Symposium on Materials for a Sustainable
Society
The guiding principles for materials development towards a sustainable
society have led to the emergence of eco-materials; materials which are used in the life cycle design of
products aimed at reducing environmental impacts. Eco-materials research includes the development of
materials containing less hazardous substances, materials with green environmental profiles, higher potential
for recycling, increased resource productivity and safety related to their use over long periods of
time.
Global pressure is building to allocate fossil fuels more wisely. The
availability of this carbon source as a feedstock for the production of polymers and other products is
diminishing. This drives the need for the development of viable biopolymers made from renewable feedstocks.
Sustainable biorefineries must also be developed to process cellulosic and oleochemical feedstocks into
renewable materials and value added chemicals. The transformation of these oxygenated feedstocks will require
new processes involving novel catalysts and separation processes. Chemical engineers must take the lead to
address issues of sustainability in developing these processes. This poses challenges to move beyond
providing solutions to individual problems but offer integrated solutions that take into account whole life
cycle changes as a design criteria. The increasing age of many refineries and chemical plants and the
expected lifespan of new facilities provide a unique opportunity for the implementation of
biorefineries.
Self-assembled nanomaterials have unique properties that need to be
integrated into biorefining and environmental protection. Materials for advanced energy systems such as
batteries and fuels cells must also be further developed to reach our goals of sustainability.
This symposium addresses important challenges for chemical engineering
and material science. Contributions are invited in the design and production of a wide variety of
eco-materials and the development of bioproducts from renewable feedstocks.
