MAPS Summer Bridge Program: Project IMPACT

This book brings together a number of key biopolymer and biodegradable plastics topics in one place for a broad audience of engineers and scientists, especially those designing with biopolymers and biodegradable plastics, or evaluating the options for switching from traditional plastics to biopolymers.

This book provides information on the raw materials, and the 'low-down' on what these materials can be used for. The information provided in the book allows professional designers and students from a range of disciplines - but focusing on product design - to understand in simple, exciting, thought-provoking, visual terms different qualities and features of materials. The subject is presented from the perspective of design, and relevant case studies are used to inspire designers into new ways of thinking about materials. As well as standard and widely available materials, the book also contains emerging materials such as smart materials and self-healing plastics, offering a comprehensive guide to material selection for designers.

This book is intended for instructors and students of Engineering, Materials Science and Industrial/Product Design, as well as for materials engineers and product designers who need to consider the environmental implications of materials in their designs. Chapter 15 provides single-page data-sheets for 63 of the engineering materials used in the greatest quantities. The sheets list the annual production and reserves, the embodied energy, process energies and the carbon footprints associated with each.

Overview of biodegradable polyesters for the industrial chemist and materials scientist, as well as for developers and researchers in industry and academia alike.