Polybutylene succinate (PBS) has become a promising bioplastic because of its comparable physical properties, good biodegradability, and availability of precursors from renewable resources. In conventional PBS synthesis, the bio-based succinic acid (SA) in the aqueous fermentation broth has to go through costly separation and purification processes before it can be used as a precursor for condensation reaction with 1,4-butendiol (BDO), a process that usually takes place in organic solvents. To circumvent this problem, this study attempts to build a spatially confined hydrophobic environment to allow enzymatic condensation reaction in aqueous solution. Firstly, a colloidal cationic nanospheres suspension was synthesized from lignin. Then, commercial lipases were mixed with the colloid to form the enzyme-nanosphere complexes, and finally entrapped in calcium alginate and dried to form durable beads. Been spatially confined within a hydrophobic nano-scale volume and protected from the outer environment by the alginate beads, the immobilized lipase can catalyze condensation reaction and support direct PBS synthesis in aqueous solution. This study provides a more eco-friendly and cost-efficient method of direct PBS production from less processed bio-based SA and BDO.

Enzymatic synthesis of polybutylene succinate on spatially confined lignin nanospheres in aqueous media

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.