- PhD in Animate materials to solve plastic waste issues
Restoration of forests is part of the strategy to achieve net-zero target emissions by enhancing the removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The UK has pledged to plant 2 billion trees by 2050. The most common afforestation strategy uses tree shelters to protect planted seedlings from predation by animals such as deer, sheep and rabbits. The shelters are generally made of plastics, such as polypropylene. However, there are two environmental concerns about their deployment which have become acute now that 2 billion will be planted. Firstly, after their useful period, tree shelters are often left at planting sites and become plastic waste that harms wildlife and pollutes the environment. Secondly, the resources used to manufacture and transport tree shelters affect the environment by producing greenhouse gases and other polluting substances [1]. Our industry partner The Woodland Trust is urgently seeking a solution to this problem. We propose to develop a biodegradable tree shelter that maintains its structural integrity until the sapling reaches maturity at which point it biodegrades rapidly and completely. Recent work has reported 3D-printable enzymatically active plastics with poly(caprolactone) (PCL) [2]. In related work polylactate (PLA) with nano-dispersed enzymes have been reported with rapid degradation profiles, again with commercial enzymes. Previous research by the supervisory team has described chemical catalysts that can be incorporated into 3D-printed polymeric structures, where these 3D-printed constructs retained the activity of the original catalyst. This PhD project seeks to extend this work to develop a novel animate material that will biodegrade only when it receives a signal for the growing tree [3]. To apply follow instructions here and look up Project ID: 2228bd1078
References
Chau, C., Paulillo, A., Lu, N., Miodownik, M., & Lettieri, P. (2021). The environmental performance of protecting seedlings with plastic tree shelters for afforestation in temperate oceanic regions: A UK case study. Science of the Total Environment, 791. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148239
C. DelRe, Y. Jiang, P. Kang, J. Kwon, A. Hall, I. Jayapurna, Z. Ruan, L. Ma, K. Zolkin, T. Li, C. D. Scown, R. O. Ritchie, T. P. Russell, T. Xu, Nature, 2021, 592, 558.
Animate Materials – A prespective. Eds. Miodownik & Morris: https://royalsociety.org/topics-policy/projects/animate-materials/
2. Interdisciplinary PhD in Net Zero – the repair economy
I am looking for a PhD Candidate to do research on the role of the repair economy in meeting UK net zero targets. This fully funded scholarship aims to examine ‘what works’ for local residents, communities, and businesses and in the East of London and the Thames Gateway. The research is connected to our work on the Big Repair Project (www.bigrepairproject.org.uk) and will involve work across disciplines. The ideal candidates have backgrounds in the Arts and Humanities with an interest, and/or experience working with engineers and scientists on the net zero transition. Candidates with backgrounds in law, economics, and policy are particularly welcome to apply. Contact me for details.
