AMI's 1st international conference on Green Chemistry in the polymer industry will take place from 20-22 March 2012 at the Maritim Hotel in Cologne, Germany. Green Polymer Chemistry 2012 provides a forum for environment and sustainability managers, business development professionals, chemical engineers, plastics manufacturers, researchers, and suppliers to the industry to debate the latest developments in producing conventional polymers from sustainable sources such as plants, waste and CO2. There is a welcome reception on the first evening followed by a 2-day programme of presentations.
Conventional plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene, PET and nylon, have a well-established performance record in protecting and preserving food and water supplies worldwide, from high pressure pipes to thin film packaging. The global population is expanding rapidly and fossil fuel supplies are dwindling, so the polymer supply chain needs to find alternative feedstocks to be sustainable.
As well as using bio-sources as feedstock, there is a trend to use production methods from nature, particularly enzymes. "There is nothing new under the sun" and this has been used for thousands of years, with yeast generating gas in bread and alcohol in beer. This opens up a lot of potential chemical pathways in combination with established thermocatalytic chemistry.
The programme this year includes sustainability papers from Unilever and the Ford Motor Company alongside expert presentations from majors in the chemical industry including BASF, Süd-Chemie, Braskem, Chemtex Italia, DSM and Merquinsa, alongside research institutes such as the Wageningen University, which specialises in agriculture. There will be market papers on potential sources of monomers and polymers including an economic review of the availability and competition for bio-products.
Green Polymer Chemistry 2012 offers an excellent networking opportunity to debate sustainable solutions to the polymer industry supply challenges.
Attending, Exhibiting and Sponsoring
There are early bird registration rates available now. If you would like to attend, exhibit or sponsor please contact Clara Fontana for your personal copy of the programme.