RSC sustainability最新文献

{"title":"Introduction of the first commercial biobased benzoxazines for the manufacturing of fibre reinforced polymers†","authors":"Gideon Abels, Katharina Koschek, Paul Jones and Wendy Howarth","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00192C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00192C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Benzoxazines are a promising material class due to their flexible molecular design, high thermomechanical properties, and inherent flame retardancy. Especially the latter makes them interesting for all kinds of applications, for example lightweight constructions in the transportation sector. The first commercial benzoxazines were based on bisphenol and aniline, petrochemical resources produced from crude oil. However, due to the growing demand for more sustainable materials the use of biobased resources for benzoxazine synthesis has been thoroughly investigated in the past years. In this work, we present the first commercial benzoxazines that consist of biobased compounds. After analysing the curing behaviour of these new resins using thermal analysis, polymers are manufactured and characterised from them. Finally, the resins were used for manufacturing fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP) for flame-retardant lightweight applications. Thermomechanical and combustion analysis showed that the polymers achieve high flexural moduli up to 2.8 MPa and glass transition temperatures of 100 °C and 141 °C. In addition, the biobased benzoxazines have promising flame-retardancy due to intumescence, resulting in high LOI values of 31.4 ± 0.2 and 33.3 ± 0.1%</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 2959-2967"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00192c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Safe-and-sustainable-by-design roadmap: identifying research, competencies, and knowledge sharing needs","authors":"Christina Apel, Akshat Sudheshwar, Klaus Kümmerer, Bernd Nowack, Klara Midander, Emma Strömberg and Lya G. Soeteman-Hernández","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00310A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00310A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The European Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability introduces the Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) concept. It goes beyond current regulatory compliance and aims to ensure the safety and sustainability of (novel) chemicals, materials, products, and processes. It starts at early-innovation stages and follows the chemicals and materials throughout their entire lifecycle. This perspective paper presents an SSbD roadmap that explores current needs and gives recommendations for the practical operationalization of SSbD in industrial operations and processes. This roadmap was co-created including different SSbD stakeholders and encompasses three interlinked agendas on (i) research needs, (ii) skills, competencies, and education needs, and (iii) knowledge and information sharing needs. An overarching need is the development of a common understanding of SSbD with clear definitions, terminology, and criteria. In addition, SSbD operationalisation needs to be pragmatic and applied as early as possible in the innovation process. From a research needs perspective, it is essential to integrate the different fields of innovation, safety, and sustainability. From a skills, competencies and education perspective, targeted training is needed that balances the depth and breadth of SSbD required for a specific audience. These trainings should not only convey hard/technical skills, but also soft/social skills to support more sustainability-oriented decisions on all levels. From a knowledge and information sharing perspective, a strategic plan and a trusted environment are needed to support dialogue between all SSbD stakeholders while at the same time protecting intellectual property (IP). The roadmap should help to coordinate planning for the implementation of SSbD at industrial, academic, policy, and regulatory level by defining actions and raise strategic efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 2833-2838"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00310a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of the formyl group and heteroaromatic ring in furfural on activated carbon cloth-supported ruthenium†","authors":"Meheryar R. Kasad, James E. Jackson and Christopher M. Saffron","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00260A","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00260A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Electrocatalytic hydrogenation (ECH) was explored as a mild technique (≤50 °C under atmospheric pressure) to produce valuable products from furfural, a promising biomass-derived platform chemical. <em>In situ</em> hydrogen equivalents made by water splitting were used to reduce the formyl group and saturate the heteroaromatic ring of furfural on an activated carbon cloth-supported ruthenium electrocatalyst. A systematic study was conducted to understand the relationship between the reaction conditions and the products. The factors analyzed include catholyte solution organic co-solvent content, catholyte solution acid content, and temperature. Acidity of the catholyte solution had the most significant effect on the yield of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA). The highest THFA yield was obtained in mildly acidic catholyte solutions (0.02 M HCl and 0.002 M HCl–0.02 M NaCl). The low carbon mole balance closure in the experiments was attributed to the side reactions of the reactants, intermediates, and products. The effects of current density on faradaic efficiency and of the functional groups attached to the furan ring on the formation of saturated heterocyclic products were also explored.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 3001-3013"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00260a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Addressing the persistence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): current challenges and potential solutions","authors":"Emeka J. Itumoh, Shailja Data, Jack L.