Conversion of Lactose to High-volume and High-value Polymer Products
Summary
Lactose is the major ingredient of whey permeate, a by-product of the cheese industry. Past research in our group has focused on the conversion of lactose and whey permeate via hydrogenation, reductive amination, and condensation reactions. Optimal reaction conditions have been established for preparation of lactitol, polyether polyols, lactamine, and lactosyl urea from lactose. The structures and properties of polymers synthesized from these lactose derivatives have demonstrated to be unique for production of polyurethane foam useful for building and equipment insulation.
The present project proposes to generate new cost-competitive lactose-based polymers. New lactose-specific chemical routes are proposed to synthesize lactose-based monomers which are then used to synthesize lactose-based polymers. The monomer and polymer routes were conceived with the specific goals of either incorporating a large quantity of lactose or lactose derivatives in high-volume polymers or producing lactose-based low-volume polymers of extremely high added-values. The proposed research directly benefits the dairy industry by increasing the high-value utilization of whey permeate and reducing low-value utilization and waste of whey permeate.
The unique multi-hydroxyl functionality of lactose and the unique structures of lactose derivatives can be utilized to synthesize new homopolymers or copolymers, resulting in a wide range of commercially-attractive hydrophilic polymers. These lactose-based polymers can be useful in several major application areas, including water-soluble polymers, super-absorbent polymers, and controlled-release drug delivery gels. Those lactose-based polymers with lactose derivatives as side-chain pedant groups should have interesting solid-state properties and are expected to be bio-erodable. When lactose and lactose derivatives are incorporated as part of the polymer main chains, biodegradability is anticipated.