Polymers as sustainable plastic alternative

I believe that the best way to protect our environment from microplastic pollution is to use biodegradable polymers wherever possible. They're already more sustainable options on the market. And for example, there's biodegradable cutlery made out of cellulose acetate or starch. So my group looks for solutions that are based on natural polymers that have been minimally, chemically modified in order to preserve the biodegradability of these materials. We use a couple of different techniques to characterize these polymers. One of them is, for example, ion chromatography, which we use to determine the sugar composition of these polymers. Meaning that it tells us what kind of carbohydrates these polymers are made of. Another technique that we use is rheometry, and that tells us how a polymer changes the flow behavior of liquids. These are just two examples of techniques that we use to characterize these materials and to assess whether they could be potential sustainable drop-in solutions for non-sustainable materials.

research 1:13 Polymers as sustainable plastic alternative

By:

Clark Dehart

27 May 2026 139

Research led by Maren Roman focuses on the molecular properties and potential applications of carbohydrate-based materials. Her lab uses ion chromatography and rheometry to determine the properties of glycomaterials.

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