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Sustainable Polymeric Materials and Eco-Design

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The increase in the world population, the environmental concerns related to pollution, climate change and the depletion of natural resources make the transition from the traditional linear economy paradigm to a circular economy model an emergency. This new production model aims to develop a sustainable economy by making optimal use of resources and energy while respecting the environment. The awareness of the need for this epochal change led to the emergence of eco-design—an approach to product designing that integrates environmental protection criteria throughout the product lifecycle, from conception to development, from transport to recycling. Eco-design is the core of circular economy and has the potential to significantly reduce the impacts of human activities on biodiversity, species, and common goods.

Thanks to their structural versatility and adjustable properties, polymeric materials play a key role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the United Nations, in strategic sectors including healthcare, transportation, food storage, construction, electronics and water purification. The application of eco-design principles to the production of polymeric materials can minimize the environmental harm caused by the massive production and use of conventional plastics, through the reduction of the use of raw materials, the use of renewable resources, the implementation of green processes, the extension of the functional lifetime, and predictable disintegration into non-toxic fragments and recycling. 

This Special Issue is open to contributions on a broad range of research topics related to sustainable polymeric materials and eco-design. These include, but are not limited to: 

  • Biodegradable polymers and the biodegradation of polymeric materials.
  • Biorefinery of plastics.
  • Chemical recycling of plastic waste.
  • Ecotoxicology of polymers.
  • Life-cycle assessment of polymer production processes.
  • Phase-change polymeric materials for intelligent temperature regulation.
  • Production processes of polymers through green chemistry approaches.
  • Technological approaches to minimize the production of microplastics.
  • Use of natural resources for the production of polymeric materials.

Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Ranucci
Prof. Dr. Paolo Ferruti
Dr. Jenny Alongi
Dr. Marco A. Ortenzi
Dr. Laura Boggioni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biodegradable polymers
  • bioplastics
  • biodegradation of polymers
  • ecotoxicology of polymers
  • green chemistry
  • chemical recycling of polymers
  • natural-fiber-based polymeric composites
  • microplastics
  • life-cycle assessment of polymeric materials
  • energy-saving polymeric materials

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Published Papers