R&D Project Leader / Polymer Scientist
- Sustainable Plastics & Biobased Polymers
- Biobased polyesters and FDCA-based polymers for sustainable packaging applications
- Poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) and renewable polymer development
- Chemical recycling and valorization of polyester waste into circular materials
Nejib KASMI is a Polymer Scientist and R&D Project Leader specializing in sustainable plastics, biobased polymers, and circular materials innovation. He currently works at Avantium in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where he leads industrial R&D projects focused on the development of next-generation sustainable polyester materials, including FDCA-based polymers such as poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF).
With more than 8 years of academic and industrial experience across Europe, his expertise covers polymer design, synthesis, characterization, structure–property relationships, and the translation of polymer science into application-driven material solutions. His research focuses on fully biobased polyesters for sustainable packaging applications, circular polymer technologies, and chemical recycling strategies for plastic waste.
At Avantium, he contributes to industrial polymer innovation through R&D project leadership, scientific collaborations with universities and research organisations, and the development of patentable solutions for advanced sustainable materials.
Before joining Avantium, he conducted research at leading European institutions including CNRS (France), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon (Germany), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece).
His research activities have resulted in 27 peer-reviewed publications, more than 1,320 citations, an h-index of 22 (Google Scholar), and a filed patent application related to advancing poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) materials.
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Job-related Skills and Expertise
. Development of biobased polyesters for sustainable packaging Materials
. Next-generation Bioplastics based on 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid
. Chemical Recycling and valorization of plastics waste into high-performance circular polymers
. Teaching experience
. Proposal writing skills
. Strong international network and professional experience in several leading European research groups (Greece, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, France and Italy)
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In-depth knowledge and technical understanding of the Design, Synthesis and Study of fully biobased polymers, mainly polyesters, copolyesters, polyester blends and functionalized hyperbranched polyesters derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and other renewable monomers (isosorbide, vanillic acid, succinic acid, azelaic acid, etc.)
Chemical Recycling and valorization of post-consumer ‘polyester-type’ plastics to value added circular materials by utilizing dynamic covalent chemistry (DCC) / Integrating plastic waste in the circular economy / plastic waste management
Excellent command of several synthesis techniques of Polyesters: Melt Polycondensation, Solid state Polycondensation, Polymer Blending, In Situ polymerization, Ring-Opening Polymerization, etc.
Furan-based Bioplastics: Sustainable polyesters, copolyesters, polyester Blends, and Isocyanate-free polyurethane thermosets derived from FDCA
Investigation of crystallization, melting behavior, mechanical performance, and “enzymatic / in soil” biodegradability of renewable (Co-)polyesters / Biobased (hyper)-branched polyesters and polyurethanes
Teaching experience of Master’s students (104 h) at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm – Effective supervision skills (acquired through my experience as co-supervisor of BSc, MSc and PhD students)
Organic chemistry / “Microwave-assisted” organic synthesis
Job-related Keywords
Bioplastics, biobased polymers, polyester, copolyester, 2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid, Melt polycondensation, Isosorbide, FDCA, FURAN-based polymers, polyimine, chemical recycling, plastics waste management, aminolysis, Isocyanate-free polyurethane, poly(ethylene furanoate), crystallization behavior, microwave-assisted polyester recycling, dynamic covalent chemistry, plastics waste in circular economy, PEF, sustainable polymers, polyester Blends, reactive blending, branched polyesters, solid-state polycondensation, biodegradability, structure-property relationship, polyurethane thermosets, catalysts, Ring opening polymerization, Vanillic acid, etc.
Nejib KASMI, PhD 