Decarbonising the Surfactant and Functional Polymer Value Chains by enzymatic processes

通过酶法使表面活性剂和功能聚合物价值链脱碳

• 批准号: BB/Y003292/1
• 负责人: Alex Conradie
• 金额: $ 444.08万
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FY003292%2F1
• 关键词: Decarbonising; Surfactant; Functional; Polymer; Value

As the UK aligns with a global market place outside of the European Union, the UK needs to forge ahead through its world-leading capabilities in science, engineering and technology. Invention and innovation have been a bedrock of Britain's global presence and a key driver of productivity. Exemplifying a history of economic competitiveness, the UK has long held a significant capability in surfactant and functional polymer technology. The purpose of this proposal is to maintain and extend the UK's technical and manufacturing leadership in this sector. In 1883, Unilever pioneered Sunlight Soap; it was innovative and had a purpose: to popularise cleanliness and bring it within reach of ordinary people. Since then, Unilever now has over 400 brands and the company remains driven by purpose. The use of fossil-derived feedstocks and a linear manufacturing paradigm has exacerbated climate change, shifting the future needs of the manufacturing landscape. Remaining competitive in a global setting requires renewed investment into the multi-disciplinary expertise that defines British innovation. This PP is an exemplification of Unilever's transition away from fossil-derived chemicals in product formulations, exploring innovative ways of reducing the carbon footprint of some of the world's biggest cleaning and laundry brands. As a key component of Unilever's Clean Future vision, Unilever expects this programme to markedly contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of product formulations by up to 20%. As such, Unilever aims to contribute globally to UN Sustainable Development Goals such as Sustainable Industrialisation and Climate Action by reducing the carbon intensity of both the manufacture and product life cycle associated with cleaning and laundry products worldwide. The manufacture of surfactants and functional polymers from renewable feedstocks through the transformative power of sustainable engineering science, represents an unrivalled opportunity to decarbonise this value chain though UK technology leadership spanning the global stage.The vision of this Prosperity Partnership (PP) is to achieve appreciable decarbonisation of the surfactant and functional polymer value chain, aligning the current linear (take-make-waste) manufacturing paradigm to greater resource circularity. In common with many materials derived from fossil reserve feedstocks, surfactants and functional polymers have multi-kilogram CO2eq emissions per kilogram of surfactant/polymer associated with manufacturing; depending on feedstock, process technology and location. Against this life cycle assessment (LCA) backdrop, the global scale of surfactant production is 1.5 - 2 million tonnes per year, necessitating action to reduce these carbon emissions globally. This proposal's far-reaching vision integrates both CO2 and process circularity into a comprehensive new paradigm for surfactant and functional polymer manufacturing, aiming to reduce global warming potential by an order of magnitude. Three work packages (WP) fill the knowledge gaps that exist within the proposed circular economy. Overarchingly, the PP aims to establish a techno-economically feasible circular economy with highly favourable life cycle assessment (LCA) outcomes, mitigating climate change through sustainable industrialisation. WP1 entails the redesign of key surfactants and functional polymers in cleaning and laundry products used worldwide. WP2 aims to enhance the techno-economic footing of rhamnolipid bio-surfactants, whilst WP3 looks towards a hybrid bio-refinery for the production of drop-in surfactants from renewable feedstocks. These UK advances in surfactant/polymer technol-ogy will have both national and global deployment capability, representing a first in class demonstration of decarbonisation through resource circularity in the bulk chemicals sector, framing and catalysing knowledge exchange towards net zero in 2050.

随着英国与欧盟以外的全球市场保持一致，英国需要通过其在科学，工程和技术方面的世界领先能力来领先。发明和创新一直是英国全球存在的基石，也是生产力的主要驱动力。英国长期以来在表面活性剂和功能性聚合物技术方面具有重要的能力，体现了经济竞争力的历史。该提案的目的是维护和扩展英国在该领域的技术和制造业领导力。 1883年，联合利华开创性的阳光肥皂；这是创新的，有目的：普及清洁度并将其带入普通百姓。从那时起，联合利华现在拥有超过400个品牌，该公司仍然受到目的的驱动。化石衍生的原料和线性制造范式的使用加剧了气候变化，从而改变了制造景观的未来需求。在全球环境中保持竞争力需要重新投资于定义英国创新的多学科专业知识。该PP是联合利华在产品配方中从化石衍生的化学品过渡的例证，探索了减少一些世界上一些最大的清洁和洗衣品牌的碳足迹的创新方式。作为联合利华清洁未来愿景的关键组成部分，联合利华希望该计划显着促进产品配方的碳足迹降低多达20％。因此，联合利华旨在通过降低与全球清洁和清洁产品相关的制造和产品生命周期的碳强度，在全球范围内为联合国可持续发展目标做出贡献。通过可持续工程科学的变革力量从可再生原料中制造表面活性剂和功能性聚合物，这是一个无与伦比的机会，尽管英国的技术领导层跨越全球阶段，但这种价值链的机会是脱碳的。这种繁荣伙伴关系的愿景（PP）是实现表面效果和功能性链（Alightial Polemer of Aligning Poligning of Alighter Poligning Chake）的脱碳的愿景范式更大的资源循环。表面活性剂和功能性聚合物的许多材料共同，具有多吉尔图CO2EQ排放量，每千克表面活性剂/聚合物与制造相关；取决于原料，过程技术和位置。在这种生命周期评估（LCA）的背景下，全球表面活性剂产量的规模为每年1.5-200万吨，需要采取行动以减少全球的这些碳排放。该提案的深远视野将二氧化碳和过程循环整合到了表面活性剂和功能性聚合物制造的全面新范式中，旨在通过数量级来降低全球变暖潜力。三个工作包（WP）填补了拟议的循环经济中存在的知识空白。总体而言，PP旨在建立具有高度有利的生命周期评估（LCA）结果的技术经济可行经济，从而通过可持续的工业化来减轻气候变化。 WP1需要在全球使用的清洁和洗衣产品中重新设计关键表面活性剂和功能性聚合物。 WP2的目的是增强鼠李菜生生物表面活性剂的技术经济基础，而WP3则倾向于从可再生原料中生产出液化表面活性剂的混合生物详细剂。这些英国在表面活性剂/聚合物技术方面的进步将具有国家和全球部署能力，这是批量化学品的资源循环脱碳化的首次演示。