SPECIAL NOTICE
68 -- BEST: Biomacromolecule Engineering by Soft Chain Coupling Technology
- Notice Date
- 10/30/2019
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 541715
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Energy, Oak Ridge National Laboratory - UT Battelle LLC (DOE Contractor), Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bethel Valley Road, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6192
- ZIP Code
- 37831-6192
- Solicitation Number
- ORNL-TT-2019-06
- Archive Date
- 12/3/2019
- Point of Contact
- Nestor Franco, Phone: 985-574-0534
- E-Mail Address
-
francone@ornl.gov
(francone@ornl.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is seeking a commercialization partner for a Biomacromolecule Engineering by Soft Chain Coupling Technology (BEST). ORNL Office of Technology Transfer is now accepting licensing applications through November 15, 2019. Problem: Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is the most widely used bioplastic today. Its biodegradability, biocompatibility, high strength, and stiffness as a commodity polymer make PLA one of the most promising bioplastics under development. Its many application areas include but are not limited to biomedical devices, biodegradable films and packages, and 3D printing. However, PLA’s brittle nature is a major barrier to its adoption in much wider application areas. Solution: The BEST approach dramatically improves the ductility and toughness of PLA via a novel industry-friendly soft-coupling technology based on small droplets and chain end/tail modification. This technology is realized by a scalable, environmentally friendly process that uses only nontoxic additives and a melt-phase process to achieve the desired droplet-in-polymer microstructures, referred to as polymer–droplet composite. The droplets work as a unique topological modifier to manage the topological defects of chain entanglement networks. As a result, with minimal loading of modifiers (<1.5 wt%), the modified PLA offers significant improvements in toughness as well as processability without sacrificing the material’s mechanical strength. Impact: The production capacity of the biobased-polymer industry is projected to triple, from 3.5 million tons in 2011 to nearly 12 million tons in 2020. As the fastest-growing segment of this market, PLA is expected to account for over $6.5 billion because of its use in packaging, biomedical devices, composites, additive manufacturing, and other areas. Overcoming the issue of brittleness without sacrificing other valuable mechanical properties would revolutionize the already rapidly growing PLA industry. Improvements in mechanical performance would not only extend existing markets, but also enable new applications such as films and packages and penetration into new polymer markets. The new materials derived using the BEST approach exhibit outstanding mechanical toughness and processability, which are of great value for its broad applications. Intellectual Property: Invention Disclosure No. 201703923: A Facile Method to Modify Polyesters Patent Application No. 16/110,138 Invention Disclosure No. 201904306: Biomacromolecule Engineering by Soft Chain Coupling Technology Patent Application No. 62/844,153 Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the largest US Department of Energy science and energy laboratory, conducting basic and applied research to deliver transformative solutions to compelling problems in energy and security. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under its Prime Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. Additional Information: Technology Overview: https://tech-showcase.ornl.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ozcan.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRJiaaJP8Fc&feature=youtu.be National Laboratory Licensing Guide: https://www.ornl.gov/partnerships/licensing-guidelines. ORNL License Application: https://www.ornl.gov/sites/default/files/license_application_0.pdf. Please contact Nestor Franco, Commercialization Manager, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865-574-0534, francone@ornl.gov with any questions on the opportunity or to obtain a license application. Please contact Soydan Ozcan, Senior R&D Scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 865.241.2158, ozcans@ornl.gov with any questions about the technology.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/ORNL/ORNL/ORNL-TT-2019-06/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37830, United States
- Zip Code: 37830
- Zip Code: 37830
- Record
- SN05485845-W 20191101/191030230520-f5318805339a9be064edeae4d7014ba0 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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