Biobased Materials and Technology

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Presently, a transition from petrol-based to a more sustainable and biobased society is taking place. This change is driven by the predicted depletion of oil-reserves. This creates an opportunity to not only replace currently made plastics and polymers with sustainable Biobased alternatives, but also to produce new materials with additional useful functionalities derived from biological renewable sources. This requires a multidisciplinary approach in which production of biological resources, its processing and possible modification are first steps. New technologies may be required to indeed obtain the right methods and synthesis routes to produce the new Biobased materials for applications in healthcare, consumer products and other applications. In this course the different aspects of the field of Biobased Materials will be studied. The aim is to create a critical, but also creative attitude towards Biobased materials and technologies in general. The students should be able to recognize the challenges and possibilities with respect to materials in the transition towards a Biobased economy and society.