Tag Archives: cellulose nanofibrils

Final words on TAPPI’s June 2014 Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials conference

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A July 8, 2014 news item on Nanowerk provides some statistics about the recently ended (June 23 – 26, 2014) TAPPI (Technical Association for the Pulp, Paper, Packaging and Converting Industries) Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Materials,

Over 230 delegates from 25 countries gathered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada last week at TAPPI’s 9th International Conference on Nanotechnology for Renewable Nanomaterials. “This year’s conference was exceptional,” noted co-chair Wadood Hamad, Priniciple Scientist, FPInnovations. “The keynote and technical presentations were of very high quality. The advancements made in many applications show great promise, and we will see expanded commercial use of these renewable biomaterials.”

An identical news item dated July 7, 2014 on Nanotechnology Now,notes the commercial announcements made during the conference,

…

Several key commercial announcements were made at this year’s conference, highlighting the tangible growth in this emerging market area of renewable biopolymers:

Celluforce, which opened their commercial plant in January 2012, shared six advanced commercial projects.

Imerys announced the launch of their new FiberLean™ MFC innovative composite, which enables a 10-15% reduction in fiber usage for papermaking applications.

Representatives from the newly formed BioFilaments shared information on their unique high performance biomaterial derived from wood cellulose to be used as reinforcing agents and rheological modifiers.

Blue Goose Biorefineries presented their patent-pending process for producing cellulose nanocrystals from wood pulp.

Nippon Paper Industries introduced Cellenpia, their cellulose nanofibers produced from their pre-commercial plant.

GL&V presented their commercial system, developed with the University of Maine, to produce cellulose nanofibrils at a very low energy cost.

American Process Inc. presented their latest results of producing lignin-coated nanocellulose particles using their AVAP® technology which produces a material that is more easily dispersed and has enhanced properties.

I wish them good luck with their projects.

Hydrodynamic alignment and assembly of nano-fibrils results in cellulose fibers stronger than both aluminum and steel

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A June 2, 2014 news item on Azonano describes the new fibres (which come from wood),

“Our filaments are stronger than both aluminium and steel per weight,” emphasizes lead author Prof. Fredrik Lundell from the Wallenberg Wood Science Center at the Royal Swedish Institute of Technology KTH in Stockholm. “The real challenge, however, is to make bio based materials with extreme stiffness that can be used in wind turbine blades, for example. With further improvements, in particular increased fibril alignment, this will be possible.”

The June 2, 2014 DESY ( one of the world’s leading accelerator centres) press release describes the research in detail,

A Swedish-German research team has successfully tested a new method for the production of ultra-strong cellulose fibres at DESY’s research light source PETRA III. The novel procedure spins extremely tough filaments from tiny cellulose fibrils by aligning them all in parallel during the production process. …

…

For their method, the researchers took tiny, nanometre-sized cellulose fibrils and fed them together with water through a small channel. Two additional water jets coming in perpendicular from left and right accelerate the fibril flow. “Following the acceleration, all nano fibrils align themselves more or less parallel with the flow,” explains co-author Dr. Stephan Roth from DESY, head of the experimental station P03 at PETRA III where the experiments took place. “Furthermore, salt is added to the outer streams. The salt makes the fibrils attach to each other, thereby locking the structure of the future filament.”

Finally, the wet filaments are left to dry in air where they shrink to form a strong fibre. “Drying takes a few minutes in air,” explains co-author Dr. Daniel Söderberg from KTH. “The resulting material is completely compatible with the biosphere, since the natural structure of the cellulose is maintained in the fibrils. Thus, it is biodegradable and compatible with human tissue.”

The bright X-ray light from PETRA III enabled the scientists to follow the process and check the configuration of the nano fibrils at various stages in the flow. “Research today is driven by cross-disciplanary collaborations,” underlines Söderberg. “Without the excellent competence and possibilities brought into the project by the team of DESY’s experimental station P03 this would not have been possible.”

As the scientists write, their fibres are much stronger than all other previously reported artificial filaments from cellulose nano fibrils. In fact, the artificial filaments can rival the strongest natural cellulose pulp fibres extracted from wood at the same degree of alignment of the nano fibrils. “In principle, we can make very long fibres,” says Lundell. “Up until now we have made samples that where ten centimetres long or so, but that is more of an equipment issue than a fundamental problem.”

For their experiments, the researchers have used nano fibrils extracted from fresh wood. “In principle, it should be possible to obtain fibrils from recycled paper also,” says Lundell. But he cautions: “The potential of recycled material in this context needs further investigations.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the published paper,

Hydrodynamic alignment and assembly of nano-fibrils resulting in strong cellulose filaments by Karl M. O. Håkansson, Andreas B. Fall, Fredrik Lundell, Shun Yu, Christina Krywka, Stephan V. Roth, Gonzalo Santoro, Mathias Kvick, Lisa Prahl Wittberg, Lars Wågberg & L. Daniel Söderberg. Nature Communications, 2014; DOI: 10.1038/ncomms5018

This is an open access paper.

I posted a June 3, 2014 item on cellulose nanofibriil titled:  Doubling paper strength with nanofibrils; a nanocellulose.

