Keywords: Melt-Electrospinning, Polybutylene Succinate, Process development, Prototyping, sustainability. circularity
 

"Melt-Electrospinning of Biobased Polybutylene Succinate: From Lab Scale Towards Prototyping"

Medical face masks, that we used a lot during the coronavirus pandemic, are harmful to the environment. They are made of plastics that do not biodegrade and are sourced from fossil fuels. Maike-Elisa Ostheller created an environmentally friendly alternative approach during her dissertation research and scaled it up from laboratory to pilot-scale plant. Ostheller makes use of polybutylene succinate, a plant-based plastic that is biodegradable. By using a polymer spinning technique called electrospinning, she managed to produce polymer fibres with a 1.7-micrometre diameter. These work well for filter mats that are utilised in face masks for medicinal purposes. Although mats still allow too many microorganisms to pass through, the researcher took an important step towards environmentally friendly face masks.

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