Presentation:
Accelerated Biodegradation: Fast-Tracking Benign by Design Materials
Thursday 15.15 to 15.30, Stage 3
Speaker:
Idriss ElkettaniBusiness Development Manager - Impact Solutions
About this presentation
Environmental concerns, resource limitations, and legislative pressures have driven the development of biodegradable alternatives to fossil-based polymers. While these polymers show great promise, they require rigorous testing to assess their environmental impact. The challenge lies in the current standardised methods for assessing biodegradability, which are time-consuming, laborious, and costly—often taking months or even years to complete. This end-of-life testing creates a significant bottleneck in product development. Ambitious goals need to be set in order to increase the throughput of materials through end-of-life assessment, biodegradation and composting being a key milestone. In our presentation, we will outline the current state of standard assessment methods and introduce new approaches to accelerated testing. Impact Solutions has led the vanguard for this testing in the UK and we are looking to gather like-minds to meet the challenges of this work head on. This development is crucial for product formulation, ensuring the highest impact materials possible, which are benign by design.
Speaker Bio:
Idriss Elkettani is the Business Development Manager at Impact Solutions. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and Management from the University of Edinburgh and has spent 5 years since graduating supporting the growth of the Innovations Department. He has experience in developing new sustainable technologies in the areas of biotechnology and energy storage and generation. He also has an interest in bio-based materials and the role they can play in replacing fossil fuel-derived chemicals on an industrial scale. As a Business Development Manager, Idriss is keen on growing his network of collaborators from industry, government and academia to deploy new technologies that address our society’s most pressing challenges. Within Impact, his role is at the intersection of the R&D work carried out within the Innovations Department and the UKAS-accredited testing services that Impact Solutions can provide.