ENVIRONMENT

Making Plastic from

Carbon Dioxide
Reducing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide is a global challenge. One method for tackling this issue that has been gaining
attention is a technology for creating plastic from carbon dioxide. If it comes to fruition, carbon dioxide will be transformed into
a material that can enrich our day-to-day lives. Japan Echo
spoke with Kohei Nitta, a professor at the Kanazawa University
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, who has
been working on research and development for this technology.

Tell us about the history of efforts to

create plastics from carbon dioxide.
KOHEI NITTA: We all use a great
many plastic products, most of
them made from synthesized polymer compounds. For example, the
polyethylene that is used in food
containers and the plastic bags you
get at the supermarket is a polymer
compound formed by a chain or
net of molecules of a monomer
called ethylene.
If we can form the same type of
chain or net from carbon dioxide,
we can make a plastic. In fact, a
technique for making plastic out of
carbon dioxide was invented in
1968 by Professor Shohei Inoue of
the University of Tokyo. His
method involved mixing equal
portions of carbon dioxide and a
petroleum-derived substance
called epoxide to form a polymer
compound. Polymers made
through this method had the disadvantage of being quite heat-sensitive, and because the reaction efficiency was poor, could only be
made in small amounts. This
meant that manufacturing costs
would be high, and it was considered an unlikely candidate for

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commercialization in industrial
products.
Since then, however, the situation surrounding this technology
has changed significantly along
with developments in environmental issues. Reducing the
amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere has become a pressing
global issue. In order to solve it, we
need to not only cut down on the
amount of carbon dioxide produced but also reduce the amount
already in the atmosphere.
As such, weve been looking
for ways to make use of carbon dioxide as a resource, and in the
course of that search, this technique for using it to make plastic
came back into focus. Weve received a grant from the New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization. Right
now we have an all-Japan team of
academic and industry representatives working on research and development of this technology, including four universitiesthe
University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Science, Keio University,
and Kanazawa Universityand
four companiesTeijin Limited,
Sumitomo Chemical Co., Sumi-

Kohei Nitta

tomo Seika Chemicals Co., and

Mitsubishi Corporation.
Have the shortcomings of the 1968
technology been overcome?
NITTA: In the original method, the
output was half-and-half optical
isomers, which have the same
composition but different molecular structures. It was like a right
hand and a left handexact mirror images of each other. Nevertheless, if the right and left are reversed in the bond, the difference
in characteristics is similar to the
difference between medicine and
poison. Consequently, the resulting plastic might be sensitive to
high temperatures, or the properties of the polymer might be unstable. However, a chiral catalyst to
control the epoxide molecules that
form the bond has been developed,

ENVIRONMENT

which enables us to produce only

the one type of polymer with
greater efficiency.
Also, back in 1968 it used to be
that as the reaction proceeded and
the amount of raw material in the
solvent declined, making the solvent less concentrated, synthesis
would stop before the epoxide was
used up, which meant poor reaction efficiency. A new catalyst has
been developed to prevent this
from happening. The polymer
compound created in this way is
called aliphatic polycarbonate. I
think we can say that we are now
much closer to a practical technology for producing aliphatic polycarbonate efficiently without wasting materials.
What are the special characteristics
of aliphatic polycarbonate?
NITTA: They cant be summed up
in a word. What I mean is that aliphatic polycarbonate has a huge
range of properties. The first time
I encountered it, I was stunned by
all the possibilitiesI thought to
myself that this was a very interesting material.
In general, you can change the
characteristics of a polymer compound by adjusting the degree of
polymerization. The longer the
chain, the stronger and harder it
becomes, and the shorter the
chain, the more flexible it is. In the
case of aliphatic polycarbonate,
there is a huge margin for adjustment. You can make it hard enough
to serve as reinforced glass for an
automobile, or soft enough to be
used as plastic wrap for foods. It is
a very versatile polymer.
Also, when using it for industrial purposes, you can combine
aliphatic polycarbonate with another polymer to create new polymers with all manner of characteristics. It is extremely tolerant, or, to

aliphatic polycarbonate is a polymer

compound with endless potential. With
high heat resistance and insulation, it can
be used in electronics, and with high
transparency, it can be used in optical
applications.
put it another way, quite sensitive.
Depending on what it is mixed
with, the strength, heat resistance,
transparency, electrical insulation,
and other properties of the resulting product can vary greatly. I have
been involved in plastics production for years, and the conventional wisdom simply does not apply to this substance. Its not only
what you mix it with, but what
state it is in when you mix it
solid, liquid, et ceterathat influences the properties of the product. In order words, aliphatic
polycarbonate is a polymer compound with endless potential.
With high heat resistance and insulation, it can be used in electronics, and with high transparency, it
can be used in optical applications.
We can expect to see it put to use
in these areas and many others.
I am currently creating various
plastic films from aliphatic polycarbonate and evaluating the physical properties of each type. I can
put it more simply by drawing a
comparison with cooking: I make
all kinds of recipes using this ingredient called aliphatic polycarbonate, and evaluate the flavor and
nutritional content. Then I pass on
the recipes and the evaluations to
companies. Based on the production methods and evaluations of
physical properties, the companies

develop applications for the plastic. There are goals for the application of any number of plastics, but
when it is actually commercialized,
the scale of plastic production gets
dramatically larger. We need more
research on whether it is possible
to create these recipes on a larger
scale, and whether costs can be reduced.
Tell us what you see for the future of
this technology.
NITTA: We estimate that the
amount of carbon dioxide released
when carbon dioxide plastics are
burned will be more than 30 percent less than when conventional
plastics are burned. And most of
all, it offers the major benefit of using carbon dioxide as a raw material. In combination with technologies to recover the carbon dioxide
emitted by power plants and factories, it could contribute significantly to cutting carbon dioxide
emissions and help us reduce the
amount of valuable petroleum we
use. In our industrial-academic
team, were moving forward with
research and development, aiming
for commercialization in or after
2012. But we know that the world
is watching this technology, and I
hope we can bring it to life as soon
as possible.

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