FURIOUS Project

The FURIOUS project aims to exploit all the established polymer synthetic strategies to obtain a new class of versatile 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid-based biopolymers (FDCA PXF), in terms of ad hoc designed chemical structure, processability and recyclability, mandatory features for a real entry of these bio-based polymers as sustainable alternatives to traditional petroleum-based plastics in strict use conditions, as demanded by automotive, packaging and underwater sectors.

The materials will be properly designed from the chemical point of view to satisfy a set of target properties required for three stringent applications, where other bioplastics do not address all the requirements or traditional plastics are still widely employed: biomedical and electronic packaging (where resistance to sterilization and high barrier properties are necessary), automotive sector (where resistance to UV weathering and intrinsic antibacterial properties are the key feature) and underwater devices (where photoreactivity and biodegradability in seawater are requested).

FURIOUS material versatility will be also assessed with respect to their processability. Intrinsic recyclability will be imparted to the new furan-based polymers for both greener and mechanical recycling and for novel enzymatic recycling strategies. Innovative results of FURIOUS will contribute to the development of Sustainability-by-design database, used to assess and predict the performance of novel materials and to derive a set of guidelines for the end-use applications.