As products change over time, so do the processes that manufacture them. At the beginning of the twentieth century, most consumer goods were made from natural fibers, wood, ceramics, and metal. As the century progressed, petroleum-based plastics became the preferred materials for most consumer products. Replacing petroleum-based plastics in the economy is a serious challenge, and converting renewable raw materials to recyclable products is critical. One goal of this project is to synthesize monomers (the building blocks of polymers) from biomass sugars. Another goal is to design monomers that make polymers that are easy to recycle. The third goal is to demonstrate a digital light manufacturing (DLM) process that produces high-quality 3D-printed parts using those monomers. The ultimate objective is to cycle the monomers through the product and back to monomers, creating a circular path for the material, thereby reducing waste. Also, interactive activities will be developed for K–12 and public audiences to demonstrate the circular material flow.

Chemically recyclable photopolymerizable cycloolefin resins with properties tailored for DLM will be designed. The ability to form reversible polymer bonds will guide monomer design. Enzymes and microbial cells for biomanufacturing DLM monomers from renewable feedstocks will be developed based on polyketide synthases (PKSs). DLM processes for photo-polymerization of cycloolefin resins will be developed and improved. Photocatalyst systems, resin rheology, and instrumentation will be co-developed to digitally manufacture precision parts from circular cycloolefin resins. An extensive suite of mechanical tests will be carried out on structures printed from candidate resin formulations for both hard and elastomeric 3D-printed products, based on volumetric 3D printing via tomographic reconstruction. The rigidity, strength, and fracture toughness of 3D-printed cycloolefin resins will be benchmarked against leading conventional photopolymer resins, to guide material and process selection and maximize their impact on future manufacturing.

This project is jointly supported by the Cellular and Biochemical Engineering Program (ENG/CBET/CBE), the Synstems and Synthetic Biology Program (BIO/MCB/SSB) and the Chemical Catalysis Program (MPS/CHE/CAT).

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2020-10-01
Budget End
2025-09-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
$3,706,112
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Berkeley
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Berkeley
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
94710