Ramani Narayan

Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Michigan State University

  • East Lansing MI

Expert in biodegradable plastics, biobased and recyclable composites

Contact

Michigan State University

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Biography

Polymeric materials from renewable resources; biodegradable polymer systems; engineering and design of natural-synthetic polymer graft and block copolymers; polymer blends; studies in reactive extrusion processing, biobased and recyclable composites.

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Chemicals
Biotechnology
Plastics
Renewables and Environmental

Areas of Expertise

Renewable Resources
Biodegradable Polymers and Materials
Engineering
Polymers and Plastics
Biobased and Recyclable Composites

Accomplishments

Award of Excellence, ASTM Committee

2006

Withrow Distinguished Scholar. MSU Department of Engineering

2005

Governor's University Award for Commercialization Excellence, State of Michigan

2005

Education

Bombay University

Ph.D.

Organic Chemistry (Polymer Science & Eng.)

1975

Bombay University

M.S.

Organic Chemistry

1969

News

Why compostable plastic is not a silver bullet for eliminating plastic waste

ABC News  online

2024-12-18

Modern humans rely on plastic in their everyday lives. They eat off plastic and use plastic for packaging and transport, Ramani Narayan, a university distinguished professor of chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University, told ABC News.

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New Thinking About Compostable Packaging

Yale E360  online

2022-12-13

“The concept that we could use it, throw it away, and it doesn’t matter where you throw it, and it’s going to safely disappear, that does not exist,” said Ramani Narayan, a professor at the School of Packaging at Michigan State University. “Nobody could engineer something like that, not even nature.”

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Beyond paper and plastic, the quest for the perfect straw continues

NBC News  online

2022-07-30

According to Yale Environment 360, bioplastics like PHA and PLA represent a $9 billion share of the $1.2 trillion plastic market. Ramani Narayan, distinguished professor in the department of chemical engineering and materials science at Michigan State University, said while traditional plastics have backbones made of very strong carbon-carbon bonds, bioplastics like PHA and PLA have a weaker ester backbone, which allows them to be consumed by microbes and thus degrade much more quickly than traditional plastics.

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Journal Articles

Humidity Resistant Biodegradable Starch Foams Reinforced with Polyvinyl Butyral (PVB) and Chitosan

Polymers

2024

In this study, water-insoluble, moisture-resistant starch foams were prepared using an optimized one-step extrusion-foaming process in a ZSK-30 twin screw extruder. The extrusion parameters, including temperature, screw configuration, die diameter, water content, and feeding rates, were optimized to achieve foams with the lowest density and controlled expansion. A screw configuration made up of three kneading sections was found to be the most effective for better mixing and foaming. Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) acted as a plasticizer, resulting in foams with a density of 21 kg/m3 and an expansion ratio of 38.7, while chitosan served as a nucleating agent, reducing cell size and promoting a uniform cell size distribution.

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Biobased Compostable Plastics End-of-Life: Environmental Assessment Including Carbon Footprint and Microplastic Impacts

Polymers

2024

In this paper, we examine how traditional life-cycle assessment (LCA) for bio-based and compostable plastics overlooks issues surrounding carbon sequestration and microplastic persistence. To outline biased comparisons drawn from these omitted environmental impacts, we provide, as an example, a comparative LCA for compostable biobased vs. non-compostable fossil-based materials. In doing so we (1) demonstrate the proper way to capture carbon footprints to make fair comparisons and (2) identify the overlooked issues of microplastics and the need for non-persistent alternatives. By ensuring accurate biogenic carbon capture, key contributors to CO2 evolution are properly identified, allowing well-informed changes to formulations that can reduce the environmental impact of greenhouse gas emissions

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Immunometabolic cues recompose and reprogram the microenvironment around implanted biomaterials

Nature Biomedical Engineering

2024

Circulating monocytes infiltrate and coordinate immune responses in tissues surrounding implanted biomaterials and in other inflamed tissues. Here we show that immunometabolic cues in the biomaterial microenvironment govern the trafficking of immune cells, including neutrophils and monocytes, in a manner dependent on the chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) and the C-X3-C motif chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1). This affects the composition and activation states of macrophage and dendritic cell populations, ultimately orchestrating the relative composition of pro-inflammatory, transitory and anti-inflammatory CCR2+, CX3CR1+ and CCR2+ CX3CR1+ immune cell populations.

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