On November 28, 2024, a meeting of coordinators of MSCA (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) projects dedicated to cooperation between scientific institutions and companies (RISE - Research and Innovation Staff Exchange) in H2020 and Staff Exchange (SE) in Horizon Europe took place in Brussels. It was within the framework of the RISE mechanism that the GREEN-MAP project entitled “Novel green polymeric materials for medical packaging and disposables to improve hospital sustainability” was financed, which runs from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024. The project coordinator, Prof. Miroslawa El Fray, together with 34 other coordinators and more than 30 representatives of National Contact Points (NCPs), attended a meeting organized by the European Research Executive Agency to discuss the most important challenges and problems that arose during project implementation. They discussed in a small groups the access criteria for staff at different levels, funding of beneficiaries and participation of entrepreneurs, especially SMEs, in RISE and SE actions. A particularly important part of the meeting was the discussion of solutions that could help bring academia and industry closer together, including through greater involvement of Technology Transfer Centers, Chambers of Commerce or twinning activities involving National Contact Points. The meeting was an opportunity to meet directly with Project Officers overseeing the activities of the consortia, and to establish contacts with representatives of European NCPs and coordinators of other projects. The problems discussed by all groups and the possibilities of solving the most important issues are to serve the construction of programs in the new financial perspective, starting in 2027.

On October 21-22, 2024, a conference summarizing the project with the acronym GREEN-MAP funded by Horizon 2020 (H2020-MSCA-RISE) was held in the building of the Nanotechnology Center for Research and Education. The aim of the project, carried out in an international consortium of institutions from Europe, including four industrial partners, three universities and a research unit of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a partner from the USA, was to develop new biodegradable based on raw materials from renewable sources, which can be used for the production of disposable medical devices or for packaging of medical devices. The conference was attended by more than 30 participants from 9 countries - members of the consortium. Sixteen lectures were delivered and the results obtained were discussed in a poster session. The future and prospects for the use of biodegradable polymers in the medical sector was the subject of a panel discussion with the participation of scientists and industry representatives.
 
More pictures can be found here

Developing efficient and environmentally friendly methods to recover valuable raw materials from polymeric packaging materials synthesized within the project is an important challenge in sustainable materials technologies. The project has developed an effective method for using deep eutectic solvents as eco-friendly approach for solvolysis of copolyesters containing the valuable raw material vegetable oils used in copolyester syntheses. Dr hab. Inż. Magdalena Zdanowicza, prof. ZUT (ER9, ZUT 🇵🇱) and Prof. M. El Fray (ER 8, ZUT 🇵🇱) have been getting experience in characterization of derived products.

Ohio is a beautiful state, and an undoubted attraction is the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton - we recommend it to everyone!

The main part of the Dr. Marlena's Roguszewska (ER 30, KB Folie 🇵🇱)  work during KBF secondment at BME was to study the mechanical properties of PBS films aged under UV light. In addition, again a film was prepared from poly(butylene furanoate)-co-(dilinoleic furanoate) (PBF-DLF 90:10) granules (synthesised by a research team from ZUT) by blow molding to compare the mechanical properties of the film immediately after processing and the film 6 months after processing.
There was also an attempt to extrude a film from another material containing vegetable oil monomer synthesized by ZUT, the poly(butylene succinate)-co-(dilinoleic succinate) PBS-DLS 95:5. Unfortunately, due to the high MFI value (approx. 45 g/10 min; 160℃), the trials were unsuccessful.
During the secondment, Dr. Roguszewska prepared films by film blowing from PBF-DLF 90:10 granules to compare film properties immediately after extrusion with film obtained 6 months earlier and mechanical properties of PBS films aged 2 weeks under UV light. In addition, she participated in rheological tests of these films.
In her free time, in addition to swimming and running, Dr. Roguszewska has cycled almost 2 000 km, with her longest one-day trip being the Balatonkör - a cycling trip around Lake Balaton (206 km).
     

  

Three days-long meeting of early stage researchers and experienced scientists has been organized by Ecoinnavazione and University of Bologna under the thematic topic related to materials LCA for sustainable hospitals. More than 30 participants to the 3^rd Summer School were discussing different aspects of Life Cycle thinking methodologies and biocompatible material systems, innovative biobased materials and design for improving sustainability. The topics have been covered by 15 lectures and 8 posters presented during two thematic sessions and one poster session. The Summer School has also been an excellent occasion for the consortium meeting to discuss the progress of the project implementation and to draft the general agenda of final conference to be organized on 24-25 October 2024 in Szczecin, Poland.

As part of an ongoing project at The Ohio State University (OSU) in Wooster, Ohio, Dr Joanna Rokicka (ER11, ZUT 🇵🇱) is conducting the pioneering research on the anaerobic degradation of PBS-plant oil based copolymers. This phase of the project focuses on evaluating the mass loss of polymer materials, quantifying released gases, and calculating the organic carbon loss. Additionally, a detailed microscopic analyses were performed to better understand the structural changes in the materials over the time. The project involves rigorous testing to measure the mass loss of the polymers and determine the quantities of gases released during the degradation process. By analyzing these gases, it is possible to calculate the reduction in organic carbon content, providing critical insights into the biodegradability of these materials. Microscopic examinations are also being conducted to observe surface changes and identify degradation patterns. Participation in this project offers invaluable opportunities for scientific growth and collaboration. Researchers have the chance to connect with peers from other institutions, fostering new scientific partnerships and expanding their professional networks. The experience also enhanced Dr. Rokicka’s language skills, as she was engaged in scientific discourse and collaboration with international colleagues. This project not only contributes to advancing researcher’s understanding of polymer degradation but also provides a platform to develop their skills and broaden their horizons. Dr Rokicka is looking forward to share the results of her work and continue to push the boundaries of scientific knowledge in the field of polymer biodegradation.

