2025 (Current Year) Faculty Courses School of Materials and Chemical Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
Biodegradable Polymers
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Takeharu Tsuge
- Class Format
- Lecture (Livestream)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 1-2 Tue
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- MAT.P419
- Number of credits
- 100
- Course offered
- 2025
- Offered quarter
- 1Q
- Syllabus updated
- Mar 19, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
Biodegradable polymers are polymeric materials that are degraded by the action of microorganisms in the natural environment, compost, etc. In this course, students will learn about the types and characteristics of biodegradable polymers, their degradation mechanism, and factors affecting their biodegradation rate.
Course description and aims
At the end of this course, students will be able to:
・Explain the types of biodegradable polymeric materials and their characteristics
・Explain the performance required for environmentally friendly materials
・Explain material design methods for controlling the rate of biodegradation
・Explain the degradation mechanism of biodegradable polymers
Keywords
Biodegradable plastics, biomass plastics, renewable resources, carbon neutral
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
The course will mainly focus on lectures.
To enable two-way communication, there will be time for questions and answers during Zoom classes.
Quizzes will be conducted in each class to check students' understanding.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Overview | Understand the history of the development of polymer materials and the environmental problems caused by waste plastics. |
| Class 2 | Fundamentals of natural polymers | Understand the properties and material characteristics of natural polymers such as proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and polyesters. |
| Class 3 | Biomass resources | Understand the types and characteristics of plant biomass as a renewable resource. |
| Class 4 | Material production through bioconversion | Learn about the types of chemicals that can be produced from biomass and the production methods for them. |
| Class 5 | Degradation behavior of biodegradable polymers | Learn about biodegradable chemical structures and degradation mechanisms and how to evaluate biodegradability. |
| Class 6 | Material design theory for biodegradable polymers | Understand the correlation between the structure and physical properties of biodegradable polymers, and learn material design methods to control the biodegradation rate. |
| Class 7 | Summary | Summarize the whole course and deepen students’ understanding. |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Reference books, course materials, etc. Course materials are provided via T2SCHOLA.
Evaluation methods and criteria
The course evaluates students' understanding of the characteristics, synthesis methods, and degradation mechanisms of biodegradable polymers. Grades will be evaluated mainly based on reports.
Related courses
- MAT.P417 ： Medical Polymers
Prerequisites
Not required.
Other
If misconduct, such as plagiarism or misappropriation of someone else's work is committed, we will treat it strictly. The grade of the subject will be 0.