Urethane Developed Using ‘Wood and Microbes’ Instead of Crude Oil, with Four Times the Strength

[Financial News] Researchers in South Korea have developed a high-performance, eco-friendly rubber material that can replace crude-oil-based chemical products and be used in automotive parts and smart devices.
A joint research team led by Professor Lee Eun-yeol of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kyung Hee University and Professor Park Je-young of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Sogang University said on the 6th that it had developed an eco-friendly polyurethane elastomer (rubber) using both microbe-produced bioplastics and a wood extract (lignin), with substantially greater strength and heat stability than conventional petroleum-based products. The findings were published in the October issue of the international journal International Journal of Biological Macromolecules.
The newly developed eco-friendly rubber is about four times stronger than existing products in terms of mechanical strength under tensile force. It also has the flexibility to stretch to nearly three times its original length (280%) without breaking. In particular, the temperature at which it begins to melt or decompose has risen from 159°C to 260°C—an increase of more than 100 degrees—overcoming limitations on its use as a material for industrial components in high-temperature environments.
Polyurethane, widely used in industrial tires, automotive parts and smart devices, has mainly been made from crude oil, contributing to the problem of non-biodegradable plastic waste. Efforts to introduce eco-friendly feedstocks have continued, but using a single bio-based feedstock can result in poor mixing or make the material stiff, reducing its performance.
The research team addressed this problem by adopting a ‘dual-feedstock’ approach: using a structurally rigid wood component (lignin) as a framework and chemically bonding it firmly with long, soft bioplastic components. The two eco-friendly feedstocks mix evenly at the molecular level, compensating for each other’s shortcomings and giving the material both strength and stretchability.
The joint research team said, “We resolved the dilemma of achieving both strength and flexibility—which is difficult with a single eco-friendly feedstock—through chemical bonding between the two feedstocks,” adding, “We hope it will serve as an excellent eco-friendly alternative material in a range of industries that need high-performance rubber materials, including automotive parts and medical equipment.”
Meanwhile, the research was conducted with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT’s ‘C1 Gas Refinery Value-Up Project.’ The team explained that the work is also significant for carbon resource recycling and environmental protection, as it uses a method of producing eco-friendly bioplastics from C1 gas, a greenhouse gas. 

[email protected] Kim Man-gi Reporter