Dr. Agnieszka Piegat (ER9, ZUT 🇵🇱) has finished her month-long stay at Ecoinnovazione srl - spin off of ENEA in Bologna! It was an intense period during which Dr. Piegat dealt with the material aspect of LCA (Live Cycle Assessment) of polymers developed within the GREENMAP project. The knowledge gained from Simone Maranghi and Lorenzo Tosti will certainly contribute to bringing the LCA topic closer also during the teaching process and creating a more sustainable future.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a science-based approach is essential in the environmental sustainability of new polymers developed within GREEN-MAP project. One of important parameter affecting LCA is energy consumption, and this was measured during the synthesis of copolymers containing bio-based monomers by Dr. Simone Maranghi and Dr. Lorenzo Tosti (ECOI 🇮🇹) during their secondments at ZUT. Sustainability consideration for products development have been also presented by other industrial expert, Dr. Christian-Andre Keun (COMPRISETEC 🇩🇪).

On last days of May, Dr hab. inż. Magdalena Zdanowicz presented some results from GREEN MAP project at Sciforum Conference "Polymers for a Safe and Sustainable Future" in Athens. Dr. hab. inż. Zdanowicz presented two posters about properties of PBF-DLF polyesters obtained via cast extrusion and novel bioesters based on Cargill Bioindustrial (former Croda) products as plasticizers/functional additives for polyesters (obtained during her secondment at Cargill Bioindustrial in Gouda, NL)

Magdalena Zdanowicz, Ewa Wiśniewska, Agnieszka Piegat, Nina Stefaniak, Miroslawa El Fray "Properties Of Poly(Butylene Furanoate-Co-Dilinoleic Furanoate) Film Obtained Via Cast Extrusion"

Magdalena Zdanowicz, Małgorzata Mizielińska, Wouter Vogel, Agnieszka Piegat, Miroslawa El Fray "Novel, Functional Biobased Esters As Plasticizers For Polymeric Materials"

The final year of the project is focused on intensive research, training and knowledge transfer within WP5 by early stage and experienced researchers. WP5 activities focusing mainly on LCA are being conducted by secondees at Ecoinnovazione, a company specializing in LCA. Dr Gorący (ER11, ZUT 🇵🇱) has developed a detailed “Collection data sheet” of energy consumption for the synthesis of PBA-DLA, PBF-DLF, and PBS-DLS copolymers. These lists will be supplemented with the results of measurements of energy consumption during the synthesis in real conditions. Materials LCA has been also discussed among project coordinator, prof. El Fray (ER8, ZUT 🇵🇱), prof. Marek Kowalczuk (ER19, PAN 🇵🇱) and President of Ecoinnovazione, Dr. Paolo Massoni  in a context of approaching 3^rd Summer School to be held in June 26-28, 2024 in Bologna, IT, and co-organized with University of Bologna, Prof. Maria Letizia Focarete.

More than 150 high school students attended ZUT's Open Days on 6-7 March, 2024, which provided an excellent opportunity to communicate to young people the important aspects of biodegradable polymers that have been developed as part of the GREEN-MAP project. Young people had the opportunity to learn about polymers that are degrading under different natural environments, and can be used as new generation packaging materials.
 

An important part of biodegradable polymers characterization is assessment of sterility of packaging materials for medical devices intended for sterilization. Thus, PhD student, Szymon Macieja (ESR5, ZUT 🇵🇱) was getting experience in biodegradable polymers containing vegetable oil processing at Cargill Bioindustrial, NL during his secondment. He learned about hot melt pressing from Dr. Wouter Vogel (ER1, CARGILL 🇳🇱) and prof. El Fray (ER8, ZUT 🇵🇱). The obtained films were used for microbiological barrier testing of packaging materials for medical devices.

Dr Simone Maranghi, ER35 from Ecoinnovazione (ECOI 🇮🇹) has delivered a lecture on “The use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology to evaluate the environmental sustainability of products and processes” as a part of the transfer of knowledge from ECOI to PAN.

Dr. Simone Maranghi (left) and Prof. Marek Kowalczuk from PAN (right)

Malwina Niedźwiedź (ESR 43, ZUT 🇵🇱) and Konrad Walkowiak (ESR 17, ZUT 🇵🇱) are getting experience in conducting anaerobic degradation of novel green polymeric materials during their secondments at the Ohio State University (OSU). Moreover, they will also get training on modifying Cargill’s products into new biodegradable biopolymers using reversible recombination radical polymerization (3RP) technique.

