Copolymerisation of a sorbitol‐derived bis‐carbonate with simple diamines, including cadaverine that was sustainably produced from lysine, under solvent‐free conditions was shown to produce rigid foams. Thermogravimetric analysis carried out in tandem with infrared spectroscopy of the released gases confirmed that the foaming agent was carbon dioxide produced during the polymerisation process itself. Such a bio‐based foam, being made under mild conditions from stable, benign precursors, with no toxic isocyanates, has great potential application for both thermal insulation and packaging.
The current chemical industry has been heavily optimised for the use of petroleum-derived base chemicals as its primary source of building-blocks. However, incorporation of heteroatoms, absent in the base chemicals, is necessary to meet the different property requirements in the plethora of products the industry makes such as plastics, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. As global oil reserves
The design of a photopolymer around a renewable furan‐derived chromophore is presented herein. An optimised semi‐continuous oxidation method using MnO2 affords 2,5‐diformylfuran from 5‐(hydroxymethyl)furfural in gram quantities, allowing the subsequent synthesis of 3,3’‐(2,5‐furandiyl)bisacrylic acid in good yield and excellent stereoselectivity. The photoactivity of the diester of this monomer is confirmed by reaction under UV irradiation, and the proposed [2+2] cycloaddition mechanism supported further by TD‐DFT calculations. Oligoesters of the photoreactive furan diacid with various aliphatic diols are prepared via chemo‐ and enzyme‐catalysed polycondensation. The latter enzyme‐catalysed (Candida antarctica lipase B) method results in the highest Mn (3.6 kDa), suggesting milder conditions employed with this protocol minimised unwanted side reactions, including untimely [2+2] cycloadditions, whilst preserving the monomer's photoactivity and stereoisomerism. The photoreactive polyester is solvent cast into a film where subsequent initiator‐free UV curing leads to an impressive increase in the material stiffness, with work‐hardening characteristics observed during tensile strength testing.
Bilberry presscake, a byproduct from juice production, contains abundant polysaccharides that can be recovered by thermal treatment. In this research, microwave hydrolysis and extraction were carried out using only water as the processing medium, thus ensuring all products (mainly saccharides) are suitable for food grade status applications. This research aims to propose an approach to fulfill multiple chemicals recovery, including anthocyanins, saccharides, proteins, and even inorganic salts. Statistical analysis suggested the conversion of bilberry presscake was accurately predictable (R 2 of 0.986) from conditions. Of the variables temperature, holding time, and solid content, the solid content affects conversion most significantly. A 30 min microwave hydrolysis gives mono-/disaccharides with a high total yield of 24.9%, which is more than three times the yield of a 24 h Soxhlet extraction (7.1%). The yield of rhamnose is particularly high (10.8%), most likely as a result of pectin degradation on microwave irradiation. In addition to the lab scale research, pilot scale microwave extractions are carried out with high conversion (especially glucose 4.4%, xylose 4.0%, and pectin 6.3%), suggesting the feasibility of low-temperature (95 °C) microwave hydrolysis of bilberry presscake for industrial application. With this preliminary study, it is believed microwave hydrolysis offers an efficient and green approach to convert bilberry presscake into value-added products for food industry and biorefinery.
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