Treeing it up: Research team documents design of wood-based polymers

(University of Delaware) The University of Delaware's Thomas Epps, III, and co-authors recently demonstrated the design of softwood lignin-based polymers with potential application as alternatives to petroleum-based polystyrene. These softwood materials can be obtained from sources such as pine, cedar, spruce, and cypress trees. The work is documented in a paper in Macromolecules, a journal of the American Chemical Society,