An International Day "Celebration of Nations" at Wooster campus of OSU (Prof. Puskas wearing Hungarian folk costume)

Marlena's Ruguszewska (ER 30, KB Folie 🇵🇱) impactful secondment at BME encompassed groundbreaking work in film blowing and thermoforming techniques. During her secondment, she orchestrated film blowing from commercially available biodegradable PBS granules and pioneered the thermoforming of film sheets using the casting method. Marlena's expertise didn't stop there! She also delved into film blowing using a material crafted by the ZUT research team - PBF-DLF 90:10 (poly(butylene furanoate-co-dilinoleic furanoate)). Here, she achieved a breakthrough, generating transparent films of comparable thickness to the PBS film. Moreover, she conducted DMA analysis, assessing samples cut from cast films in both machine and transverse directions, offering critical insights into the material's properties. Her future plans include comprehensive testing of resulting films - from tensile strength and elongation at break to thermomechanical assessments, impact resilience, sealability to coated paper, printability, and beyond! She's been a lab wizard, delving into experiments and discoveries, all while fueling her passion for running marathons!

An exciting time at The Ohio State University was celebrated during an enchanting Xmas party on December 12, 2023! It was an event filled with joy, laughter, and scientific camaraderie. ESR-6, PhD student, Nina Kantor-Malujdy (ESR 6, ZUT 🇵🇱) and Prof. Judit Puskas (ER 12, OSU 🇺🇸), along with her research group, were part of this festive gathering. The highlight of the evening was the "White Elephant" game, a fun and often hilarious tradition during holiday parties. Here's a quick rundown of how it works:

1. Preparation: Everyone brings a wrapped, anonymous gift. These gifts are usually quirky or humorous, with a set price limit to keep things fair.
2. Drawing Numbers: Each participant draws a number to determine the order of gift selection.
3. The Unveiling: The person with the number one picks and unwraps a gift, revealing it to everyone.
4. The Choice: From the second person onwards, participants can either choose a new gift to unwrap or "steal" an already opened gift from someone else. If your gift is stolen, you get to either open a new one or steal from someone else.
5. The Twist: A gift can only be stolen a limited number of times, often three, after which it's locked and cannot be stolen again.
6. The Finale: The game ends with the final person's turn, sometimes giving the first player a final chance to swap their gift.
   
   

The game was a blast and added a spirited dynamic to the party. It's always a delight to see the mix of creative and whimsical gifts exchanged, adding a touch of light-hearted fun to the scientific community. Looking forward to more such gatherings in the future!

A summary of the project's progress to date and plans for the implementation of tasks for 2024 were the objectives of the meeting of the Work Package leaders held in Vienna on November 26-28, 2023. During the meeting, which was opened by the director of the Station of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Prof. Piotr Szlanta, the progress of individual Work Packages was discussed and tasks, especially the preparation of deliverables, were discussed. The meeting was attended by representatives of all beneficiaries, including a representative of the project partner, Prof. Judit Puskas from the USA. The awarding of Prof. Puskas with the honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by ZUT was an occasion for the director of the Center for Polymer and Carbon Materials of the Polish Academy of Sciences Prof. Barbara Trzebicka, to extend her wishes to Prof. Dr. dr. h.c. Judit E. Puskas.

Prof. Puskas (ER 12, OSU 🇺🇸 ) is finalizing the research work related to WP1 during her secondment at ZUT, specifically working on the paper related to synthesis and characterization of biodegradable polydisulfide from renewable resources. Prof. Puskas' many years of experience in the field of polymer chemistry have been honored by ZUT awarding her an honorary doctorate.
The GREEN-MAP project is not only focused on exchange of scientific, but also cultural and culinary experiences. Prof. Puskas spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Poland preparing a traditional turkey!

During the eighth edition of the Intelligent Development Forum, held in Uniejów (PL), October 19-20, 2023, our team was awarded with Polish Intelligent Development Award 2023 for implementing an innovative GREEN-MAP project with the overarching goal of enabling a circular economy in the disposable medical devices and packaging industry. The project is the first to integrate the knowledge and experience of an international research team in the development of biobased and biodegradable polymeric materials in this sector. The award was also given for an attitude aimed at actively building a positive, as well as interesting, image of Polish science and R&D work among the public.
The Intelligent Development Forum is a "unique congress of the future," a unique scientific and technological event dedicated to the dissemination of cutting-edge scientific research and innovative technologies that have great chance of market success and improving the standard and safety of our lives now or in the coming years.
This national congress serves to establish lasting relationships between visionary entrepreneurs, outstanding Polish scientists focused on cooperation with business, investors and local government officials creating attractive conditions for locating business in their regions.
Prof. El Fray has also been awarded the Prize “Scientist of the Future 2023” in the category: “Woman of Science Who Changes the World”.

During the secondment of Maximilian Ritschel (ESR 41, COMPRISETEC 🇩🇪) at ZUT, Szczecin, biodegradable polymers for GREEN-MAP project have been processed using compounding equipment.


Maximilian Ritschel (left) and Dr. Habil. Magdalena Zdanowicz (right)

Prof. El Fray (ER8, ZUT 🇵🇱) and PhD student Nina Kantor-Malujdy (ESR6, ZUT 🇵🇱) continuing their training on polymer’s characterization and testing their compostability at The Ohio State University, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE), in collaboration with Prof. Frederic Michel. The materials are tested to elucidate their compostability, and further the biodegradation under anaerobic digestion. PhD student Tomasz Konieczny (ESR17, PAN 🇵🇱) is continuing his experience with bio-based composites and polymer blends. Dr. Peter Polyak (ER 27, BME 🇭🇺) is getting training on modifying Cargill’s products into new biodegradable biopolymers using reversible recombination radical polymerization (3RP) technique developed by project partner, Prof. Puskas (ER 12, OSU 🇺🇸 ).

