A catalyst for making renewable paints, coatings and diapers has been developed by University of Minnesota Twin Cities researchers.

According to its developers, the catalyst enables the conversion of renewable materials like trees and corn to the acrylic acid and acrylates used in the making of paints, coatings and superabsorbent polymers.

University of Minnesota researchers have invented new catalyst technology that improves the process and substantially reduces the cost of manufacturing renewable chemicals that can be used in a wide range of products including paints, coatings and diapers. Source: John Beumer, NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers, University of MinnesotaUniversity of Minnesota researchers have invented new catalyst technology that improves the process and substantially reduces the cost of manufacturing renewable chemicals that can be used in a wide range of products including paints, coatings and diapers. Source: John Beumer, NSF Center for Sustainable Polymers, University of Minnesota

The researchers report that the new zeolite-based catalyst formulation successfully converts lactic acid-based chemicals derived from corn to acrylic acid and acrylates, demonstrating what they suggest is the highest yield of acrylic acid and acrylates achieved so far.

Currently, the acrylic acid and associated acrylates used in the making of paints, coatings, sticky adhesives and the superabsorbent materials used in diapers, among others, have been manufactured using fossil fuels.

While lactic acid derived from corn — which has previously been used in the making of renewable and compostable plastic — can also be converted to acrylic acid and acrylates using traditional catalysts, the researchers suggest that such catalysts were inefficient, achieving only low yields of acrylic acid and acrylates and resulting in an expensive production process.

However, because the new catalyst formulation reportedly achieves the highest yield yet of acrylic acid from lactic acid, exceeding all prior catalysts, the new catalyst is expected to dramatically reduce the cost of manufacturing renewable acrylic acid and acrylates from corn by improving yield and reducing waste.

The new catalyst discovery is detailed in the article, Multifunctional Amine Modifiers for Selective Dehydration of Methyl Lactate to Acrylates, which appears in the journal JACS Au.

To contact the author of this article, email mdonlon@globalspec.com