Doubling paper strength with nanofibrils; a nanocellulose story

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A June 3, 2014 Cerealus news release on PR Newswire announces a successful commercial trial for a new nanoscale process making paper stronger,

Cerealus, working with the University of Maine Process Development Center continues to be a leader in innovative technologies for Paper and Forestry research. Utilizing Cerealus’ unique starch encapsulation technology and UMaine’s proprietary developments, the collaborative effort enabled a novel bio-based cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) process to be used in paper and paperboard manufacturing at significantly higher levels than previously possible to develop high strength, lightweight and lower cost paper and paperboard.

The latest commercial trial doubled cellulose Nanofibril utilization in paper with the patent pending starch encapsulation technology, marketed as Cerenano™. This project confirms the promise of nanotechnology to deliver dramatic improvement in sheet density, porosity, surface quality and Z-direction strength (internal bond). Paper mills can expect:

  •     Tighter sheet
  •     More uniform surface
  •     Better printability
  •     Reduced opacity
  •     Reduced energy requirements

The collaborative private/public partnership has significantly improved the economic prospects for deploying nanotechnology in paper, wood and forestry products. A recent report estimates the current addressable market for nano cellulose at $500 million for North America.

Mike Bilodeau, Director of the UMaine Process Development Center underscored the commercial scalability of this project by saying, “This technology represents a significant break-through in the ability to leverage the unique properties of cellulose nanofibrils in paper and paperboard products.”

Tony Jabar, CEO and founder of Cerealus goes on to say, “Cerealus takes great pride in taking a lead role to create cutting edge nanocellulose technology. Successful paper makers appreciate innovation as a key to sustained profitability in the challenging paper making sector of our economy. This new development is our third generation technology and demonstrates the value of our collaboration with the University of Maine Process Development Center.”

Cerenano™ is a high performance additive that enables efficient loading of high levels of starch thus creating strong internal bond strength. The successful commercial trial demonstrated positive economic benefits and commercial scalability. The likely next phase in product development will be size press applications.

The University of Maine is working with several private companies and federal agencies to accelerate the commercialization of cellulose nanofibrils. This effort has significant implications to the health of National Forests and private timberland, as well as strategic and economic impacts to the domestic Forest Products Industry.

You can find Cerealus here and Cerenano™ page here where there’s a link to a 50 pp. presentation on Cerenano. From the presentation,

Using Renewable Nanotechnology (and Other Novel Approaches) to Improve Base Paper Performance
AWA Conferences & Events
AWA Silicone Technology Seminar 2014
March 19, 2014
Park Plaza Hotel Amsterdam Airport
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Robert Hamilton
President
Stirling Consulting, Inc.

I was particularly interested to see this (from p. 3 of the presentation),

Cellulose Nanofibrils (CNF)
The Renewable Nanomaterial

• CNF can be made from any plant matter.
# Process uses a series of mechanical refining steps.
# Resulting material is FDA compliant and compatible with any aqueous system. CNF is cellulose.

• Not to be confused with Cellulose NanoCrystals (CNC)
# Produced using more expensive strong acid hydrolysis process.

It’s the first time I’ve stumbled across a comparison of any kind between CNC (also known as NCC, nanocrystalline cellulose) and CNF and I find it quite instructive.

Cleaning up oil* spills with cellulose nanofibril aerogels

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Given the ever-expanding scope of oil and gas production as previously impossible to reach sources are breached and previously unusable contaminated sources are purified for use while major pipelines and mega tankers are being built to transport all this product, it’s good to see that research into cleaning up oil spills is taking place. A Feb. 26, 2014 news item on Azonano features a project at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,

Cleaning up oil spills and metal contaminates in a low-impact, sustainable and inexpensive manner remains a challenge for companies and governments globally.

But a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is examining alternative materials that can be modified to absorb oil and chemicals without absorbing water. If further developed, the technology may offer a cheaper and “greener” method to absorb oil and heavy metals from water and other surfaces.

Shaoqin “Sarah” Gong, a researcher at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) and associate professor of biomedical engineering, graduate student Qifeng Zheng, and Zhiyong Cai, a project leader at the USDA Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, have recently created and patented the new aerogel technology.

The Feb. 25, 2014 University of Wisconsin–Madison news release, which originated the news item, explains a little bit about aergels and about what makes these cellulose nanofibril-based aerogels special,

Aerogels, which are highly porous materials and the lightest solids in existence, are already used in a variety of applications, ranging from insulation and aerospace materials to thickening agents in paints. The aerogel prepared in Gong’s lab is made of cellulose nanofibrils (sustainable wood-based materials) and an environmentally friendly polymer. Furthermore, these cellulose-based aerogels are made using an environmentally friendly freeze-drying process without the use of organic solvents.

It’s the combination of this “greener” material and its high performance that got Gong’s attention.

“For this material, one unique property is that it has superior absorbing ability for organic solvents — up to nearly 100 times its own weight,” she says. “It also has strong absorbing ability for metal ions.”

Treating the cellulose-based aerogel with specific types of silane after it is made through the freeze-drying process is a key step that gives the aerogel its water-repelling and oil-absorbing properties.