During the secondment of Dr. Juhasz (OSU 🇺🇸), biodegradable polymer, poly(bytylene succinate-adipate)(PBSA) has been tested for medical sterilisation trays and cream storage boxes. 3D printing was used to fabricate the models, allowing the creation of physical prototypes that will be tested and evaluated for functionality and biodegradability.
 
Akos Juhasz (right) & Jakub Włodarczyk (left) in the electrospining clean zone

Prof. El Fray (ER8, ZUT 🇵🇱)  ) and Moein Zarei (ESR44, ZUT 🇵🇱) are exploring the potential of bio-based monomers for new products at industrial site of Cargill Bioindustrial in Gouda, NL. An important part of a collaboration was networking and team building.


Team building while playing ping-pong (Zarei vs El Fray; El Fray vs Vogel; Zarei vs. Vogel)


 
Gouda is known worldwide for its famous cheese

During the secondment of Prof. Kowalczuk (ER19, PAN 🇵🇱) at Comprisetec, the research was focused on biodegradable polymer processing technologies with special emphasis on filaments production and 3D printing. The output included a publication submitted to "Frontiers of Polymer Science" journal and the first draft of the paper on "3D printing technology for modern packaging".


from left: Prof. Marek Kowalczuk (PAN 🇵🇱) and Simon Kaysser (COMPRISETEC 🇩🇪)

Dr. Joanna Rydz-Pawlak (ER15, PAN 🇵🇱) and Dr. Kolos Molnar (ER25, )(BME 🇭🇺) getting training and transfer the knowledge on polymers characterization with SEC and other techniques at The Ohio State University in Wooster, in the group of Prof. Judit Puskas. Polyesters containing poly(1,4-butylene adipate-co-1,4-butylene terephthalate) and polylactide as well as oligopeptide (as a marker) are investigated. The properties of labeled polymers, in particular their behavior during UV degradation and biodegradation are investigated in order to assess the stability of the label (oligopeptide) present in the polymer matrix so that it is possible to retrieve the recorded information from (bio)degradable polymer/oligopeptide system also after partial degradation.

 

Dr. Joanna Pawlak-Rydz
 
from left: undergraduate student, Eric (OSU 🇺🇸), Dr. Kristor Molnar (OSU 🇺🇸), Prof. Judit Puskas (OSU 🇺🇸), dr Joanna Pawlak-Rydz (PAN 🇵🇱)


Dr. Kolos Molnar (BME 🇭🇺) and Dr. Joanna Pawlak-Rydz (PAN 🇵🇱) are working on UV degradation of biopolymers 

Dr. Magdalena Zdanowicz (ZUT 🇵🇱) conducted the research on plant-based oil derivatives to increase their functionality as additives/plasticizers for polymers during her secondment at Cargill Bioindustrial (former Croda) in a beautiful Gouda.

The 2^nd Summer School of GREEN-MAP project was held on June 28-30, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The topic of this summer school was “Processing techniques for medical packaging and disposables”. Interesting aspect of polymer processing were discussed during 12 lectures given by the researcher working on different polymer processing techniques, including injection moulding, 3D printing and electrospinning. The Summer School was organized by Department of Polymer Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics which is very well equipped in different apparatus for polymer processing. All participant of the summer school had a chance to visit different laboratories of the Department thus to see in practice how biodegradable polymers are processed.

Final point of the summer school for the consortium meeting (for project members only) where current project activities were discussed internally within the consortium members and on-line with the Project Officer.

Dr Simone Maranghi, ER35 from Ecoinnovazione (ECOI 🇮🇹) is getting experience in polybutylene succinate (PBS) synthesis at ZUT (PL) under the WP1 activities. The synthesis was performed by using succinic acid as a precursor, together with butanediol and catalysts. The synthetic reaction was successful, and the final PBS product has been collected as a filament.

As part of the transfer of knowledge from ECOI to ZUT, Dr Simone Maranghi gave a lecture on “The sustainability evaluation of chemical products and processes through the Life Cycle Assessment”, presenting the LCA methodology and how are the main challenges and advantages in applying it to chemical products and processes.

PhD students, Mariangela Rea, ESR 23 (UNIBO 🇮🇹) and Francesco Arfelli, ESR 24 (UNIBO 🇮🇹) were getting industrial training on printability and coating of polymer foils and paper for packaging applications. Specifically, new polymers developed within the project, and containing monomers from renewable resources were tested and compared with Tyvek ® (DuPont), the most common material used for medical devices soft packaging.

Dr. Juriga, ER13 (OSU 🇺🇸) and Mr Grundmann, ESR 34 (COMPRISETEC 🇩🇪) were trained on polymer characterization using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), one of the most important techniques to determine thermal properties of polymers for further processing.

International Conference on “Bio-based polymers at the forefront of innovation in materials science”  was held in Bertinoro (Emilia Romagna – Italy) at the University Residential Centre from April 12 to 14 , 2023. The conference venue was located at the University Residential Center of Bertinoro which is an outstanding conference center located inside the ancient Fortress. The conference program included five plenary lectures given by outstanding scientists performing their research on bio-based polymers and representing EC's policy on biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics. The conference was attended by 66 participants, including ERs and ESRs active within GREEN-MAP project, who had a chance to listen 23 presentations and view over 20 posters. The conference was held in a beautiful location surrounded by mountains on one side and overlooking the sea on the other.