-Y. Chen, Melanie Kah, Lokesh P. Padhye and Erin M. Leitao","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00152D","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00152D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The combined stability, mobility, and bioaccumulation of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has prompted a global environmental crisis. PFAS have unique properties owing to their strong, hydrophobic C–F bonds, which result in their resistance to water, oil, chemicals, and heat. Applications of PFAS include their use as water-, grease-, and fire-proof coatings, emulsifiers, and surfactants, spanning most manufacturing sectors. The continued regulation of specific PFAS provides significant research opportunities for chemists and their collaborators across environmental, social, engineering, and materials sciences. Solutions in the areas of detection and analysis, immobilisation and destruction, and the creation of viable and safe alternatives are urgently needed. In this tutorial review, PFAS and their associated challenges are described, followed by a summary of existing solutions and future research opportunities.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 11","pages":" 3183-3201"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00152d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192846","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic polyvinylpolypyrrolidone polymer composite-supported copper(i) catalyst: an efficient and easily reusable catalyst for sustainable synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles in water†‡","authors":"Noura Aflak, Fatima-Ezzahraa Essebbar, Lahoucine Bahsis, Hicham Ben El Ayouchia, Hafid Anane, Miguel Julve and Salah-Eddine Stiriba","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00292J","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00292J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The development of sustainable products and processes involves the use of green chemistry principles. A new and facile synthesis of a recoverable copper(<small>I</small>) catalyst supported on magnetic crosslinked polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (Fe<small>₃</small>O<small>₄</small>-PVPP) for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives under copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reactions (CuAAC) is presented in this study. The magnetic support was prepared by <em>in situ</em> co-precipitation of Fe<small>₃</small>O<small>₄</small> in polyvinylpolypyrrolidone followed by immobilization of copper(<small>I</small>) on the magnetic support to afford a Cu(<small>I</small>)/PVPP-Fe<small>₃</small>O<small>₄</small> composite, which was characterized using several techniques. Its catalytic efficiency in CuAAC working under low copper catalyst loading leads to the selective synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles with good to excellent yields. The green aspect of this catalytic process relies on using water as catalytic reaction medium, working at room temperature, easy isolation of 1,2,3-triazoles and simple separation of the composite catalyst by exposure to an external magnet for recovery and further reuse. The greenness of the procedure was also assessed through the atom economy (AE), E-factor and EcoScale, showing low waste generation and better sustainability scores.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 2949-2958"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00292j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Multi-functional syringol based epoxides and properties of their thermoset polymers","authors":"Melissa Sanchez, Peter C. Ford and Mahdi M. Abu-Omar","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00320A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00320A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Lignin-based syringol monomer, 2,6-dimethoxypropylphenol (<strong>DMPP</strong>), can be upgraded through two synthetic routes to multi-functional propylpyrogallol <strong>DMPPO</strong>. With three hydroxyl groups, <strong>DMPPO</strong> can serve as a renewable polymer building block. In this study, we describe the synthesis and characterization of <strong>DMPPO</strong> epoxide mixtures based on their synthesis methodology; one route uses HBr, another a greener methodology with Nb<small>₂</small>O<small>₅</small> catalyst in water. Epoxy thermoset polymers using the two different epoxide preparations are synthesized, characterized, and contrasted. Optimization of reaction conditions, including temperature and catalyst concentration, to enhance the performance of epoxy thermosets is discussed. Through dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the thermo-mechanical behavior and thermal stability of the resulting epoxy thermoset networks are evaluated, shedding light on how structural differences impact performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 9","pages":" 2684-2692"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00320a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142091146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the synthesis of biorefineries for high-yield isobutanol production: from biomass-to-alcohol experiments to system level analysis†","authors":"Arthur E. Pastore de Lima, Jason Coplien, Larry C. Anthony, Trey K. Sato, Yaoping Zhang, Steven D. Karlen, Chris Todd Hittinger and Christos T. Maravelias","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00283K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00283K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The production of isobutanol from lignocellulose has gained attention due to its favorable physical and chemical properties. The use of lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock to produce isobutanol has substantial sustainability benefits, but the biological conversion to isobutanol faces challenges, such as low yields and by-product formation. In this work, we demonstrate the high-yield production of isobutanol through microbial fermentation of pulp hydrolysates. Three hydrolysates are produced from poplar, sorghum, and switchgrass using pretreatment based on γ-valerolactone. Furthermore, we synthesize a biomass-to-isobutanol biorefinery and perform technoeconomic analysis of three resulting processes using experimental results obtained from an engineered yeast strain which consumes most of the glucose available in the hydrolysate and produces isobutanol at 89–94% theoretical yields. The corresponding minimum fuel selling price (MFSP) is $14.40–$16.01 per gasoline gallon equivalent, with the sorghum-based biorefinery resulting in the lowest price. We identify that solvent/biomass ratio during pretreatment and enzyme loading during hydrolysis have the greatest impact on the MFSP; improvements in these parameters can reduce the MFSP by 46%.