Center for Sustainable Polymers

It all started in 2014 when Dr. Arnold Lubguban - through the Balik-Scientist Program of the Department of Science and Technology – paid a visit to MSU-IIT and introduced his research on bio-based polyols and polyurethanes (PU).

He joined the Institute in 2015 as a Professor and continued his research through a Php 6M USAID-STRIDE PURE grant in collaboration with the University of Missouri, USA. This research established a small polymer laboratory at MSU-IIT with a heat flowmeter as its main analytical equipment. It has successfully produced polyols and PU insulation foams using rice straw as raw material.

This research along with Dr. Roberto Malaluan’s Php 6M USAID-STRIDE CARWIN grant on functional food production from a local root crop (now commercialized as “SEAMBIOTIC”) has spurred the growth of polymer research at the Institute. In 2017, the team of Dr. Arnold Lubguban, Dr. Roberto Malaluan, and Dr. Arnold (a.k.a. “ARA”) was granted a Php 45M research funding through the DOST-PCIEERD Grants-in-Aid (GIA) program. Through this grant, a more advanced BioProducts Research Laboratory (BPRL) was established.

The facility has effectively served the Institute’s research community, published multiple patents and scientific papers, and produced potential industrial and value-added insulation foams, flexible foams, and anti-corrosive coating using local agricultural raw materials (coconut oil and rice straw). In 2021 and additional Php 2.2M grant was received by BPRL through the USAID-STRIDE WARP grant on CFAD (a coconut derivative) conversion into high-value wall insulation PU foam. In 2022, BPRL has obtained a Php 107M grant from the Science for Change – Niche Center in the Regions (S4CP-NICER) Program of the DOST to establish the Center for Sustainable Polymers (CSP) and research on value-addition of coconut derivatives and fish wastes.

CSP has partnered with neighboring HEIs such as MSU-Main, MSU-Naawan, Ateneo de Davao University, and Caraga State University. The Center also collaborated with locally-owned industries such as Chemrez Technologies, Inc. and Nuevochem Specialties, Inc. This grant provides additional researches and facilities to develop polymers for industrial applications and establish a collaborative research, development and innovation (RDI) center for sustainable polymers endemic in the area. The CSP is gearing towards attaining a National Center for Sustainable Polymers status by 2023 to become a self-sustaining research facility contributing to the knowledge-based economy of the country by generating principles, protocol and products that provide innovative solutions to support a technology-enabled market in the Philippines.

The Center for Sustainable Polymers located at MSU-IIT, is one of DOST’s Niche Centers in the Regions (NICER) under the Science for Change Program (S4CP). The Center is a multi-disciplinary research and training facility which addresses the problems and gaps in the R&D for bio-based or renewable polymers to create a productive and symbiotic environment in research, development and ultimately, commercialization of sustainable polymer products for industrial and medical applications. It also addresses the scarcity of laboratory facilities and polymer experts in Region 10 and neighboring areas to help related industries for global competitiveness and sustainability utilizing the locally-sourced raw materials and wastes converting it into high-value products.

There is a growing demand of sustainable polymers in the global market, and processing of the abundant, sustainable raw material sources in our locality such as coconut by-products or derivatives and fish processing wastes significantly contributes to deal with global dependence on petroleum. In fact Region 10 is one of the biggest biodiesel producers in the country with over 25% in production capacity. Northern Mindanao is being developed to become the breeding ground for technological and entrepreneurial advancement given the atmosphere of innovation cultivated by local academic institutions. MSU-ligan Institute of Technology plays an important role in spearheading the utilization and conversion of local sustainable polymer raw material sources into value-added and industrially important polymer products.

The NICER - Center for Sustainable Polymers carries on research and development to process coconut monoglycerides (CMG) into functionalized polyols for industrial polyurethane applications, develop extracellular matrix from fish processing wastes for nutraceutical and biomedical application, and innovate to produce polyurethane-modified concrete-nanocomposite from crude glycerol for industrial flooring systems.

The Center provides accessible and high-quality polymeric materials testing services through its wide range of analytical equipment and process capabilities. The facility can also host contract researches and a vehicle to render technical extension activities to a wide range of research and development needs of related emerging technologies. Specifically, through providing information (education), product evaluation, research and development, and materials testing for clients coming from but not limited to the Philippines.

The CSP is the first of its kind in Region 10 and the Philippines that has the main R&D capacity and expertise to contribute to the knowledge-based economy of the country. This is attained through generating principles and protocols for the production of sustainable polymer – based products that provide innovative solutions to support a technology-enabled market in the Philippines.

VISION

The Center for Sustainable Polymers R&D (CSP) is a research and service facility at the leading edge of advanced sustainable polymeric materials processing and characterization that provides innovative solutions to business-critical materials challenges.

MISSION

Supporting industry, HEIs/SUCs, and the community, NCSP offers solutions in laboratory and pilot-scale processing, physical and chemical characterizations, expertise, and mentorship in a range of disciplines to create innovations and accelerate product development from laboratory to marketplace.

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