Project Grant DESC0021766

The National Science Foundation Division of Materials Research awarded a $950,000 Project Grant to the Regents of the University of Minnesota under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to develop economically viable approaches for recycling the most prevalent commodity plastics. Specifically, the five-year award will fund research to synthesize triblock and multiblock copolymers that can localize at phase-separated domain interfaces when blended plastics are melt mixed,...

This SBIR Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084), aims to develop a novel liquid crystal polymer (LCP) called Tullomer to address limitations in fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. The $275,000 grant, awarded to Z-Polymers, Inc., will fund the optimization of Tullomer's monomer ratios, integration of nucleation additives, and control of mesogenic state formation to enhance...

This federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) is providing $1.1M to Purdue University and subawardees to develop sustainable, hemp-derived bioplastics with exceptional properties and recyclability. The goal is to accelerate the displacement of legacy petrochemical-based plastics, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and microplastics. The project will investigate novel hemp-derived monomers to synthesize a variety of...

This $465,000 National Science Foundation project grant will support the development of an upcycling strategy for polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic waste through chemical transformations producing value-added products. Funded under the Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049), Professor Rebecca Braslau of the University of California, Santa Cruz will work to convert PVC into 1,5-hexadiene and other alkane products using mild temperatures and ambient pressure. These efforts aim...

This SBIR Phase I award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program (CFDA 47.084) provides $274,991 to Molten Materials LLC, a woman-owned small business, to develop a sustainable solution for transforming waste plastics into high-value thermoplastic elastomers for infrastructure applications. The project aims to use reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization to produce durable elastomers from depolymerized plastic...

This Project Grant award provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CFDA 47.041 Engineering) will support the development of novel manufacturing principles for high-performance, sustainable packaging films from hierarchically reinforced biopolymers. The $374,160 award to North Carolina State University aims to enable the production of natural material-based films that match or exceed the properties of synthetic polymer films,...

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) received a $382,192 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation. The award is supporting research titled "COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTERFACIAL PHOTOPOLYMERIZATION (IPP): A METHOD FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL PRINTING OF THERMOPLASTICS" from September 1, 2021 through August 31, 2024. The research aims to develop interfacial photopolymerization (IPP) as a new...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems Project Grant for $331,415, awarded on September 1, 2023, aims to develop a novel biocatalytic process for the deconstruction of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics. The project will explore the use of natural enzymes, such as lipase, to catalyze the alcoholysis of PET in non-aqueous solvents. This approach seeks to improve the efficiency and conversion of plastic waste using...

Advanced Energy Materials LLC received a $256,500 Project Grant award from the Department of Energy Office of Science on June 27, 2022 to develop bioplastic polyethylene (2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) using CO2. The one-year project will be performed in Louisville, KY under the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA #81.049), which supports basic research to transform understanding of nature and advance U.S. energy and economic security. Specifically, the company will work to...

This $2.4 million project grant from the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture's Bioproduct Pilot Program (CFDA #10.236) supports the development of a modular bioprocessing system to produce bioplastics from food waste. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will lead a consortium including Quasar Energy Group LLC, University of Missouri System, and Iowa State University to establish a 100-liter scale pilot facility. Over three years, the team...