The Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy (StMWi) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft annually award the Hugo Geiger Prize for the best doctoral theses in applied research. First place in the competition is endowed with 5,000 euros. Kerstin Müller currently works as a materials developer at the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, where she conducts research in the fields of fibre-based materials, thermoplastic biopolymers and bio-based functional coatings for packaging applications. The title of her dissertation at TUMCS was ‘Structure-property relationships of homogeneous cellulose blends and their application potential in thermoplastic processing’.
Aim: Producing thermoplastically processable plastic from plant cellulose
More than 90 percent of the 414 million tonnes of plastic produced worldwide in 2023 will come from fossil raw materials. Bio-based plastics from plants such as corn or wood account for only 0.7 percent of production, because their properties are inferior to conventional plastics. Chemical processes to improve flexibility often result in a loss of the natural structure of the cellulose and of biodegradability. Dr Kerstin Müller has developed a physical approach to obtaining thermoplastically processable plastic from plant cellulose. She uses polylactic acid molecules to create more space and flexibility between the cellulose molecules. To do this, she dissolves the cellulose in an ionic liquid and combines the molecules with those of polylactic acid. As part of her doctoral thesis, the researcher also transferred the process into an industrial process, thus demonstrating its practical applicability. The new thermally mouldable and biodegradable material is suitable for products in the agricultural sector, such as tree shelters or plant pots.
Prof. Dr. Cordt Zollfrank says: ‘Dr. Kerstin Müller has done fundamental pioneering work in the field of the mechanical processing of cellulose for the production of a new generation of bioplastics. The award for the TUMCS doctoral student demonstrates the outstanding importance of renewable raw materials such as cellulose for the bioeconomy. Dr Müller's approach also opens up new perspectives for the use of cellulose-based bioplastics. The polymer-technical processability of the world's most abundant biopolymer is an important building block for the transformation to the sustainable use of renewable raw materials, which is a core topic of the research work at TUMCS.’
