Foaming of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Bonten; Professor Dr.-Ing. Holger Ruckdäschel
• Subject Area: Plastics Engineering
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 511581886

In the proposed research project, the modification of PHA and the subsequent processing behavior in the foaming process will be investigated. The competences of biopolymer processing and modification of Prof. Bonten will be combined with those of foam processing and digitization of Prof. Ruckdäschel in a complementary way. The group of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is both biobased and biodegradable under natural conditions. Moreover, the property profile of this group of plastics is comparable to fossil-based polymers such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE). Therefore, PHAs have great potential to substitute some fossil-based plastics. However, the processing of these plastics is complex and little studied so far - especially in the working field of foam production. For other polymers, targeted modification often leads to an improvement in processability and thus to improved processability and better mechanical properties. The material class PHA, the modification as well as the foaming of PHA are already known in the literature. However, the structural elucidation from the material, the targeted modification and the juxtaposition with the foaming process has not been investigated yet. By exploring these relationships for the material class of PHA, the processing profile and application potential of foams made from PHA can be expanded.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants