Products made of semi-crystalline plastics are found everywhere in our everyday lives. From food and drinks containers to high performance plastic components, semi-crystalline plastics comprise the largest group of commercially useful plastics. The crystallisation of plastic is strongly affected by its molecular shape. This is because plastics are made-up of long-chain molecules, or polymers. The connected nature of polymer molecules forces them to crystallise into a mixture of ordered crystalline regions, which are interspersed with regions where the chains are more randomly arranged. The proportion of amorphous and crystalline material, along with the arrangement and orientation of the crystals, is collectively known as the morphology. The crystal morphology strongly influences strength, toughness, permeability, surface texture, transparency and almost any other property of practical interest. It is known that morphology can be determined by the flow conditions that a plastic experiences as it crystallises. Typically, these flows occur during the process that shapes a plastic product. For example, flows occurring while injecting a plastic into a mould or blowing it into a film. Thus, by understanding how flow affects crystallisation it is possible, in principle, to enhance the final properties of a product by careful control of how it is processed. Unfortunately, a detailed understanding of polymer crystallisation at a molecular level, particularly under flow has been difficult to acquire. This is because flow-induced crystallisation in polymers depends on the subtle interplay of several complicating factors. Firstly, polymer crystallisation during flow is controlled by the shapes that flow forces the molecules to form, and precise theories for how polymers move under strong flow have, until recently, not been sufficiently accurate. Secondly, crystallisation is polymers is always incomplete; the connected nature of polymer molecules frustrates the materials efforts to reach the lowest energy state so equilibrium concepts cannot be applied. In fact the final state is controlled by the crystallisation kinetics. In this project we take a new approach to flow induced crystallisation to overcome these two problems. Recently derived molecular flow models have been shown to reliably predict the configuration of polymer molecules under flow, and we use these as the starting point of our model. To capture the crystallisation kinetics we employ an efficient kinetic Monte Carlo simulation technique to simulate the early stages of crystal formation. Influence over these early stages, experiments suggest, are the primary method by which flow controls crystallisation. Results from these simulations will improve our understanding of flow-induced crystallisation and will provide a template for us to derive more simple differential equation based models, which will be suitable for flow modelling of plastic processing.

The plastic products that are so endemic to modern life are made up of long-chain molecules known as polymers. There are many reasons why plastics are so appealing; one of the most important is that the polymer molecules are easily melted and squeezed into shaped moulds in order to produce complex geometries; another reason is that molecules can be aligned during processing to improve material properties along the alignment direction (as is the case, for example, in packaging films, plastic bottles and polymer fibres). In order to make better use of existing materials and to design new polymers for specific applications, engineers need the ability to predict the process conditions that will give particular polymer molecules a predetermined set of material properties within a product. In the past few decades, significant progress has been made in understanding and predicting how polymer molecules of different shapes and lengths respond to flow. Much of this progress has been made possible by studying model polymers, where all molecules are identical in shape and length, or monodisperse. In previous studies, we were able to show that, in these model systems, it is possible to predict a range of solid-state properties of products with molecular orientation, by making use of the rheological, or flow, properties. The main difference between commercial plastics and these model monodisperse polymers is that commercial plastics are made up of a distribution of polymer molecules of different lengths, known as polydisperse. Thus, in order to apply predictive models to commercial plastics, an understanding of how polymer chains of different lengths interact with each other is necessary. This study is aimed at developing models able to predict the mechanical and optical properties of processed polydisperse polymers, applicable to commercial plastics. In order to achieve this, the study will first focus on a special class of polymers known as bimodal blends, which are made up of a mixture of two different monodisperse polymers. By understanding how the different length scales of polymers in bimodal blends interact with one another when they are oriented, it will be possible to make progress in understanding the interactions between the multitude of length scales present in polydisperse commercial plastics. The research will involve an experimental study of the mechanical and optical properties of both bimodal blends and polydisperse commercial polymers that have been subjected to molecular orientation typical of commercial processes. Additionally, a neutron beam will be used to probe orientation in special blends in which one of the length scales is rendered invisible to the beam. The experiments will be used to inform and validate a set of models that can account for the interaction of polymer molecules of different lengths when predicting the solid-state properties that result after a given orientation process. The UK processes 4.8m tonnes of plastics each year, and the UK plastics industry contributed 2.1% of GDP in 2010. Because of comparatively high labour costs in the UK, the industry is focused on niche markets with highly optimised operations, and innovative companies operating at the cutting edge of technology. The research intends to empower the polymer industry to optimise resin composition to processes and products, and to enable solid-state property predictions of processed commercial polymers hitherto not possible. In the long term, this will drive the development of new polymers and new applications of polymers, help to shorten product development times, lead to existing polymers and processes better suited to their application, and help the UK polymer industry to remain a worldwide leader in the field.

Hydrogen gas is predicted to become an important fuel for industry, energy storage medium and an alternative heating fuel. Therefore an urgent need exists to develop ways to generate hydrogen from non-fossil resources, avoiding the generation of carbon dioxide as a by-product. Zero carbon hydrogen can be generated by the electrolysis of water using renewable power with oxygen being the only other product. This is a promising approach, providing a way to increase market penetration of renewable power by providing a long-term energy store which overcomes issues relating to intermittency of supply. The current leading water electrolysis technology operate in acid. Whilst the hydrogen evolution reaction is efficient in acid the oxygen evolution reaction is not. For acid electrolysis the only active catalysts for oxygen production have a very low availability and there is insufficient to meet predicted demand. An alternative is to carry out electrolysis in base, whilst a range of available oxygen evolution catalysts exist, the efficiency of the hydrogen evolution catalyst is decreased. To deliver electrolysis at a global scale alternative technologies are needed. From an electrocatalyst perspective the ideal electrolyser would run the hydrogen evolution reaction in acid and the oxygen evolution reaction in base. This would make use of the existing, scalable electrocatalysts. Bipolar membrane electrolysers achieve this. When the bipolar membrane is reverse biased sufficiently water within it dissociates and protons are transported towards the hydrogen evolution electrode, generating an acid environment and hydroxide to the oxygen evolution site, generating a basic environment. Bipolar membrane electrolysers represent a third, but massively under-researched, way to generate zero-carbon H2 by electrolysis and importantly they can be delivered at the scale required. But to be a viable technology large improvements in efficiency and stability of the bipolar membrane are needed. Historically issues relating to water transport across the membrane, which lead to dehydration, and also delamination have caused instabilities but recent studies have shown that these can be largely addressed by careful control of the polymer membrane thickness. What has not been solved is the large losses associated with the low efficiency of water dissociation within the bipolar membrane. Addition of catalyst layers into the bipolar membrane is a promising approach but more research is urgently needed. Here we will develop new water dissociation interfaces within the membrane structure with metal oxide catalysts that are optimised for the local pH environment to impart both high levels of activity and stability. Our proposed innovative interface design will explore how to maximise the local electric field and the catalytic enhancement of water dissociation whilst minimising resistance losses in the membrane, to deliver a step change in water dissociation activity and demonstrate the viability of zero carbon hydrogen by bipolar membrane electrolysis.

The 2008 Climate Change Act sets a legally binding target of 80% CO2 emissions reductions by 2050. This target will require nearly complete decarbonisation of large and medium scale emitters. While the power sector has the option of shifting to low carbon systems (renewables and nuclear), for industrial emissions, which will account for 45% of global emissions, the solution has to be based on developing more efficient processes and a viable carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure. The government recognises also that "there are some industrial processes which, by virtue of the chemical reactions required for production, will continue to emit CO2", ie CCS is the only option to tackle these emissions. In order for the UK industry to maintain its competitiveness and meet these stringent requirements new processes are needed which reduce the cost of carbon capture, typically more than 60% of the overall cost of CCS. Research challenge - The key challenges in carbon capture from industry lie in the wide range of conditions (temperature, pressure, composition) and scale of the processes encountered in industrial applications. For carbon capture from industrial sources the drivers and mechanisms to achieve emissions reductions will be very different from those of the power generation industry. It is important to consider that for example the food and drinks industry is striving to reduce the carbon footprint of the products we purchase due to pressures from consumers. The practical challenge and the real long term opportunity for R&D are solutions for medium to small scale sources. In developing this project we have collaborated with several industrial colleagues to identify a broad range case studies to be investigated. As an example of low CO2 concentration systems we have identified a medium sized industry: Lotte Chemicals in Redcar, manufacturer of PET products primarily for the packaging of food and drinks. The plant has gas fired generators that produce 3500 kg/hr of CO2 each at approximately 7%. The emissions from the generators are equivalent to 1/50th of a 500 MW gas fired power plant. The challenge is to intensify the efficiency of the carbon capture units by reducing cycle times and increasing the working capacity of the adsorbents. To tackle this challenge we will develop novel amine supporting porous carbons housed in a rotary wheel adsorber. To maximise the volume available for the adsorbent we will consider direct electrical heating, thus eliminating the need for heat transfer surfaces and introducing added flexibility in case steam is not available on site. As an example of high CO2 concentrations we will collaborate with Air Products. The CO2 capture process will be designed around the steam methane reformer used to generate hydrogen. The tail gas from this system contains 45% v/v CO2. The base case will be for a generator housed in a shipping container. By developing a corresponding carbon capture module this can lead to a system that can produce clean H2 from natural gas or shale gas, providing a flexible low carbon source of H2 or fuel for industrial applications. Rapid cycle adsorption based processes will be developed to drive down costs by arriving flexible systems with small footprints for a range of applications and that can lead to mass-production of modular units. We will carry out an ambitious programme of work that will address both materials and process development for carbon capture from industrial sources.

Mercury is found in many consumer products, including LCD screens and energy-efficient lightbulbs. It is emitted to the environment when products containing mercury are disposed of, as well as from industrial processes such as coal fired power plants. Mercury can, however, be a human health hazard; particularly as it has a tendency to accumulate in fish. Consequently, the UK together with it's European neighbours has been for a number of years trying to find ways of reducing the amount of mercury in the environment. Within the next three years a total ban on mercury in consumer products will be introduced to further curtail the amount of mercury entering the global environment. Mercury is also emitted into the environment from a number of natural sources such as volcanoes, but there are significant uncertainties as to the relative contribution of these natural sources versus industrial processes and consumer products. We will only be able to confirm with reasonable confidence whether the above European Union policies have had the impact intended once we fully understand the contribution of both man-made and natural sources of mercury. We wish to establish a knowledge transfer network to bring academic institutes, industry and government together to address some of these questions. This will be done by means of workshops, reports and a website. By bringing together these three sectors, the Initiative will provide government with the opportunity to explicitly request information from academia and industry which will help to guide and formulate future mercury policy. Only through mutually beneficial interaction will be able to successfully develop and implement policy which will reduce the risk from mercury in the environment.