Phase Equilibria Involving Natural and Synthetic Polymers

Dear Colleagues,

The design of new biorefinery-based processes to convert lignocellulosic biomass to energy and other valuable chemical products; the extremely rapid growth in plastic production, which demands new technologies for postconsumer plastic waste revalorization; and the relevance of polymers and biopolymers in nanotechnology, food packaging and pharmaceutical areas have motivated this Special Issue. These vastly different areas have, however, a very important linking factor: excellent knowledge of the phase equilibria of polymeric solutions and their dependence on the operating conditions (e.g., pressure, temperature and composition) plays a key role in the efficient design of processes. The modelling of polymeric solution phase behavior is challenging, because thermodynamic properties depend on the structure of the polymer, as well as on the number and nature of functional end groups present in the molecule. In addition, experimental data to fit models or verify predictions are scarce in the literature.

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications and reviews are all welcome. The best research and review papers on phase equilibria for valuable products and process design involving polymeric solutions will be published. Special attention will be given to research with great potential for applications ranging from chemistry and nanotechnology to food and pharmacy, which is concerned with sustainability and environmental care. Both experimental and computational methods to study phase behavior are welcome.

Dr. Maria Dolores Robustillo Fuentes
Dr. Teresa Regueira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• phase equilibria
• polymers and biopolymers
• sustainability
• characterization
• biorefinery
• phase diagram
• modeling
• process design
• polymer solutions
• green solvents