21 September 2019 – A talk on Plant-based Bioplastics for Sustainable Development: Recent progress and advancement from Osaka University was held at the Lecture Theatre 1, Library Complex, UTB. The talk was organised by the Centre for Research of Agri-Food Science Technology (CrAFT).
Attending the talk as the Guest of Honour was the Assistant Vice-Chancellor (Research) of UTB, Yang Mulia Professor Mohamed Hasnain Isa. Also present were Principal Officers; staff and students of UTB as well as other higher institutions.
The special talk was delivered by an invited speaker, Professor Uyama Hiroshi from the Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan, who has earned several awards and published over 350 related monographs and academic papers as well as 133 patents whose research interests are in the areas of biomass plastics, porous nanomaterials and functional bio-based polymers.
During the talk, Professor Uyama Hiroshi focused on using biomass as starting materials for chemicals and plastics that can contribute to global sustainability without depletion of scarce resources due to their large potential to substitute petrochemical derivatives in industries. Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) is one of the most typical plant-based bioplastics (biomass plastics) showing good biodegradability. However its demerits such as low physical properties and slow molding process have restricted the development of industrial applications of PLA. The talk also touched on recent progress and advancement of biomass plastics applications in food industry, engineering and as part of global effort for sustainable development.
The talk explained that natural plant oil sources are found in abundance worldwide and can be utilised as an ideal alternative chemical feedstock. Inexpensive triglyceride natural oils have been extensively exploited for coatings, inks, plasticizers, lubricants, resins and agrochemicals in addition to their applications in food industry. In light of this, biomass products such as plant oils and cellulose are used for preparation of functional bio-based materials.
CrAFT is one of the Research Centres under UTB that serves as a platform for networking of researchers and pooling resources from various schools and faculty of UTB to work on agri-food related projects.