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 9","pages":" 2532-2540"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00283k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142091135","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Establishing ultraporous permanently polarized hydroxyapatite as a green and highly efficient catalyst for carbon dioxide conversion in continuous flow under mild conditions†","authors":"Marc Arnau, Jordi Sans, Pau Turon and Carlos Alemán","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00305E","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00305E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >We present the use of an ultraporous permanently polarized hydroxyapatite (upp-HAp) catalyst for continuous and highly efficient production of formic acid (predominant) and acetic acid using wet CO<small>₂</small> (<em>i.e.</em> CO<small>₂</small> bubbled into liquid water) as a reagent. In all cases, reactions were conducted at temperatures ranging from 95 to 150 °C, using a CO<small>₂</small> constant flow of 100 mL s<small>⁻¹</small>, and without applying any external electric field and/or UV radiation. Herein, we study how to transfer such a catalytic system from batch to continuous reactions, focusing on the water supply (proton source): (1) wet CO<small>₂</small> or (2) liquid water in small amounts is introduced in the reactor. In general, the reduction of CO<small>₂</small> to formic acid predominates over the C–C bond formation reaction. On the other hand, when liquid water is added, two interesting outcomes are observed: (1) the yield of products is higher than in the first scenario (&gt;2 mmol g<small>_c</small><small>⁻¹</small>·min<small>⁻¹</small>) while the initial liquid water remains largely available due to the mild reaction temperature (95 °C); and (2) a high yield of ethanol (&gt;0.5 mmol g<small>_c</small><small>⁻¹</small>·min<small>⁻¹</small>) is observed at 120 °C, as a result of the increased efficiency of the C–C bond formation. Analysis of kinetic studies through temporal and temperature dependence shows that CO<small>₂</small> fixation is the rate limiting step, ruling out the competing effect of proton adsorption on the binding sites and confirming the crucial role of water. The activation energy for the CO<small>₂</small> fixation reaction has been determined to be 66 ± 1 kJ mol<small>⁻¹</small>, which is within the range of conventional electro-assisted catalysts. Finally, mechanistic insights on the CO<small>₂</small> activation and role of the binding sites of upp-HAp are provided through isotopic-labeling (<small>¹³</small>CO<small>₂</small>) and near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 2871-2884"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00305e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Copper catalyzed alkaline aerobic lignin depolymerization: effect of botanical origin and industrial extraction process on reactivity supported through characterization†","authors":"Antonio Hernández-Mañas, Alex Martínez-Martin, Johan Madignier, Pascal Fongarland, Frédérique Bertaud, Léa Vilcocq and Laurent Djakovitch","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00144C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D4SU00144C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Different lignins, differing in their botanical origin or the extraction method, were subjected to aerobic catalytic depolymerisation in basic aqueous media using a copper-based catalyst (CuO/TiO<small>₂</small>) towards aromatic compounds. Lignins were obtained from different kinds of biomass, including hardwood, softwood and wheat straw, and using different extraction methods such as kraft, soda or organosolv. Extensive characterization (elemental analysis; <small>¹</small>H, <small>¹³</small>C, <small>³¹</small>P and HSQC NMR; FTIR-ATR; DLS and SEC) revealed structural differences between lignin samples. For example, organosolv softwood lignin shows a higher degree of β-O-4 linkages, while organosolv wheat straw lignin presents higher structural degradation. These changes resulted in differences during the catalytic aerobic depolymerisation. The structural properties were correlated with the reaction results. Thus, the average molecular weight is directly related to the observed degree of conversion, and the β-O-4 content is correlated with the yields of aromatic compounds obtained. It was also observed that the catalytic effect of the CuO/TiO<small>₂</small> catalyst is more pronounced when the non-catalytic reaction shows low yields of aromatics. Finally, despite higher reactivity, hardwood lignin did not produce high yields of aromatic compounds due to the rapid degradation of the products.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 10","pages":" 2930-2948"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00144c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142192873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis of hydrogels based on sterculia gum-co-poly(vinyl pyrrolidone)-co-poly(vinyl sulfonic acid) for wound dressing and drug-delivery applications","authors":"Ankita Kumari and Baljit Singh","doi":"10.1039/D4SU00273C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D4SU00273C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Much research is currently focused on designing functional materials derived from sterculia gum (SG) for sustainable development. Herein, poly(vinylsulfonic acid) (poly(VSA) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) was grafted onto SG to form semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) hydrogels for use in a drug-delivery (DD) system for doxycycline and in hydrogel wound dressings (HWDs). The hydrogels were characterized using FESEM, EDS, AFM, FTIR spectroscopy, <small>¹³</small>C-NMR, and XRD. A range of biomedical properties were assessed by evaluating the interactions of the hydrogels with blood, mucosal tissues, and drugs. In the FTIR analysis, bands were observed at 1288 and 1149 cm<small>⁻¹</small> due to asymmetric and symmetric stretching of SO<small>₂</small> of poly(VSA) along, while in the <small>¹³</small>C-NMR analysis, a peak at 63.21 ppm was noted due to a carbon attached to a sulfonic acid group of poly(VSA), confirming the polymerization reactions. The hydrogels were found to be biocompatible (hemolysis analysis = 2.54 ± 0.02%) and mucoadhesive (detachment force = 91.0 ± 8.0 mN). The semi-IPN HWDs exhibited antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The dressings were permeable to oxygen and water vapor but impermeable to microbes. The diffusion mechanism of doxycycline from the dressings was found to follow a non-Fickian mechanism. The release profile could be best described by the Higuchi kinetic model. Overall, these properties revealed that the drug-encapsulating hydrogels could be applied as materials for DD and wound dressing.</p>","PeriodicalId":74745,"journal":{"name":"RSC sustainability","volume":" 9","pages":" 2693-2708"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2024/su/d4su00273c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142091147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}