The problems associated with extraction of finite fossil resources to produce energy and materials are substantial. Presently, trillions of dollars per year of high carbon footprint plastics are produced for fashion, accessories, footwear, automobile interiors, et cetera for about 1/5th of the world’s population that can afford luxuries such as a new car or couch. Comprehensive definitions for ‘sustainable’ footwear or ‘circular’ fashion have not been agreed upon. Moreover, data sets to measure the impacts of plastics are noticeably lacking and, as a result, the true cost of plastics to the environment and societies is not acknowledged. Add to this that unit economics, chemistry, product design, and logistics conspire to severely limit that amount of plastic recycled globally. Meanwhile, plastics pollute the environment in a number of ways including microfiber from washing 100’s of billions of pounds of plastic clothing.<br/>In contrast, nature – and, in particular, photosynthesis – is the most abundant, versatile, sustainable, and ‘circular’ production system in the known universe. Plants are amazingly diverse and grow in nearly every part of the biosphere. Using solar power, nature upcycles, downcycles, and recycles nutrients into complex materials that are interchangeable and that are balanced across orders of magnitude of scale and multiple dimensions (e.g., space and time). We will explore examples of how complex natural composites, produced from abundant natural ‘waste’, can be the genesis for a comprehensively sustainable and circular materials economy. In particular, we describe materials that use biomass ‘as is’ and/or with minimal derivatization so that natural structural motifs are retained to enhance performance while eliminating waste, dramatically lowering carbon footprints, and providing new options for recycling.

Comprehensively sustainable circular materials by natural fiber welding

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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