Veröffentlicht am
2. September 2026
In cooperation with the research group of Prof. Dr. Andreas Liese from Hamburg University of Technology and the chemical company BASF SE, our research group has developed a novel-type of sustainable plasticizers based on renewable raw materials. Today, in total more than nine million metric tons of plasticizers are produced worldwide each year, and the product class of phthalates accounts for more than half of the manufacturing volume. At the same time, such phthalates are produced from fossil feedstocks. In addition, some of the phthalate-based plasticizers pose health risks by, for example, affecting the hormone balance in humans. These health risks led to the regulation of certain representatives of this class of substances in the EU. The new generation of plasticizers developed jointly by the project partners is derived from renewable sources such as, for example, sugar-based waste streams. Thus, this approach fulfills the principle of a circular economy. In addition, for the synthesis of the new plasticizer molecules straightforward and atom-economical reaction technologies were utilized such as, e.g., the Diels-Alder reaction. Initial application tests of the plasticizer showed promising performance data in many respects. This research project “BioPlasticizers” was financially supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 600,000 euros, and these results have now been published in the journal European Journal of Organic Chemistry, which lists this article as an outstanding study ("Very Important Paper").
[Article]