
L. Äkräs: Sustainability of Bio-based Plastics and Composites
Fri, 31 Jan
|Lecture hall Ke2
This doctoral dissertation investigates the sustainability characteristics of bio-based plastics and composites utilizing a set of experimental, analytical, and legal approaches.


Time & Location
31 Jan 2025, 12:00 – 15:00 EET
Lecture hall Ke2, Kemistintie 1, 02150 Espoo, Finland
About the Event
Content of the thesis:
The awareness of the climate change, depletion of resources, and accumulation of plastic waste in the nature, which pose negative impacts on the environment, has recently increased. Indeed, the current situation needs to be addressed by developing new, sustainable materials, quantifying their environmental impacts, and guiding the related stakeholders toward more sustainable practices.
In this doctoral dissertation, a set of experimental, analytical, and legal approaches were utilized to investigate the sustainability characteristics of the selected bio-based plastics and composites. It was revealed that the environmental impacts, such as carbon footprint, of plain, bio-based plastics could substantially be mitigated by using biofillers and by paying attention, for instance, on the share of renewables in the electricity generation as well as on the reaction times and the amount of required chemicals upon the manufacture of these plastics. Moreover, certain legal tools were found to possess potential to transform the gained sustainability knowledge into concrete and effective actions and to guide the behaviour of the related stakeholders toward more sustainable practices.
The novelty of this doctoral dissertation lies in its innovativeness to holistically study the sustainability of bio-based plastics and composites, along with providing new knowledge particularly about the sustainability characteristics of castor oil-derived polyamides and polyamide-based composites. The obtained knowledge can be used in a novel material development, process optimization, for the purposes of decision-making, and as an aid in forming regulations. In any case, the present doctoral dissertation forms an interesting platform for the essential sustainability research around the topic of bio-based plastics and composites.
Opponent: Prof. Risto Soukka, LUT University
Supervisor: Prof. Jukka Niskanen, Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering
Link to electronic thesis: LINK
Link to the remote defence: LINK