Photo gallery

 

Dr. Sobolewski, ER11 (ZUT 🇵🇱) is seconded to Ecoinnovazione (Italy) as part of WP5. He is focused on the current materials used for medical disposables and their packaging, hospital waste management approaches, as well as pathways to improved sustainability of the healthcare sector. Towards this aim, he’s working with dr. Maranghi of Ecoinnovazione (ECOI 🇮🇹) to examine the environmental sustainability of biobased polymers (also known as bioplastics). Of course, he’s also learned the proper way to make coffee and enjoyed sightseeing the beautiful city of Bologna.

European researchers being seconded to OSU had a unique opportunity to discover cultural diversity of the Host, The Ohio State University during the Celebration of Nations event organized at Wooster Campus. The event was perfect opportunity to try different dishes from Africa, the Far East and South America countries prepared by researchers and students from OSU. India has been represented by a group member friend, PhD student at prof. Puskas group, Aswathy, in her traditional attire – sari. 
 

Top panel:
photo from left: Prof. Judit Puskas, PhD student, Aswathy, graduate student, Eric (OSU 🇺🇸)
photo in middle: PhD student, Tomasz Konieczny (PAN 🇵🇱), PhD student, Aswathy (OSU 🇺🇸), dr Piegat (ZUT 🇵🇱)
photo from right: prof. El Fray (ZUT 🇵🇱), PhD student, Aswathy (OSU 🇺🇸)

Bottom panel:
Left: delicious tortillas prepared by Mexican student
Right: hot chocolate served by students from Salvador

Researchers from (ZUT 🇵🇱): prof. Miroslawa El Fray (ER8), Dr Agnieszka Piegat (ER7), an Assistant Professor, and PhD student, Nina Kantor-Malujdy (ESR6) are getting training and transfer the knowledge on polymers characterization with SEC and rheometric measurements at The Ohio State University in Wooster, in the group of Prof. Judit Puskas. Polyesters containing vegetable oil monomers and adipate, succinate, and furanoate esters are investigated towards bioconversion using deep eutectic solvents and the enzyme - Candida antarctica lipase B. Characterization of derived products with SEC, NMR, IR and HPLC is made to establish their properties and plan future work on preparation of new products (preferably paper coatings for packaging of medical devices).

Dr. Agnieszka Piegat

PhD students: Nina Kantor-Malujdy and Martyna Sokołowska

Dear Friends,

We would like to invite you to participate in the International Conference on “Bio-based polymers at the forefront of innovation in materials science” taking place in Bertinoro (Italy), April 12-14, 2023.

This intermediate conference of GREEN-MAP project aims to provide a forum for experts from university and industry, as well as young researchers, to share current research on the latest innovations in the biobased polymers field. The conference will be based on plenary lectures, oral communications, and poster presentations.

For all details please visit the website of the conference: https://eventi.unibo.it/convegno-greenmap-chim2023

As part of the GREEN-MAP project, Martyna Sokołowska (ESR4 from ZUT 🇵🇱) and Nina Kantor-Malujdy (ESR6 from ZUT 🇵🇱), together with Tomasz Konieczny (ESR17 from PAN 🇵🇱), introduced the community at The Ohio State University to Polish culture, history and served a few dishes. The presentation was held as part of a series of Cultural Connections events organized by Jason Owens on the Wooster campus. The group from Poland prepared a medley and bigos, and an apple cake for dessert for the 60 people who registered for the event. They also gave a brief presentation of the GREEN-MAP project, which allows for the exchange of knowledge and experiences related to more than just work.
 
from left: Nina Kantor-Malujdy, Martyna Sokołowska, Tomasz Konieczny

Culinary delicacies prepared by young scientists

PhD student, Adrian Dominski (ESR18)(PAN 🇵🇱) is gaining new knowledge during his secondments at CompriseTec, Hamburg, DE on advanced manufacturing of bio-based polymers. These polymers are doped with organocatalysts for direct printing of catalytic devices containing an embedded biocatalyst (metal-free organocatalyst). The Project Coordinator, Prof. El Fray (ZUT 🇵🇱) had several meetings with CompriseTec team to discuss future plans on processing of new polymer formulations to be performed during the upcoming secondments.

PhD student, Szymon Macieja (ZUT 🇵🇱) and Dr. Łukasz Łopusiewicz (ZUT 🇵🇱) seconded to Cargill Bioindustrial in Gouda, the Netherlands were exploring the effect of natural and commercial bioactive additives on the properties of poly(butylene succinate-dilinoleic succinate) (PBS-DLS) copolymer films. Analyses conducted within WP1 include effects on antimicrobial properties, inhibition of biofilm formation and release of active compounds into model fluids.
 
Szymon Macieja in the lab

(from left): Wouter Vogel and Szymon Macieja

Dr Agnieszka Piegat (ZUT 🇵🇱), an Assistant Professor was getting training on polymers processing. During her secondment which last 3 months at Comprisetech GmbH Hamburg, she worked in the WP3 and dealt with foam injection molding of biopolymers.

Characterization of green polymers is being continued by Dr. Peter Polyak (ER27)(BME 🇭🇺), Dr. Kolos Molnar (ER25)(BME 🇭🇺) and PhD student, Tomasz Konieczny (ESR17)( PAN 🇵🇱).


