The NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers has awarded a $20 million grant for sustainable plastics research. The Centers for Chemical Innovation continuation grant is being been awarded to the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering. The grant promotes sustainable plastics research with an education component “to build awareness surrounding the impacts of plastics on our environment”
The University of Minnesota news release notes: “Abundant and sustainable plant-derived biomass is being converted into plastics by combining new methods in synthetic green chemistry with innovative processing techniques leading to materials for many different products that can be used in everything from food and beverage packaging to automotive products. These new plastics are designed to be high-performing, non-toxic, biodegradable, recycled, reprocessed or incinerated in environmentally sound ways … center researchers are establishing the foundation from which new, low-cost, and competitive replacement technologies can be built.”