Issue 25, 2023

Addressing the sustainability challenges for polymers in liquid formulations

Abstract

Polymers in liquid formulations, or PLFs, are present in many of the products we use, from the shampoo we use to wash our hair, to the paint on the walls, and the lubricants in our car. They provide high functionality in these and a multitude of other applications, delivering many positive benefits to society. They are essential to global markets worth more than $1 trillion and so large quantities of these materials are made and sold each year – 36.3 million metric tonnes, the volume of 14 500 Olympic sized swimming pools! The chemical industry and the wider supply chain therefore have a responsibility to ensure that the way PLFs are made, used and disposed of at their end of life has a minimal effect on the environment. To date this seems to be a ‘hidden problem’, not receiving the same attention as other polymer related products, such as plastic packaging waste, yet there are clear challenges to address the sustainability concerns for these materials. To ensure that the PLF industry is economically and environmentally sustainable in the future, some key challenges need to be addressed, ensuring that new approaches to PLF production, use and end-of-life treatment are developed and utilised. Collaboration is key here, and with the UK already possessing a wealth of world-leading expertise and capability, there is an opportunity to leverage this in a coherent, focussed way to improve the overall environmental profile of these products.

Graphical abstract: Addressing the sustainability challenges for polymers in liquid formulations

Article information

Article type
Editorial
First published
31 5 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 6820-6825

Addressing the sustainability challenges for polymers in liquid formulations

C. L. Kelly, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 6820 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC90086J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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