The researchers have produced a video showing their aerogel in operation,

For those who don’t have the time for a video, the news release describes some of the action taking place,

“So if you had an oil spill, for example, the idea is you could throw this aerogel sheet in the water and it would start to absorb the oil very quickly and efficiently,” she says. “Once it’s fully saturated, you can take it out and squeeze out all the oil. Although its absorbing capacity reduces after each use, it can be reused for a couple of cycles.”

In addition, this cellulose-based aerogel exhibits excellent flexibility as demonstrated by compression mechanical testing.

Though much work needs to be done before the aerogel can be mass-produced, Gong says she’s eager to share the technology’s potential benefits beyond the scientific community.

“We are living in a time where pollution is a serious problem — especially for human health and for animals in the ocean,” she says. “We are passionate to develop technology to make a positive societal impact.”

Here’s a link to and a citation for the research paper,

Green synthesis of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–cellulose nanofibril (CNF) hybrid aerogels and their use as superabsorbents by Qifeng Zheng, Zhiyong Cai, and Shaoqin Gong.  J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014,2, 3110-3118 DOI: 10.1039/C3TA14642A First published online 16 Dec 2013

This paper is behind a paywall. I last wrote about oil-absorbing nanosponges in an April 17, 2012 posting. Those sponges were based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs).

* ‘oils’ in headline changed to ‘oil’ on May 6, 2014.

Paper and Fibre Research Institute holds nanocellulose party/seminar

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My ears always prick up when I come across a nanocellulose story and this Sept. 26, 2012 news item on Nanowerk features a nanocellulose seminar hosted by the Paper and Fibre Institute (PFI) in Norway (Note: I have removed a link),

PFI has the pleasure to organize the 4th research seminar about cellulose and their nanomaterials. The seminar will take place at PFI in Norway, on November 14-15, 2012. This will be a follow-up of the successful seminars in Trondheim 2006, 2008, 2010. The seminar offers an excellent scientific program, including topics which reflect the most recent advances from basic research to practical applications.

During the last years it has been considerable interest in cellulose nanofibrils [emphasis mine] due to the wide range of potential areas of application. This includes replacement for plastics, reinforcement of composite materials, boosting paper properties, barrier material in packaging and bio-medical applications.

As per the term I highlighted, cellulose nanofibrils, KarenS very kindly dropped by my Aug. 2, 2012 posting on nanocellulose research to explain some of the terminology that gets tossed around,

From my understanding, nanocrystaline cellulose (NCC), cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose whiskers (CW) and cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) are all the same stuff: cylindrical rods of crystalline cellulose (diameter: 5-10 nm; length: 20-1000 nm). Cellulose nanofibers or nanofibrils (CNF), on the contrary, are less crystalline and are in the form of long fibers (diameter: 20-50 nm; length: up to several micrometers).

There is still a lot of confusion on the nomenclature of cellulose nanoparticles, but nice explanations (and pictures!) are given here (and also in other papers from the same [TAPPI 2012 in Montréal] conference):

http://www.tappi.org/Downloads/Conference-Papers/2012/12NANO/12NANO49.aspx

Thank you KarenS, I really appreciate the clarification and the link to additional information.

Back to the main event, I went to the webpage for the 4th research seminar about cellulose and their nanomaterials and found a listing of the speakers,

Tsuguyuki Saito (University of Tokyo):  “Material Properties of TEMPO-Oxidized Cellulose Nanofibrils: In bulk and Individual Forms”
Lars Berglund (KTH): “Unexplored materials property space – does nanofibrillated cellulose provide new possibilities?”
Michel Schenker (Omya): “Toward Nano-fibrillated Pigmented Cellulose Composites”
Anette Hejnesson-Hulten (Eka):  “Chemically Pretreated  MFC – Process, Manufacturing and Application”
Kriistina Oksman (Luleå Univ.of Techn): “Nanocelluloses extracted from  bio residues and their use in composites”
J.M. Lagaron (CSIC): “Nanocellulose as a reinforcing material in packaging films”
Tomas Larsson (Innventia): “Determining the specific surface area of NFC by CP/MAS 13C-NMR”
Tekla Tammelin, (VTT): “Dense NFC films with several opportunities for additional functionalities”
Kristin Syverud (PFI): “A biocompatibility study of microfibrillated cellulose”
Øyvind Gregersen (NTNU): “The effect of microfibrillated cellulose on the pressability and paper properties of TMP and ground calcium carbonate (GCC) based sheets”
Gary Chinga Carrasco (PFI): “Characterization of the fibrillation degree of various MFC materials and its implication on critical properties”
Marianne Lenes (PFI): “MFC as barrier material – possibilities and challenges”
Laura Alexandrescu (NTNU): “MFC filters for environmental particle filtration”
Per Stenius (NTNU): “Nanofibrils – do they fulfill the promises?”

Dag Høvik (Research Council of Norway): “Strategic research programmes within Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials in Norway, 2002-2021”.

Interestingly given our work in this field, there don’t seem to be any Canadians on the speaker list.  I imagine that this is largely due to the fact that they have healthy and active research community in Norway and this is not really an international affair.