{"id":183075,"date":"2026-10-30T07:37:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T06:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=183075"},"modified":"2026-10-28T10:23:24","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:23:24","slug":"a-new-approach-to-sustainable-plastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/a-new-approach-to-sustainable-plastics\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Approach to Sustainable Plastics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Polystyrene is one of the most important plastics worldwide, but it is still considered far from sustainable. Its production relies on fossil resources, requires large amounts of energy, and the material is rarely recycled. A research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon has now developed an alternative polystyrene that contains renewable raw materials, can be produced in an energy-efficient way, and is degradable. The results were recently published in the journal\u00a0Chem Circularity<\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Authors
Authors of the publication (from left to right).: Susanne Schwanz, Dr Thomas Emmler, Dr Michael Schroeter, Phannaro Nhem, Prof Francesca M. Toma, Dr Manfred Gossen, Dr Katarzyna Polak-Kras\u0144a, Dr Navid Khani, Yiduo Zhou, Dr Weiwei Wang. \u00a9 Marcel Schwickerath<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Polystyrene is used in protective packaging for televisions and electronic devices, in decorative and skirting boards for interior construction, and in Petri dishes. It is one of the world’s most important plastics, with nearly 20 million tonnes produced each year. The material is predominantly derived from crude oil and is rarely recycled. Virgin polystyrene is often cheaper than recycled material, meaning that used products are typically incinerated or sent to landfills. Like many other plastics, polystyrene is highly resistant to degradation in the environment.

Researchers have now developed a more sustainable version of polystyrene. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe combination of renewable feedstocks, reduced energy consumption, and improved recyclability represents a major step forward,\u201d says doctoral researcher Phannaro Nhem,<\/strong> who is currently pursuing his PhD under the supervision of Prof Francesca Toma, Director of Hereon<\/strong>\u2019s Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The project also involved researchers from BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Freie Universit\u00e4t Berlin, and Helmut Schmidt University in Hamburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

50 Percent Renewable Raw Materials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Conventional polystyrene is produced by chemically linking styrene molecules into a plastic material. During this process, the styrene molecules form a rigid polymer, and the reaction vessel must be heated. The research team supplemented the styrene with the chemical compound itaconic anhydride, which can be produced through the fermentation of plant-based carbohydrates such as sugar. The resulting polystyrene contains around 50 percent of this bio-based raw material.

The manufacturing process was also made more energy efficient. Instead of using heated reaction vessels, the researchers employed microwave radiation as a heat source. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt is similar to a kitchen at home. Heating food on a stove takes time and consumes a lot of energy. Microwaves are much faster,\u201d explains Phannaro Nhem.<\/strong> \u201cMicrowave technology has not yet been widely adopted in polymer synthesis,\u201d says Francesca Toma.<\/strong> \u201cHowever, our results suggest that it could become a more energy-efficient alternative for controlled polymerization processes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Built-In Breaking Points for Recycling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The petri dishes meet the required quality standards. \u00a9 Hereon\/Marcel Schwickerath<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The team also incorporated the compound DOT into the material. These DOT molecules act as deliberately integrated breaking points within the polymer network, allowing the material to be chemically broken down into smaller fragments at the end of its life cycle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cUnlike conventional polystyrene, our material can be fragmented into small pieces,\u201d says Nhem.<\/strong> These smaller fragments can subsequently be further processed chemically. Bacteria are also capable of metabolizing the fragments, whereas they cannot degrade the tightly cross-linked structure of conventional polystyrene.

\u201cThe new polymer was developed according to the design-for-degradation principle, meaning it is engineered for controlled breakdown at the end of its service life,\u201d adds Francesca Toma.<\/strong> \u201cThis opens up a pathway for polystyrene towards closed material cycles and a circular economy.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Initial tests have shown that the material can be processed using conventional injection-molding equipment. Using their current laboratory-scale setup, the researchers produced miniature Petri dishes approximately the size of a one-euro coin. In the future, however, a wide range of applications could be envisaged. Preliminary studies with human stem cells also indicate that the material is biocompatible and performs just as well as commercially available polystyrene for cell culture applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original publication<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cutting-edge research for a changing world<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon`s scientific research aims at preserving a world worth living in. To this end, around 1000 employees generate knowledge and research new technologies for greater resilience and sustainability – for the benefit of the climate, the coast and people. The path from idea to innovation leads through a continuous interplay between experimental studies, modeling and AI to digital twins that map the diverse parameters of climate and coast or human biology in the computer. This is an interdisciplinary approach that spans from the fundamental scientific understanding of complex systems to scenarios and practical applications. As an active member of national and international research networks and the Helmholtz Association, Hereon supports politics, business and society in shaping a sustainable future by transferring the expertise it has gained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Phannaro Nhem<\/strong>
Scientist, Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability
Phone: +49 (0)3328 352-375
E-mail<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polystyrene is one of the most important plastics worldwide, but it is still considered far from sustainable. Its production relies on fossil resources, requires large amounts of energy, and the material is rarely recycled. A research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon has now developed an alternative polystyrene that contains renewable raw materials, can be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":183082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Hereon researchers improve the environmental footprint of polystyrene through innovative material additives","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[11270,10416,7105,17151,12679,5528],"supplier":[21500,731,19271,1195],"class_list":["post-183075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biodegradability","tag-circulareconomy","tag-packaging","tag-polystyrene","tag-recyclability","tag-sustainability","supplier-brandenburgische-technische-universitat-cottbus-senftenberg","supplier-freie-universitaet-berlin","supplier-helmholtz-zentrum-hereon","supplier-universitaet-hamburg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183075"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183087,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183075\/revisions\/183087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183075"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=183075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}