From left: P. Polyak, T. Konieczny, K. Molnar

PhD student, Mariangela Rea (ESR23) from University of Bologna (UNIBO 🇮🇹) was getting training on polymers processing. During her secondment which last 2 months at Comprisetech GmbH Hamburg, she worked in the WP3 and dealt with 3D-printing, filament extrusion and compounding of biopolymers.

Our industrial partner, KB Folie from Brzeziny/Warsaw in Poland has organized a workshop on “Team skills development, dissemination and commercial exploitation of results, career perspectives” on December, 5^th 2022 in Brzeziny.
 

An interesting agenda of a meeting has been prepared and distinguished speakers and experienced practitioners shared their knowledge on practical communication and etiquette in international projects and working environment. Prof. dr hab. Marek Matejun and Dr. Izabela Różańska-Bińczyk were talking about “Green human resources management: Environmental challenges for modern enterprises” using interactive tool menti.com to stimulate discussion and making a quiz with prizes. Mr Adam Jarczyński has shared his knowledge on social and business etiquette. Jan Marcinkowski introduced all attendees to the world of colors and printing of packaging materials.

At the end of the workshop all attendees had a chance to visit the KB Folie Polska Research and Development Centre + Laboratory and production site.

The core of the training and knowledge shearing activities of GREEN-MAP project are being made up of a combination of local and network-wide research-related and transferrable skills training and intersectoral exposure with the state-of-the-art players. Thus, our industrial partner, KB Folie from Brzeziny/Warsaw in Poland is organizing a workshop on “Team skills development, dissemination and commercial exploitation of results, career perspectives” on December, 5^th 2022 in Brzeziny.
 
An interesting agenda of a meeting has been prepared and distinguished speakers and experienced practitioners will share their knowledge on practical communication and etiquette in international projects. Prof. dr hab. Marek Matejun and Dr. Izabela Różańska-Bińczyk will talk about “Green human resources management: Environmental challenges for modern enterprises”.
This exciting workshop will be combined with the visit to the KB Folie Polska Research and Development Centre + Laboratory.
Please feel free to contact us (project coordinator: mirfray@zut.edu.pl) if you are interested to join this meeting.
 

New series of polymers have been synthesized with the use of bio-based building blocks, including Cargill’s fatty acid derivatives. Martyna Sokolowska (ESR4), Prof. Miroslawa El Fray (ER8) (ZUT 🇵🇱) and Tomasz Konieczny (PAN 🇵🇱) are gaining experience in polymer characterization, including SEC/MALS analysis and melt rheology during their secondments at the Ohio State University, Wooster, OH, USA. Working in a labs of Prof. Judit Puskas, TC Partner, a specialized knowledge on polyesters characterization is being gained. Dr. Peter Polyak (ER27)(BME 🇭🇺) is functionalizing fatty acid diol with thiol groups to expand the possibilities of broader use of these monomers in polymer synthesis. In October, the Halloween tradition is celebrated, so the preparation of pumpkins was also an important “project” (the abbreviation "KIPB" comes from the Polish name of the Department of Polymer and Biomaterials Science, the Project Coordinator).

Group meeting: from left: M. Sokolowska, P. Polyak, J. Puskas, M. El Fray


Group meeting
 
Martna Sokolowska working with SEC/MALS
  
M. Sokolowska and M. El Fray working with rheometer
 

From left: Prof. M. El Fray, T. Konieczny, M. Sokołowska

 City of Woosetr
   

 Halloween Pumpkins

On September 19-21, 2022, the Nanotechnology Center for Education and Research hosted the Summer School of the "GREEN-MAP" project “Novel green polymeric materials for medical packaging and disposables to improve hospital sustainability" dedicated to the topic of sustainable development of polymeric materials for a circular economy titled "Designing bio-based polymers for circular economy: from green monomers to green polymers." The meeting, which was conducted in a hybrid form (online and stationary), featured a rich and interesting program of lectures on the use of plant-derived monomers/ oligomers to produce "green" and biodegradable polymers. Issues of the circular economy in the disposable medical device industry and the use of green chemistry in the synthesis of new polymeric materials using enzymes and alternative, non-toxic catalysts were discussed.

During the four thematic sessions: I - Synthesis of monomers and polymers of biological origin, II - Material design, physicochemical and microstructural analysis of biological polymers, III - Functionalization and high performance of biological polymers, and IV - Session on industrial production and applications of biological polymers, 15 lectures were delivered by prominent specialists from the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Poland. Participants of the Summer School were not only students and doctoral students, but also students of high school classes from the High School in Gryfice and IX High School in Szczecin.

On the last day, there was a meeting of the Consortium participants summarizing the Summer School. They also discussed the next activities in the GREEN-MAP project.

PBS copolymers synthesized withing WP1 and commercially available biodegradable polymers are being processed into filaments at CompriseTec 🇩🇪 technical facilities located in Wilhelmsburg district of Hamburg. In his secondment, Dr. Khadar Duale (ER16) from Centre of Polymer and Carbon Materials Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN 🇵🇱) has been performing extrusion of “green” polymers containing a sequence encoded oligomers according the WP2, Task 2.3. At the same time, Prof. El Fray (ZUT 🇵🇱) has been evaluating functional properties of PBS copolymers within WP4, with a special focus on “green” composite materials.
 

