by ROBERT MARCHESSAULT
November 1, 2006
Contact: Robert.Marchessault@mail.mcgill.ca
The National Research Council of Canada (CNRC) has added its support
to the biobased plastics field by launching a new recurring event. This 3 day
Meeting was from September 27 – 29 at the Delta Hotel located in the heart
of downtown Montreal. It was organized by the NRC personel of Industrial Materials
Institute, Boucherville, Que. Dr. Michel Huneault was the Conference Chairman
With focus on blends, nanocomposites, colloidal fillers and bacterial cellulose
as well as lignocellulosics as substrates for bacterial fermentation, the menu
was ultra-broad. Like the recent ISBP 2006 Meeting in Minneapolis: Polylactides
(PLA) and Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) were featured materials. Modified starches,
chitosan, ionic liquids and plant oils also held the attention of the 150 attendees.
The issue of managing carbon in a sustainable and environmentally responsible
way was tackled in the first plenary lecture by Ramani Narayan. This set the
stage for how one distinguishes between new and old carbon i.e. how one quantifies
biobased carbon content as described in ASTM D6866.
Forest engineers were surprised by a novel use for maple sap as substrate for
a new polyalkanoate: AcerPlast. The well known fructose-composition of maple
sap and the maple syrup surplus in Quebec storage tanks had suggested this new
PHA substrate. Montrealers may soon practice sustainable development and the
principles of industrial ecology with their crepes: “From sugarhouse to
biorefinery.”