970304 Biobased and biodegradable plastics

Type
Lecture
Semester hours
2
Lecturer (assistant)
Fritz, Ines , Neureiter, Markus , Mautner, Andreas
Organisation
Offered in
Wintersemester 2024/25
Languages of instruction
Englisch
Content

- Terminology; overview regarding the market situation, role of bioplastics within the bioeconomy
- Biotechnological processes for the production of biobased materials and/or their monomeric precursors:
Feedstocks for fermentation and their availability; background in microbiology and process engineering; biotechnological production of selected materials (PHAs, lactic acid and PLA, succinate/butandiol and PBS, 1,2 propanediol and PTT, biopolyethylene, ...)
- Processing and forming
Chemical derivatisation/synthesis; moulding (especially thermoplastic moulding); examples for applied moulding processes
- Characterisation of material properties:
Structures and microstructure; mechanical properties and corresponding analytics and measuring techniques (thermal resistance; deformation resistance, ...)
- Biodegradability and disposal
Material properties with respect to degradability; degradation, certification and labelling; analytics; ecology; legal background (approval, registration, technologies for disposal
Objective (expected results of study and acquired competences)

The students are able to distiguish between the terms "biobased", "biodegradable" and "compostable" and they are able to relate materals to the appropriate terms.
They are able to name the most important biobased and biodegradable plastics and can describe their production processes and properties. In addition they are able to critically assess current developments and discussions on biobased materials. They know the most important processing technologies and methods for the characterisation of material properties. The students are familiar with chemical, biological, technical, ecological and legal aspects of biodegradation and are able to apply this knowledge in practice.
You can find more details like the schedule or information about exams on the course-page in BOKUonline.