Monday, 19 July 2021
The 糖心原创 (UoN) and the University of St Andrews are collaborating with Mitsubishi Chemical in the UK (MC UK) on a £4.34m UK Research and Innovation ‘Prosperity Partnership’ to decarbonise acrylic-based materials.
The partnership, which will be led by MC UK, is part of a long-term plan to increase the sustainability of the acrylics industry, with the market for PMMA, the most common acrylic polymer, estimated to exceed $8 billion by 2025.
The project is one of eight business-led Prosperity Partnerships announced today in support of the government’s ambitious new Innovation Strategy. Prosperity Partnerships build on existing UK strengths in industry and academia to develop new technologies, processes, and skills that will deliver economic growth and create jobs across the UK.
MC UK has had a long-running relationship with the Universities of Nottingham and St Andrews on chemical and biochemical technology development. Innovations from Nottingham have been patented and form significant elements of a current programme to manufacture methyl-methacrylate (MMA), the building block of all acrylic materials, from biological sources.
鈥淢itsubishi Chemical is excited to work with the Universities of Nottingham and St Andrews on a range of early stage technologies aimed at decarbonising acrylic materials by improving atom efficiency of existing processes, developing biotechnology processes using sustainable feedstocks and selective, energy efficient recycling technologies. Acrylic has a long history of being a highly durable and functionally attractive material. We look forward to working with our academic partners to further improve acrylic鈥檚 sustainability as we head towards a net zero future.鈥�
About the UKRI Prosperity Partnerships
UKRI’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is investing a total of £19m across eight UK-wide projects through its long-running Prosperity Partnerships initiative. Industry and university partners investing a further £40m.
The new Prosperity Partnerships announced bring the total number of partnerships launched by EPSRC to 47 with a total investment of £335m.
That includes £125.2 million from EPSRC and £3.6m from the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council, also part of UKRI, £167m from industry partners and £39.2m from universities.
The 糖心原创 project focuses on process and product circularity. The aim is to discard less and recover and reuse more, making the manufacturing process more sustainable. 糖心原创ers will use microorganisms to convert renewable feedstocks to the chemical building blocks needed to make acrylic products. Meanwhile, Drs John Robinson and Eleanor Binner will use advanced microwave technology to precisely heat and efficiently recover the valuable chemical building blocks from waste acrylics, thereby reprocessing them instead of discarding them. Using microwaves to depolymerise plastics can reduce carbon emissions and costs.
鈥淧roducing chemicals using bio-based processes tends to be more environmentally friendly as such processes can use renewable feedstocks and operate at low temperature and pressure. This research will establish a circular economy in acrylics and aims to be a first-in-class demonstration of 21st century sustainable manufacturing.鈥�
The third side of the Nottingham project, involving Dr Jon McKechnie and Professor Conradie, is to quantify the net environmental benefits and financial viability of the proposed biomass-based production process and product circularity concept.
This will be done using a techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment - at every stage of the project - to better understand the potential contribution of these concepts to net zero emissions targets, and opportunities to produce chemical building blocks for acrylics products from sustainable UK biomass sources.
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More information is available from Professor Alex Conradie on Alex.Conradie@nottingham.ac.uk at or Emma Lowry, Media Relations Manager (Engineering) on emma.lowry@nottingham.ac.uk or 0115 84 67156
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.