Prof. El Fray (ZUT) and Dr. Christian-André Keun (CEO of CompriseTec)

Rheological properies are important for successful processing of all polymers. PhD student from BME 🇭🇺 Abris Virag is getting traning on polymer rheology at Cargill Bioindustrial 🇳🇱 at company site in Gouda, NL.

Dr. Wouter Vogel and Abris Virag

We cordially invite you to join a Webinar:

https://topics-4.sciforum.net/

During his secondment to the Ohio State University (OSU 🇺🇸 ) Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) in Wooster, OH, USA dr. Sobolewski from ZUT 🇵🇱 has been transferring knowledge about 3D printing—acquired while he was seconded to CompriseTec in Hamburg, Germany—to PhD students Samira and Aswathy. He’s resurrecting a dual-extrusion 3D printer to print custom flexible filaments. At the same time, he’s had the opportunity to learn about composting biodegradable polymer products from OSU FABE prof. Frederick Michel and researcher Magdalena Pancerz plus visit the extensive composting facilities. Finally, for group team building, prof. Puskas invited everyone to Akron, OH to tour Stan Hywet Hall plus a picnic and evening concert at Blossom Music Center.

Prof. Puskas (second from left) and Dr. Sobolewski (second from right)

dr. Sobolewski

dr Sobolewski and PhD student, Aswathy

Composting prisms at OSU

Wooster downtown

As part of WP1 we are looking into modifying polysuccinimide (PSI) with Cargill Bioindustrial products to make it processable. PSI is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer that can be easily modified with primer amines. However, it cannot be processed with traditional polymer processing methods such as extrusion, film casting, etc. Dr. Kristof Molnar from The Ohio State University (OSU 🇺🇸 ) has been using dimerized fatty alcohol, carboxylic acid and amine as a monomer in the synthesis of PSI at ZUT 🇵🇱 laboratory and for the post-synthetic modification of PSI change PSI’s physical properties.
 
Dr. Kristof Molnar (OSU) and PhD student, Martyna Sokołowska (ZUT) synthesizing PSI.

An important part of a collaboration was networking and team building.

(from left to right): K. Molnar, M. Sokołowska, W. Vogel

(from left to right): W. Vogel and K. Molnar

Szczecin is also perfect for beach volleyball (playing: G. Demirci, M. Sokołowska, W. Vogel, K. Molnar)

Life Cycle Analysis of biodegradable and “green” polymers is one of the important tasks of GREEN-MAP project. The work on LCA, being a part of WP5, is focused now on collecting the data related to the energy consumption, emissions and waste inputs and outputs for each production step of project polymers. Three new secondment implemented in June-July 2022 by ERS18 (Adrian Domiński 🇵🇱 ), ER26 (Katalin Litauszki 🇭🇺 ) and ER8 (Miroslawa El Fray 🇵🇱 ) allowed to make a progress in collecting important data for further processing by the project partner, Ecoinnovazione, srl 🇮🇹 .


Prof. Miroslawa El Fray (ZUT) and Dr. Simone Maranghi (Ecoinnovazione)

(from left to right): Prof. Marek Kowalczuk (PAN), Dr. Katalin Litauszki (BME), Dr. Simone Maranghi (Ecoinnovazione), Dr. Lorenzo Tosti (Ecoinnovazione)

Bologna is a beautiful city with a monumental civic Fountain of Neptune located in the eponymous square, Piazza del Nettuno, next to the Piazza Maggiore - A. Domiński (PAN) in a front of The Fountain of Netpune

We warmly invite you to participate in First Summer School which will be focused on "Designing bio-based polymers for circular economy: from green monomers to green polymers" - 19-21 September 2022, Nanotechnology Center, Al. Piastów 45, Szczecin, Poland. The meeting will be held in a hybrid mode (on-line and on-site).

The registration is free of charge but mandatory.
Abstracts for poster presentations should be submitted by 15 August 2022.

Despite the outbreak of the pandemic and the suspension of the project for a year, the project reached the midterm point and the summary of activities took place on June 10, 2022 at the mid-term project meeting held at Nanotechnology Center for Research and Education. The meeting was opened by the Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Prof. Rafał Rakoczy. The meeting was attended by 40 people, out of which 21 were stationary present, including guests from USA, Hungary, Italy and Poland. Also present was the Project Officer from Brussels, who oversees the implementation of the project.

During the meeting, the status of implementation of individual tasks and the intersectoral exchange of scientists and doctoral students was discussed. The result of the work completed so far is 8 publications "Gold Open Access" related to the synthesis of biodegradable polymers, their characterization and processing in terms of production of modern biodegradable packaging for medical industry and disposable equipment.

After the official part of the meeting, all participants had the opportunity for less formal interactions.

Dr Wouter Vogel from Croda 🇳🇱 , NL is getting experience in synthesis of condensation polyesters at ZUT 🇵🇱. For WP1 we are looking into using modified PBS with Croda’s biobased building blocks. A dimerized fatty alcohol was used in the soft segment to synthesize a copolyester that can be processed by either film casting or injection film blow molding. As raw material supplier, Croda is very interested to expand the scope of their dimerized fatty building block technology into new applications areas and to learn more about the effect they can bring.
Importantly, Dr Vogel has also been sharing his knowledge on “Healthy and safety in and around the lab” during Department’s seminar.

