Biocomposite Design for Food Packaging

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a sustainable polyester, which is bio-derived and biodegradable. PHB has great potential for use as a food packaging film, having similar mechanical properties to conventional plastics such as polypropylene. PHB is a semi-crystalline polymer and it can be copolymerised with polyhydroxyvalerate (PHV) or processed with plasticisers and filler particles in order to control the crystallinity, which in turn can allow control over flexibility and barrier properties.
Despite a number of experimental studies published on PHB, there is a current knowledge gap in how to relate the polymer crystalline microstructure to its performance, such as gas barrier. Although experiments can measure crystallinity and gas barrier, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are needed to provide valuable insight into how the molecular structure of polymers affects gas diffusion, and can help to bridge the gap between theory and experiment. This project will use atomistic and course-grained MD simulations to understand the gas diffusion pathways in semi-crystalline polymers.

For more information about the project contact Dr Karen Johnston (karen.johnston@strath.ac.uk), Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering  at the University of Strathclyde.

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