologies is not as viable as hoped. So other ways to hack these technologies and build more sustainable ways that don't require a full revamp of society are challenging.
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