        

Judit E. Puskas, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biomolecular Engineering (FABE) at the Ohio State University (OSU 🇺🇸) started her secondment at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME 🇭🇺). Prof. Puskas is collaborating in Work Package 4, related to polymer processing, with the team shown in the photos. They are exploring new fiber spinning technologies and 3D printing. OSU is hosting several visitors (secondments) at their laboratories in Wooster, Ohio.
  

Starting from March, 2022, prof. Marek Kowalczuk from Center of Polymer and Carbon Materials Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN 🇵🇱) is being seconded for 3 months to Ecoinnovazione 🇮🇹 - an industrial partner of GREEN-MAP project.
Discussions at www.ecoinnovazione.eu were focused on the progress of WP5 LCA activity.

 

From right to left: Simone Maranghi,  Ing. Paolo MASONI (Presidente Ecoinnovazione srl). Prof. Marek Kowalczuk

Our TC Partner – The Ohio State University (OSU 🇺🇸), Prof. Judit E. Puskas Lab at the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering is strongly supporting the training of students and staff in development of novel green polymeric materials. After having the first secondment of Prof. Kowalczuk from PAN 🇵🇱 implemented in 2020, Prof. El Fray from ZUT 🇵🇱 is continuing now (May, 2022) the research activities on polymers characterization within the Work Package 2 using advanced high resolution multidetector Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC).
    

From left to right: Prof. Miroslawa El Fray, Dr. Kristof Molnar, Dr. Gabor Kaszas, Dr. Aswathy Sasidhraran Pillai

PhD students, Martyna Sokolowska (ESR4) and Nina Kantor-Malujdy (ESR6) (ZUT 🇵🇱) are gaining experience during their secondments at Croda Smart Materials 🇳🇱, Gouda, NL. Working in a lab with dr. Wouter Vogel, Research Team Leader, students have a unique opportunity to acquire new knowledge on the synthesis of “green” polyesters with the use of Croda’s monomers. The Project Coordinator, Prof. El Fray (ZUT 🇵🇱) checked in on the PhD students during her secondment at Croda site, where she worked closely with dr. Angela Smits who is a Technology Development Manager. Several meetings were organized to discuss future plans on new polymer formulations and experiments to be performed during PhD student’s internships at Croda. The team also went out in Gouda: human connections are key to successful collaboration!
  

The first secondment of our GREEN-MAP project after the suspension due to COVD-19 is the visit of Prof. Maria Letizia Focarete (Department of Chemistry, UNIBO 🇮🇹 ) to KB Folie 🇵🇱 in Warsaw (January 2022). The company has an established experience in flexible packaging lamination and printing, offering modern solutions and innovations that improve the functionality of packaging and consider sustainability issues.

 

Prof. Focarete had meetings with the colleagues of KBF involved in the Production, Technology, Innovation, and Research and Development Departments, discussing in particular the topics of sustainable packaging technologies and green plastics. She was impressed by the company activities and agenda, consisting of excellent innovation projects. It was also a pleasure to discover that creativity and art permeate everything in the company.

Unfortunately, #COVD-19 has had an impact on GREEN-MAP secondment plans.  The health and safety of our personnel and the global community is paramount, thus with some travel suspended, so are our secondments, and finally the project. The exception is that of PhD student, MSc Mozyc (ZUT 🇵🇱 ) and Prof. Kowalczuk (CPCM, PAN 🇵🇱 ), who already started their secondments to Croda 🇳🇱 and to our American partner, FABE OSU 🇺🇸 in March 2020. Despite restrictions in lab activity, our Consortium is still active, focusing on literature, data analysis, and remote/virtual collaboration.
Further, our Consortium partners had presentations as part of American Chemical Society #SciMeetings virtual ACS Philadelphia (Spring 2020):
Prof. Puskas (FABE OSU): "Synthesis and characterization of crosslinked electrospun fiber mats from allyl-functionalized polysuccinimide" https://www.morressier.com/article/synthesis-characterization-crosslinked-electrospun-fiber-mats-allylfunctionalized-polysuccinimide/5e7374dacde2b641284ac92c?


Prof. Kowalczuk (CPCM, PAN): "Forensic engineering of advanced polymeric biomaterials”
https://www.morressier.com/article/forensic-engineering-advanced-polymeric-biomaterials/5e73d6ce139645f83c229ab8?


Martyna Mozyc at Croda


  
NMR and mass spectrometry facility used by Prof. Kowalczuk in OSU

This second week of February, 2020 marked the start of the first GREEN-MAP secondment—the first of over 200 PMs! Our project coordinator, Prof. Mirosława El Fray (Dept. of Polymer and Biomaterials Science, ZUT 🇵🇱 ) leads the way. She is in Gouda, Netherlands, scouting green, biobased monomers and discussing potential polyester synthesis options and capabilities with Dr. Angela Smits and her team at Croda Smart Materials 🇳🇱 .
 

Visiting Croda's site in Gouda, with Dr. Wouter Vogel

The kick-off meeting has been organized at Polish Academy of Science Station in Vienna on January 9-10, 2020 thus officially launching the "GREEN-MAP" project. In total, 23 ESRs and ERs from all 9 consortium members have been actively participating the meeting. Two days discussion allowed to present the research profile and core expertise of academic and industrial partners.